What are Bali arts?

Music, dance, song, shadow theater, painting, wood carving, metalwork, architecture, stone sculpture, literature, plus friendship and conversation: Virtually every art form that civilizations have created finds its own uniquely and instantly recognizable Balinese expression on this small island in the vast Indonesian archipelago.

Topeng tua at the April 2013 odalan of the Pura Dalem Gde in Peliatan: Masked dance performance with gamelan gong kebyar music is an essential part of every Balinese temple festival.

I first arrived in Bali in January 1973 knowing virtually nothing about the island or its culture. I left in December after living in a small bungalow at Puri Agung Peliatan for most of that year. Bali had changed my understanding of the world and of myself, and I knew I would be back often.

This web site reflects the knowledge gained from friends in Bali and my experiences there over almost 50 years. It is still very much a work in progress that changes almost daily.

In September 1973, Dewa Putra Yasa, the 10-year-old son of my friend Dewa Batuan,
gave his first baris performance in public at the odalan of the Pura Desa in Pengosekan.