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Related to the Javano-Balinese dance tradition but situated outside the archipelago are two important “dance centers” : Cambodia and India.
Cambodia has greatly contributed to the dance and music we can see and hear today in its neighboring countries : Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Pre-sultanate India has been the big contributor to both Java and Cambodia during a long period. A tie existed also between Java and Cambodia : the island has left a significant influence on Khmer music and dance. The three regions, India, Java and Angkor, are like the vertices of a triangle. They have been strong centers in the history of tropical Asia.
To a large extent, the native Javano-Balinese dance tradition represents the Indonesian subset of the large Indian dance tradition of India and Southeast Asia.
When referring to ancient Javanese sculpture, of the kind found for example at the Prambanan complex or at the Båråbudur, most art historians speak of Indian sculpture although it is not situated in India nor crafted by Indians specially. It is because the sculpture is of Indian type, is Indian inspired, or has an Indian look. The same can be said for ancient Javanese literature, religion and other cultural elements. The later Javanese period, mostly centered on the island's eastern part, shows cultural and artistic differences, shifting to different styles. There is still a general Indian character but it is less outstanding. Unlike sculpture, ancient Javanese dance hasn't left concrete evidence of what it looked like. But some ancient Javanese reliefs can give clues because sculpture is linked to dance. In any case, a fair amount of the Javanese dance tradition, from ancient to present-day, can be called Indian dance just like the sculpture has been called Indian sculpture. The Indian influence is not limited to Java, it includes regions that experienced a Javanese impact, like Bali. Much court dance of Khmer origin can also be referred to as Indian dance.
We cannot naïvely take for granted that dance is identical in present-day Java, Bali and India. Comparisons are possible and there are obvious resemblances, but foreign dance traditions came to modify the dances in India while local dances in Java modified the Indo-Javanese dance.
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