Kecak Dance Performance in Bali Retells Ramayana Story

A kecak dance performance took place in Bali as part of a weekly series where NPR's international team shares moments from their work around the world. The performance is a 20th century adaptation of trance-inducing Hindu ceremonies performed in Bali.

It retells one of the stories in the Ramayana, the Hindu epic poem. About three dozen men chant in syncopated rhythm without instruments. Their intertwining voices create the soundscape for the drama.

At the story's climax, the chanters light tufts of dried coconut husks. The orderliness of their rhythms disappears as they scatter and kick the flaming husks. The audience watches as the chaos soon dissipates along with most of the fire. The chanters settle back into rows, avoiding the dying embers.

The a cappella rhythm picks up again. The story resolves with the forces of good triumphing over the forces of evil. An NPR reporter who attended the performance said they left feeling soothed after being transported by the human voice into a fictional world.