Product Code Database
Oleg (), or also known by its conventional long name Oleg Tamulilingan or Oleg Tambulilingan) is a form of traditional Balinese dance originated from the Indonesian island of Bali which featured unique dance movements that symbolizes the wild life of , thus sometimes it is also colloquially known as 'Balinese bumblebee dance'.
The male and female dancers wear different costumes. The female is clad in a traditional fabric known as a prada, which is covered in gold paint, and has a long, sheer scarf to serve as her wings. On her head she wears a bouquet of flowers. The male dancer, meanwhile, wears similar fabric, which is arranged differently on his body so that it trails behind him. On his head he wears an udeng, a traditional Balinese hat, while in his hand he carries a fan.
Owing to its bee and garden symbolism, which Kartika Suardana suggests is intended to convey the message that "both sexes naturally need each other", oleg is often referred to as "the dance of the bumblebees". It is one of numerous animal-themed dances in Bali, a genre which also includes the cendrawasih (bird-of-paradise) dance.
Though initially controversial among traditionalists, as the female dancers had to raise their arms and expose their armpits to "fly", oleg was absorbed into the canon of Balinese dance. Young children, many of whom had previously danced legong, learned oleg. In his 2013 examination of the position of modern Balinese dance, Andrew McGraw considered oleg a now-classic kebyar dance. In Rough Guides, Lesley Reader and Lucy Ridout described oleg as "one of the most vivacious, humorous, and engaging dances of the Balinese repertoire".
|
|
