Saba Traditional Village Arts Exploration: Legong Bapang Saba Dance

As the name implies, Legong Bapang Saba is a legong dance with a style typical of Saba Village, created by I Gusti Bagus Jelantik in the 1930s. This dance depicts the beauty of two angels, Dewi Supraba and Wilotama. However, in terms of presentation, this dance emphasizes the loud character of a legong performance. So there is a harmonious blend in every movement of this dance that builds the beauty of the Legong Bapang Saba dance package.

In its performance, this dance is generally danced by two female dancers. However, this dance can also be created to be performed in groups because there is no difference in motion between one dancer and another. The costumes used in the Legong Bapang Saba dance are not much different from the costumes in the Legong Keraton dance with the dominant green color and using properties in the form of fans.

This dance is still often performed in various activities. One of them is in the series of Bali Arts Festival (PKB) XLV 2023 at the Art Center Denpasar . This dance can be learned by anyone from various age ranges. Starting from children to adults can learn this dance. In the past, this dance was even performed abroad such as Italy, Germany, London, and France.

Learning Legong Saba Dance (Source: Personal Collection)

Although it has existed since the 1930s, this dance is still growing and even continues to be passed down to younger generations today. One of the studios that consistently provides Legong Bapang Saba dance training to children in Saba Village in particular is Sanggar Saba Sari. Based on an interview with the dance coach of Sanggar Seni Saba Sari, I Gusti Ngurah Agung Giri Putra or familiarly called Gung Giri, he said that in the past, before becoming a studio, this community was called Sekaa Legong which had existed since 1911 and continued to develop until now into Sanggar Seni Saba Sari. The studio is intended for people in Saba Village who want to learn the arts, especially balinese dance.

Children who learn at Sanggar Saba Sari are free of charge, but there is a saving system in this studio, where the savings collected will later be given back to them for activities organized by the studio such as farewells or level increases for the needs of the event. Through this studio, children not only gain skills in the field of dance, but their character is also formed by being taught good ethics and being accustomed to saving money since childhood.

Saba Sari Art Studio (Source: Personal Collection)

The existence of this studio is a form of dedication from Puri in Saba as an effort to preserve arts and culture to children in Saba Village, especially to continue to preserve Saba's distinctive art, namely Legong Bapang Saba Dance. All children who are members of this studio will definitely be taught Legong Bapang Saba Dance, but the development of the child will be seen first. 

As a young generation, we should take part in the preservation of existing arts and culture. So that what has been passed down by our ancestors can remain sustainable and can be enjoyed by our future generations. Culture is a bridge between the past and the future that we must protect so that it does not collapse.