The 35th Bali Arts Festival would not only feature traditional Balinese performances. Some arts performances will demonstrate collaborations between Balinese and foreign artists. People can see how the Balinese arts fuse with foreign arts. These international collaborations will highlight fusion performances between Balinese artists and those from the US, India, Korea and several European countries.
The festival will also feature performers from other locations in Indonesia and overseas. Some of the overseas participants include performers from India, Japan, the US, the UK and Timor Leste.
A cultural parade will mark the opening of the annual festival on the afternoon of June 15 and will take place at Niti Mandala Park in Renon. Thousands of performers will showcase their musical and dance talents clad in colorful authentic traditional Balinese costumes during this street parade. The official opening ceremony will be held in the evening, after the cultural parade, at the Ardha Candra, the main open stage in the Bali Arts Center with the capacity to seat 10,000 people. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to officially open the festival.
This year, the festival theme is Taksu (inner power). Therefore, the organizer would place traditional arts as priority instead of modern ones. Some reconstructed performances will be featured during the festival, in addition to existing forms. Amid the reconstructed performances is the Leko classical dance.
In addition to the arts and culture, the event will also feature a culinary festival, exhibition and competitions, fashion, flower arrangements and handicrafts. Visitors can enjoy traditional Balinese cuisine sold in the Arts Center complex, including the famed betutu (roasted chicken or duck cooked with Balinese spices), babi guling (roast pig), and lawar — a mix of vegetables, minced meat (pork, beef, chicken, or duck), chili, spices and grated coconut, and sometimes fresh animal blood. Suastika said that the culinary festival was aimed at promoting and preserving Balinese cuisine. An exhibition of Balinese handicrafts will also give visitors the chance to go shopping. Hundreds of local artisans will participate in the festival.
If you are in Bali during this period, this is really a "must see"
