Bedhaya

Bedhaya

The sacred dance of Bedhaya Ketawang
Native name	Javanese: ꦧꦼꦝꦪ, romanized: bedhaya
Genre	Traditional dance
Instrument(s)	Gamelan
Inventor	Javanese
Origin	Indonesia

The bedhaya (also written as bedoyo, beḍaya and various other transliterations) (Javanese: ꦧꦼꦝꦪ, romanized: Bedhaya) is a sacred, ritualised Javanese dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Along with the srimpi, the bedhaya epitomized the elegant (Javanese: ꦲꦭꦸꦱ꧀, romanized: alus) character of the royal court and became an important symbol of the ruler's power.

The bedhaya has different forms in the two court cities, the bedhaya Ketawang in Surakarta (Solo) and the bedhaya Semang in Yogyakarta, the latter of which has not been performed for more than 20 years. The Solonese dance continues to be performed once per year on the second day of the Javanese month of Ruwah (May), to commemorate the ascension of the current Susuhunan (prince) of Surakarta. Nine females, relatives or wives of the Susuhunan, perform the dance before a private audience. An invitation to anyone outside of the inner circle of the court is a considerable honor.^[1]