Tari Gambyong Paréanom

 

Gambyong Paréanom is a classical Central Javanese female dance, usually performed to greet guests at the opening of an auspicious ceremony or performance.

 

It may be performed as a solo piece, or by a number of dancers, and lasts for about fifteen minutes. It depicts a young woman (older than the young girl in Golèk), who has reached the age that she is conscious of her looks and enjoys making herself up in front of the mirror, in adorning herself and showing off her beauty, litheness and grace.

 

Gambyong was originally a genre of village dances, performed at celebrations and ceremonies like circumcisions and marriages. Its sensual overtones are still evident when it is performed at all-night dancing and drinking parties, where professional female dancers (who may also sometimes be prostitutes) are paid to dance with local men. However, when Gambyong was adopted by the Central Javanese palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, it was transformed and refined to fit the palace aesthetics and etiquette.

 

The photographs are of a performance of the Surakarta-style Gambyong Pareanom on the ballroom floor of the Royal Festival Hall on 3^rd. October 2004 as the opening dance of the South Bank Javanese Gamelan’s concert as part of the Listen Up! Festival of Orchestras 2004. This Gambyong Pareanom was performed by two Indonesian dancers, Ni Madé Pujawati and Yayuk.  The photographs show Ni Madé Pujawati in various poses and movements.