THE RECENT SITUATION OF PUPPET PERFORMANCE IN BALI

Leather puppet performance in Bali considerably so classical, either the figure of wayang (puppet) or the performance. The impression shows deeply that people has given a big appreciation in deed toward tradition culture. It is due to that tradition give a guarantee in regulation and quality such as awareness, belief, norm, and has been effectively used to inform and transmit all of values used today which come from the ideas and the thing in the past to build future. The big influence of tradition culture make them neglect to have an idea to change extremely, because tradition culture is supposed to have a power to obligate them in preserving the highly valued of Balinese culture to select many kinds of global influence. The global influence is impossible to avoided, but it has been creatively responded by art performance community, included here is a leather puppet, which make them able to keep “local wisdom” and “ local genius” which is taken from local culture. The dalang (puppet player) who come from academic institution or non-academic one, they are born from dalang inherited, or the mixture of both of tem, have been a big effort to make a reproduction of values and express them in contemporary and fresh puppet performance, but never leave Balinese logic, ethics and aesthetics. It seems that mentality of puppet performance doer and art performance keeper, have been in condition to keep taste of Bali as a strong foundation to make self expression. It is not too far if puppet performance to be one of manifestation as Balinese culture border