Balinese mask dance – Tari Topeng Keras (martial, authoritarian ruler)

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Dancer: I Made Djimat
Topeng Keras (Kras) is a powerful ruler, his character is wild and boisterous. He is too grand to talk, that's why the dancer wears a complete mask.
Topeng (Indonesian for "mask") is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance in which one or more mask-wearing, ornately costumed performers interpret traditional narratives concerning fabled kings, heroes and myths, accompanied by gamelan music.
It is believed that the use of masks is related to the cult of the ancestors, which considered dancers the interpreters of the gods, the masks have a mystic power that influences the performance of the dancer.
The actor moves creatively, either leading or following the gamelan music, to suit the expressions of his mask, which at first appear static and neutral yet once animated, takes on a multitude of emotions.