JAVA LANGEN
At
present, neither the bedaya nor the srimpi is so popular among the
majority of the people. However, they are still cultivated continuously
being given new choreographies and made more dynamic.
LANGEN
DRIYA
Literally,
the term langen driya comes from the word langen meaning entertainment
and the word driya meanig heart. In the world of Javanese dancing,
langen driya is a kind of wayang wong or dance-drama, the dialogues
being expressed by tembang or singing. The langen driya, which developed
both in Surakarta and Yogyakarta, presented only the story of Damarwulan,
the background of which is an historical event from the Majapahit
period.
In Surakarta the first langen driya was composed by Prince Mangkunegara
IV in the 19th century. In Yogyakarta langen driya appeared in 1876,
with Raden Tumenggung Purwadiningrat and Prince Mangku bumi, the
crown prince of the kingdom of Yogyakarta, as choreographers. Like
the wayang wong the langen driya, Surakarta and Yogyakarta styles
seemed to have a most favourable development.
Next there emerged in Surakarta other compositions of Javanese operas,
the langen asmara and pranasmara.
The langen asmara, which comes from the word langen meaning entertainment
and the word asmara -meaning love, is a Javanese dance-opera Surakarta
style, composed by Prince Prabu Widaya, son of King Paku Buwana
IX This Javanese dance-opera presents the love -story of Menak from
the period of Islam. A special .characteristic of this dance-opera
is that it is danced by woman dancers.
Pranasmara,
which comes from the word Prana meaning heart and the word asmara
meaning love, is a Javanese dance-opera, Surakarta style, I which
presents the Panji story, legendary story from the period of Kediri.
The pranasmara is also danced by girls. Having encouraged woman
dancers in various Javanese dance-operas, Surakarta style, the langen
driya, Surakarta style, is also danced by girls. Today Nyai Bei
Mardusari who used to be the leading langen driya dancer, in her
youth the queen of langen driya, Surakarta style, is still actively
teaching the younger generation dancing and singing.
LANGEN
MANDRA WANARA
In
Yogyakarta, at the end of the 19th century there was a composition
which resembled the langen driya called langen mandra wanara. Langen
mandra wanara comes from the word langen meaning entertainment,
the word mandra meaning beautiful and the word wanara meaning ape.
So, literally, the term langen mandra wanara means a beautiful entertainment
in the form of ape-dancing. In fact, the Javanese dance-opera, Yogyakarta
style, is a dance-opera presenting the story of Ramayana. In the
story of Ramayana, which describes the war between Rama and the
giant-king Rahwana or
Dasamuka, who has stolen Rama's wife Dewi Sinta, Rama was aided
by the ape-king Sugriwa and other ape-heroes among others Hanuman.
The langen mandra wanara, Yogyakarta style, is the product of the
art of Prince Danurja VII, vizier of the king of Yogyakarta. This
Ramayana dance-opera is performed in a squatting position. But since
the first half of the 20th century some groups have performed it
in a standing position following the same style of the wayang wong.
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