- PENDET Dance was just originally dedicated to welcome the coming down of deities on earth from heaven.
- In the long run, the function of Pendet Dance was extended to also welcome important guests
Until now, there have been many Balinese dances because the creation process continues, especially those that are contemporary. Of course, this enriched the existing classical dances. However, in terms of function, there are dances classified into entertainment and sacred or religious dances.
Pendet Dance, for example, is one of the classical and sacred dances performed during religious ceremonies at temples and other ritual processions. Hopefully, the personification of dance procession could further strenghten the belief of Hindus in God.
At first, the Pendet Dance was indeed functioned as a worship dance which was often performed in temples, the holy place of Hindus. This dance symbolizes welcoming the descending of the gods or bhatara and bhatari from heaven to this world to attend the ceremony.
This Pendet Dance is performed by women who are dressed in special pendet costumes or traditional Balinese clothes in white and yellow. They carry a bowl filled with colorful flowers or canang sari. This dance is performed en masse and is accompanied by the gamelan music.
In line with the current developments, Balinese artists then changed the Pendet Dance into a kind of ‘welcome dance’ to welcome important guests but still contains sacred-religious elements. This pendet dance was created by I Wayan Rindi and Ni Ketut Reneng from Sumerta Village, Denpasar, in 1950.
They both created a welcoming Pendet Dance with four dancers which was staged for tourism purposes in a number of hotels in Denpasar, Bali. In addition to welcoming important guests, this dance then becomes the opening dance in every Balinese dance performance.
When viewed in terms of movement and character, this dance shows a more dynamic movement than similar dances. This dance also contains expressions of joy, happiness, and gratitude which are manifested through soft, beautiful and stunning movements. This Pendet dance can be classified into a subtle female dance.
As a result of contemporary modifications, the Pendet Dance is then often performed at airports or hotels to welcome foreign tourists upon arrival in Bali. Ultimately, when they return home, the uniqueness and beauty of this Balinese dance disseminated through word of mouth to make it famous.
