It was a historic moment for the residents of Bedulu village in Gianyar on Sunday; an opportunity for the people to once again see a rare performance of the village’s authentic dance, the Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum, or Butterfly Legong.

More than 50 young girls took part in this dance performance, which was held three days following the peak of the Pura Samuan Tiga temple’s Pujawali, or grand celebration.

Wearing white kebaya (traditional Balinese blouse) teamed with a long kamen cloth and yellow sashes, the girls looked angelic. They waited patiently for at least four hours before their performance.

Their mentor, Ni Ketut Arini, was happy all day. Together with veteran dancers Bulan Trisna Djelantik and Diane Butler, Arini had reconstructed the Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum dance with support from Gustiayu Widiani, Tu Asti, Ngurah Arya Astana and Shinta Dewi, who had actively recruited and trained young dancers from Bedulu village.

The Butterfly Legong reflects the subtle and gentle movements of a butterfly, using typical legong movements combined with abstract movements.

“The children learned this legong dance for one month. The dance is on the brink of extinction. The last performance was held in 1993, about 23 years ago. The previous dancers are already married. Even the song had vanished,” recalled Trisna.

The revival of Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum goes back to 1993, when Arini, a Balinese dance maestro, helped Hi Romi, a Japanese student, with research into the dance based on a recording made of legong dancers Jro Made Pukel and Ni Wayan Ciglek at Pura Samuan Tiga many years ago.

“From the video recording of the old legong maestros, I taught the Bedulu children the Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum dance,” said Arini.

Trisna, an accomplished doctor and member of Karangasem’s royal family, added that the dance was rich in philosophy.

“The dance portrays poetic and abstract movements as beautiful as a butterfly. The dance also reflects that despite its very short lifespan, the butterfly keeps flying happily.”

Sunday’s performance also presented Legong Baris Kekupu, another dance recently restored from near extinction by the dance maestro and preserved by the young dancers of Bedulu village.

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