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There are several dance traditions in the Malayo-Indonesian archipelago. They are quite diverse and reflect different cultures. The numerous and scattered islands of the region account for that rich variety. Owing to a common geographical setting and to past influences going mainly from Java and Sumatra, some common points can be seen between such and such dance tradition, even disparate ones.
The traditional dances can be divided roughly into three groups : tribal, folk and so-called classical. Some folk dances, like Zapin and Seudati, are of Islamic inspiration and derive from Malaya. The Western inspired forms, folk or modern, are more recent. They could be considered as a fourth group, as a number of them have mingled with the traditional culture.
It is to the so-called classical dances that gamelan is linked. These dances are found on Java, Madura and Bali. Other regions, such as Palembang and Malaya, had the same kind of dances too. Those of Java and especially Bali are famous worldwide. In history Java has been a major contributor to the region's dance, music and other cultural expressions. The most remarkable legacy lies in Bali.
If the mainstream of Java and Bali's tradition carries an inherent Indianized legacy, the exterior regions show a quite different picture. Indianization is less marked. The numerous islands are mainly the home of tribal dances. Some may have received some degree of Indo-Javanese influence. Many coastal areas have Islamic or Islamized performances.
The island of Sumatra, the Malay peninsula and the islands in-between know many dances and theatrical forms that are Islamic-related. Many derive from Muslim India and took their present shape in the Malay peninsula. Some have spread to various parts of Indonesia, including Java and sometimes through Java, resulting in scattered pockets typically situated on the coastal areas of the islands. Bali and other lesser Sunda islands further east haven't been reached. This coastal Islamic tradition may sometimes show some sort of Indo-Javanese and Western influences.
In the cultural history of Indonesia, the Islamized regions represent a more recent period, subsequent to the tribal and Indo-Javano-Balinese traditions. In the opposite direction, there is in Malaya a relatively recent offshoot of Javanese gamelan and dance (jogèt gamelan), but it did get overshadowed by the peninsula's Islamic and Westernized musical forms and dances. In Java and Bali, the Indic dance and drama tradition is still the principal one and is tied essentially to the gamelan tradition.
Compared to the tribal, folk and Western dances, the native Javanese and Balinese dances are clearly more sophisticated and profound. They are more deeply rooted in the heart of the locals, and more associated with the sacred, more than the other dances. Like gamelan music, they deserve a special attention and ought to get more treatment in studies and on the Web.
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