Yes, being spiritual, a dancer and male is not so rare. But if you don’t really dig the Swan Lake classical ballet style of “dudes in tights” and prefer to go for something a little more exciting how about the ancient Kuda Kepang?
The basis to the Javenese Kuda Kepang is that human beings need Spirit in their lives. Humanity has searched for Soul for eons, we want to feel it flow within, lead us to happiness and breakthrough our boundaries as a result of its presence. One of the most interesting aspects of the “Kuda Kepang” is that it does just that, it brings Spirit presence to lives, and perhaps that is why it has made a recent come back.
The dance itself is based on totemic worship; its style is spirit possession and deep trance. To get to that stage mock horses made of bamboo and cane are ridden in an attempt to morph the nine 15th century Muslim evangelists who wanted to draw attention to Islam by going around villages dancing on horses! Result? The dance still is one of the most incredible expressions of the human spirit known to man!
The dancers become possessed by the soul of the horse, and end up being in such a profound state of trance their exotic rendition of ancient battles with much action to boot, are more than convincing. Interestingly, the dance would make the Guinness Book of Records seem like a shopping list because when it comes to the Kuda Kepang it is not a case of mind over matter but of mind transforming matter.
The Quazen website tells us to watch out for the “Kuda Kepang dancer eating broken glass, jumping three meters high, making coconuts fall off trees at the mere wave of a hand, and walking over a tightrope even though the dancer has never been trained as a trapeze artist.”
Granted, these guys took years to master those deeply spiritual moves, and yet they still need the guidance of their “Danyang” a sort of “dance manager” who keeps them in place by cracking a whip! Even if the Danyang bears some resemblance to your personal trainer on a bad day, do not be discouraged, because it has to be said that this is still “the mother of all dances!”
Another odd element to the dance is that if the musicians stop playing, the Kuda Kepang dancers attack the band! Not the sort of caper you want to get up to at the Annual Golf Club Ball, but impressive certainly!
Other than horsing around, these guys have got their finger on the spot. Scary for sure, disturbing certainly, but something to get your soul engaged. Or perhaps you just prefer some basic cheek to cheek with your honey. You could try getting all tranced out to give the dance more verve. Nothing like getting into some new dance steps to up the vibe! But don’t start leaping into the air for goodness sake!
