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When tourism took off after 1965, the Balinese insisted that it
followed cultural guidelines: if tourism was to be accepted, it
was to be a cultural tourism, or "pariwisata budaya".
As the Balinese put it: "Tourism should be for Bali instead
of Bali for tourism." In time, this idea become national policy,
as part of a larger revping of regional cultures for national purposes.
The policy owes much to the former Director General of Culture (1968-1978)
and Governor of Bali (1978-1988), Ida Bagus Mantra, an Indian-educed
Balinese. It led, on the one side, to the creation of enclave resorts
such as Nusa Dua to limit the direct impact of tourism, and on the
other, to a long haul cultural policy aimed at nurturing and preserving
the traditional agrarian culture while adapting it to the demands
of modernity, and in particular of "cultural tourism".
At the village level, local music groups, dances and other cultural
events were inventoried, then supported by a series of contests
at the district and regency level. The ensuing competition energized
the cultural life of villages, whose "young blood" was
already being drained to the city by the process of economic change
and urbanization.
Schools of dance and art were created, in particular the Kokar
conservatory and the STSI School of Dance and Music. Beside research,
these schools replaced the traditional master/disciple relationship
by modern methods of teaching; standardized the dance movements,
produced new types of Balinese dances for tourism and modern village
entertainment. Most important, it enabled former students to return
to the villages as teachers, where they diffused, beside the creed
of cultural resilience and renewal, new dances and standardized
versions of old ones.
Many of the performances are held at the amphitheater which can
hold up to 6,000 spectators, in a temple-like stage.
Each year, the Bali Arts Festival, beside the fed classical dances
of the island, such as the legong, gambuh, kecak, barong, baris,
mask dances and the like, is based on the theme around which new
"dance choreography" is produced and old village dances
and activities revived. Over the years, the whole range of classical
Balinese stories - Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sutasoma, Panji - have
thus been turned into "colossal" Sendratari Ballets.
The main challenge to the Arts Festival is obviously economic in
nature. As village life is increasingly feeling the strains of monetary
considerations, dancers, musicians and others cannot be expected
to continue participating simply for the sake and the pleasure of
it. As costs soar, new sources of financing have to be found. The
obvious answer is the private sector and in particular the tourism
industry. The greater task then is to convince the hotels, travel
agencies and tourist guides to be more participatory in the Arts
Festival rather than to their own sponsored events.
Considering the pride the Balinese have in their culture, and the
adaptability and dynism they have always demonstrated, this little
hurdle can be overcome. Trust the Balinese. They will eventually
succeed to transform their tradition into a modern, Balinese culture
of their own.
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