
Children Dancing in Bali
Practice, Performance, and Power
Jonathan McIntosh(Author)
Berghahn Books (Publisher)
Published on 1. May 2025
Book
Hardback
249 pages
978-1-80539-968-1 (ISBN)
Description
The question of power and agency between children and adults within the context of traditional Balinese dance remains multilayered. While adults exercise authority over children in formal settings, an alternative dynamic exists outside the confines of traditional performance contexts where children operate as artistic agents. In this illuminating ethnographic study of Balinese dance traditions, Jonathan McIntosh examines how children navigate the nexus of practice, performance, and power through the medium of Balinese culture. From structured dance classes to gatherings that embrace popular music, Children Dancing in Bali spotlights the creative potential of Balinese performance practices to negotiate identity and society.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Library binding
Illustrations
24 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
518 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80539-968-1 (9781805399681)
DOI
10.3167/9781805399681
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€24.49
Available for download

E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
Berghahn Books
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Jonathan McIntosh is an Associate Professor in Music and Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, based at Edith Cowan University. Focusing on questions of identity, movement, and music in anthropology and ethnomusicology, he has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Bali, Indonesia. His recent publications include chapters in The Routledge Companion to the Study of Local Musicking (Routledge, 2018), Global Perspectives on Orchestras: Essays on Collective Creativity and Social Agency (Oxford University Press, 2017), and The Routledge International Handbook of Intercultural Arts (Routledge, 2016).
Content
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Technical Notes
Introduction: Bali, Dance, Power
Chapter 1. Fieldwork, Experience, Language: Shaping the Ethnographer
Chapter 2. Continuity, Change, Creation: Children's Songs and Song-Games
Chapter 3. Community, Discipline, Control: Teaching and Learning Dance
Chapter 4. Preparation, Presentation, Power: Performing Dance
Chapter 5. Gender, Emotions, Landscape: Dancing Children's Barong
Chapter 6. Power, Agency, "Disco": Localizing Popular Music and Dance
Conclusion: Moving Through Tradition
Appendix: Dance Repertoire Commonly Taught at Sanggar Seni Mumbul Sari
Glossary
Bibliography
Preface and Acknowledgments
Technical Notes
Introduction: Bali, Dance, Power
Chapter 1. Fieldwork, Experience, Language: Shaping the Ethnographer
Chapter 2. Continuity, Change, Creation: Children's Songs and Song-Games
Chapter 3. Community, Discipline, Control: Teaching and Learning Dance
Chapter 4. Preparation, Presentation, Power: Performing Dance
Chapter 5. Gender, Emotions, Landscape: Dancing Children's Barong
Chapter 6. Power, Agency, "Disco": Localizing Popular Music and Dance
Conclusion: Moving Through Tradition
Appendix: Dance Repertoire Commonly Taught at Sanggar Seni Mumbul Sari
Glossary
Bibliography