Holiday Ayo - Indonesia has a variety of traditional cultures and arts. One type of Indonesian culture that is interesting to follow is the art of traditional dance. The Riau Archipelago as a part of Indonesia also has a distinctive dance called the Melemang Dance. Melemang Dance is an energetic dance performance art from the Riau Islands.

Melemang is a classical dance that has been performed since the 12th century. This dance was born as a palace dance performed within the scope of the Bentan Kingdom, a kingdom that once existed in the Bukit Batu area, Bintan. Served at certain times as an entertainment dance for kings and rulers in the royal environment at rest. Because it is danced in the palace environment, this dance is performed by the princesses of the Bentan kingdom.

This dance is usually played by 14 dancers consisting of women and men. They play their respective roles. The roles of the king, empress, and princess are each played by one person. Four people act as musicians, one person acts as a singer, while the remaining six people act as dancers.

source: Baca

Each dancer wears a typical Malay costume according to their respective roles. For tops, female dancers usually wear long brackets. As for the subordinates, trousers are combined with Malay songket cloth made like skirts and belts. The head is decorated with edits in which a long cloth such as a scarf is tucked from the dancer's body to the waist. Male dancers also wear long brackets as tops. But for his subordinates, they wore trousers wrapped in Malay songket.

This dance is performed to the accompaniment of music and typical Malay songs. The song that is sung is a Malay song with a lively and cheerful tone. This Malay song tells about the life of a king in a kingdom. The song is an accompaniment of the entire series of movements that are danced. The musical instruments used are accordions, gongs, violins, and drums. This dance is performed for an hour.

According to Malay dance observer Haliz Zefri, the choreography of this dance combines zapin, dance, and host movements with a dynamic pattern and requires excellent stamina. "This dance highlights the character and beauty expression of Malay women who are energetic and gentle in appearance and are more attractive to watch," said this dance scholar from the Indonesian University of Education in Bandung.

source: Sering jalan

The climax of this dance, according to Zefri, occurs when the dancers form a circle and perform acrobatic attractions by taking postures as if they were in love. The kayang position is the position of the body made almost parallel to the floor surface then arched with the face looking at the sky and resting on the hands and feet that support the body’s weight when bent. The arched body is then pushed upward to form an arc. Movements like this require special skills. Understandably, in the local language, it means curved or kayang.

In a kayang position like this, dancers at the time as a palace performing art had to pick up objects that were placed on the floor, such as handkerchiefs. However, in their current appearance when it is used as people’s entertainment, in a kayang position they must be able to take not only handkerchiefs, but also banknotes or coins that the audience throws onto the stage. Currently, the dance is often presented at official government events and cultural festivals of the Malay people in Bintan and Riau Islands every July and August.

Although the Riau Archipelago is close to Singapore and Malaysia, it does not dampen the people to keep their ancestral culture. Melemang dance has been sustainable from the past until now.