Kecak Dance Perfomance in Ubud

Kecak is a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006.

Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 150 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

This was our favorite dance performance we saw in Indonesia. The chanting was very cool. The fire breathing men in the videos below really got the kids attention.

Our show was at night and the video is a little dark. Here is a daylight show I found on YouTube: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqke2IrdZxQ Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX1rghsOqu0&feature=related