Arja
Arja performance in 2020
Types	Traditional theatre
Ancestor arts	Balinese
Originating culture	Indonesia

Arja ( Balinese: ᬅᬃᬚ), also known as Balinese opera, is a popular form of Balinese theatre which combines elements of opera, dance, and drama. ^[1] It was created in 1825 for the funeral of a Balinese prince. In the beginning it had an all-male cast; since the 20th century all performers (including those playing men) have been women. ^[2]

The Panji tales are the most important plot material. Since the 20th century, Arja performances have also enacted Balinese mythology and legends as well as Indian ( Mahabharata and Ramayana), Chinese, Arabic, and more recently, western and contemporary Indonesian stories. ^{[1] [2]}

Singing and stylized dance movements are accompanied by gamelan music played with two bamboo zithers called guntang. ^[1]

See also

• Balinese theatre
• Balinese dance
• Balinese culture
• Theatre of Indonesia

References

Further reading

• Coast, John . 1953. Dancers of Bali . New York : G.P. Putnam; reissued as Dancing Out of Bali, Periplus Editions, 2004.
• Dibia, I Wayan. 1992. Arja: A Sung Dance Drama of Bali: A Study of Change and Transformation. PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles .
• Dibia, I Wayan and Rucina Ballinger. 2004. Balinese Dance, Drama, and Music. Singapore: Periplus.
• McPhee, Colin. 1966. Music in Bali. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
• Zoete, Beryl de & Spies, Walter. 1973. Dance and Drama in Bali. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.