Kecak and Fire Dance is one of the dance performances that originated from the island of Bali. Where this dance is the result of the creativity of the people in realizing an epic into a performance that can be enjoyed by all groups. Balinese people who have a love for art make the existing culture develop well. The art of Kecak and Fire Dance is also well preserved thanks to the help of the tourism sector which makes it an additional source of income. With the existence of the tourism sector, it gives prosperity to artists, and also gives its own attraction to invite tourists to come.
Kecak and Fire Dance performance is taken from a fragment story from the Ramayana, where Rama, who is the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Ayodya, and his wife Sita are expelled from the kingdom by King Dasarata due to the deception of Rama's stepmother. The story begins with the arrival of Rama and Sita accompanied by Rama's brother, Laksmana in the forest of Dandaka. All three have been observed by the Devil Rahwana, King Alengka, who wants the beautiful Sita to be his wife. Then King Rahwana sent his prime minister, namely Marika to try to isolate Sita so that King Rahwana could kidnap her. Marica's magical powers turn her into a golden deer and she enters the forest. When Sita saw the golden deer, she was so fascinated that she asked her husband Rama to catch her, then Rama chased after the deer and left his brother Laksmana with strict instructions to protect Sita. When Sita heard the cry for help, she thought it was from her husband's screams, and then she forced Laksmana to help her husband, but Laksmana ignored Sita's words. Accused of being a cowardly younger brother, Lakshmana finally went to the aid of his brother Rama, very reluctantly after drawing a magic circle on the ground, and told Sita that he should not step out of the circle under any circumstances.
When Sita was left alone in the forest, King Rahwana deceived herself by disguising herself as an old priest and asking Sita for food because of the cold and hunger. Then Sita was deceived, she stepped out of the circle to give food to the old priest, then King Rahwana captured her and took her to the kingdom of Alengka, but on her way she was seen by Jatayu, a Garuda Bird who was a friend of Rama. When Jatayu found out that the woman who was being kidnapped by King Rahwana was the consort of his best friend Rama, the Jatayu bird tried to save Sita, because King Rahwana's magic exceeded Jatayu's, Jatayu could be defeated. Furthermore, it tells the journey of Rama who was only accompanied by his younger brother Laksmana to meet Hanoman, a warlord of the ape army who is the nephew of an ape king named King Sugriwa. Having once felt indebted to Rama, the ape army led by warlord Hanoman and King Sugriwa was willing to help Rama to reclaim his empress. Because the magic of Hanoman was able to infiltrate the palace of King Rahwana and then meet Sita, with his magic Hanoman then burned the palace of King Rahwana which in the kecak performance was illustrated with a fire dance. Where Hanoman was then captured and burned by Rahwana's soldiers, all of whom were giants. Hanoman's struggle in helping Rama to get his queen back. The story then closes with the defeat of King Rahwana who can be defeated by the magic arrow possessed by Rama, and in the end Rama is able to reunite with his consort Sita.
The Kecak and Fire Dance is a Balinese dance drama performance art created in 1930 by Wayan Limbak and Walter Spies. Where this dance features dozens of men sitting in a circle calling out "Cak"Cak"Cak" and this dance tells the Ramayana Epic, especially the scene of Hanoman (A White Monkey) burning the palace of King Rahwana. The uniqueness of Kecak and Fire Dance lies in the use of real fire and human voices as accompaniments, not gamelan. You will see approximately 60 men forming a circle in the middle of the stage, where the dancers will perform the Ramayana story. Kecak and Fire Dance are supported by several very important factors, and the kecak dance performance presents the dance as an introduction to the story, of course, music that is vital to accompany the dancers' movements. However, the music of the kecak dance is produced from the combination of the voices of more than 60 "Cak" members, all of whom will play music in a cappell. Some play the role of leaders who set the tone, some play the role of the suppressor responsible for the pressure of high or low notes, some play the role of solo singers, and some play the role of the mastermind behind it to convey the story.
The movements of dancers in the Kecak and Fire Dance are not allowed to follow dance movements accompanied by gamelan. So in the kecak dance, the dancers' movements are more relaxed because the main priority is the storyline and the combination of voices. Kecak and Fire Dance is one of the most visited and watched by foreign and domestic tourists, as it is so well packaged that it makes the show exciting, funny, and suspenseful.
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