JAKARTA ~

During her foremost visit, 25-year-old Japanese citizen, Emiko Nakai, was interested in Balinese arts and culture alike any other tourist visiting Dewata Island for the first time.

However, her love for Balinese arts and culture has deepened over the course of time.

“After I learnt about Balinese arts and culture in detail, I found happiness and tranquility,” Emiko said.

Emiko who was born in Yokohama, Japan, also has a Balinese identity, Ni Putu Sulasmi. She along with 14 other Japanese women from the Wyarihita Dance Studio are showcasing their expertise in Balinese dance during the 36 Bali Arts Festival held in the Denpasar Culture Park.

Her interest in Balinese arts has evoked her love for the arts and culture of Dewata Island. The leader of Wyarihita Dance Studio, Ni Wayan Deni Inaba, has a Japanese husband, Takahisa Inaba.

Emiko, who owns a beauty salon in Japan, has mastered at least five Balinese dances after studying at the dance studio.

During the festival, Emiko showcased her swaying movements while performing Candra Metu and Tarum Butterfly dances in Wantilan Denpasar Culture Park. Though she once lived in Jakarta, but she has in-depth knowledge of Balinese dances.

After her return to Sakura country, Emiko signed up to learn Balinese dance in the Wyarihita Dance Studio in Yokohama as she lived in proximity to the place.

Although she knew a lot about the Balinese culture in Jakarta, but she had yet to learn the dance in the Indonesian capital.

Emiko stated that she has been learning Balinese dance for the past three years, and she is keen to learn other Balinese dances.

She was also interested in learning Balinese traditional musical instruments such as gamelan, which is played during dance performances.

“I am still learning Balinese dance and gamelan music in Japan. However, when I visit Bali, I directly learn about them from the local artist,” Emiko remarked here after performing at the Bali Art Festival in collaboration with the Mekar Sari Ubud Dance Studio.

The senior Balinese artist I. Nyoman Cerita remarked that he is delighted by the visit of Japanese artists and has proudly facilitated their necessities during the festival.

Cerita also supported and guided the foreign artists regarding dance and traditional percussion of Bali. He surmised that all the Japanese artists had successfully performed the Balinese dances during the festival.

All 15 Japanese artists performed their dances accompanied by 32 traditional Balinese percussion artists. Cerita revealed that many people came to watch the performance that lasted for 2.5 hours in the Denpasar Culture Park.

Two performances Emiko, who can speak Bahasa passively, has performed twice on stage in Denpasar Culture Park along with five other Japanese dancers: Yumi Takashi, Midori Kadooka, Masako, Kimura, and Fumiko Komatsu during their Tarum Butterfly dance performance.

The Tarum Butterfly dance philosophy depicts a group of butterflies flying around a flowery garden. They move in a dynamic and agile manner in tune to the music, that represents merriment of the performers.

During the second performance, the group performed Candra Metu dance, which depicts the moon in its first emersion in the night. Emiko along with Yumi Takahashi, Fumiko Komatsu, Deni Inaba, and Ni Putu Masrapini delivered the final performance of the festival that night.

The Candra Metu dance describes the beauty of the moon, in all its splendor, emerging in the night and spreading magnificence to the world.

It is difficult to compare the performance of Japanese artists to those by the Balinese women as their movements are really smooth akin to a butterfly in a flowery garden.

The five dances symbolize harmony, beauty, and peace. Ni Wayan Deni said she supports and teaches all the dancers in Japan so that they can perform gracefully.

The dancing team has conducted “Ngayah” or a traditional ceremony in two villages in Dewata Island to ensure success in the big event.

They have conducted “Ngayah” in the front yard of the temple in Pekrawan Mawang Village in Gianyar District on Wednesday evening. The second “Ngayah” was conducted in Pekraman Puaya Village in Gianyar District on Friday evening.

Ni Wayan Deni accompanies students keen to learn Balinese dance in Sakura Country to Bali in a bi-annual trip to conduct the performance. The current visit of 15 Japanese artists was the seventh since 2000.

They hope the Balinese Arts Festival can enhance the relationship between Japan and Indonesia through promoting the arts and culture sector, which has been well-established before.