Tari Remo

Tari Remo is a welcoming dance special from East Java which described dynamical characteristic of East Java Society as a picture of Prince's courage. It supported by Gamelan music and in this Gending there are Bonang, Saron, Gambang, Gender, Slentem, Zither, Flute, Ketuk, Kempul, and Gong with Slendro rhythm. Tari Remo is performed by a single dancer or by a group of dancers. Because the dancers are either men or women, Remo Dance has two styles: masculine and feminine. Very often women dancers perform masculine-style Remo Dance and men dancers perform feminine-style Remo Dance.
Tari Remo was originally danced at the beginning of ludruk performance, but later it is loosely developed into a dance performed at parties, folk festivals, or at the commemorations of national holidays. Remo Dance is perfomed to welcome guests and, therefore, it is called a welcoming dance.

The characteristic movements of the Remo Dance are the beats of the feet. A set of small bells is tied around the right-foot ankle. The bells tinkle when the dancer walks or beats the floor with his or her right foot. Beside the beats of the feet, the head movements, the manipulative play of the selendang or sampur, the facial expressions, and the postures of the dancers which conform the rhythm of the music, make this dance unique.

The costumes of a Remo Dancer are of various types: Sawunggaling, Surabayan, Malangan, Jombangan. The Surabayan costume consist of a red scarf tied around the head, a black upper outfit that resembles the outfit of an eighteenth-century noblemen with the royal insignia, a pair of velvet trousers which are knee-high and knitted with golden thread and gems, a piece of batik worn around the waist, hip and thighs, and rumpled in the front, a belt called stagen worn around the waist and a keris (a Javanese dagger). A dancer has two selendang or sampur, one of which is worn around the waist and the other which is worn on the shoulders. His or her right hand holds one end of the selendang, and his or her left hand holds the other end. The bells tied around the right ankle tinkle loudly.

The costumes of the Surabaya type are more or less similar to those of the Sawunggaling type. The difference is that the upper outfit of the dancer is a white shirt with a tie. The costumes of Malangan type are similar to those of the Surabaya type except that the trousers are longer, touch the ankles of the dancer and are not knitted with colourful beads. The costumes of Jombangan type are similar to the Sawunggaling type except that instead of wearing a white shirt the dancer wears a vest. The typical costumes of the dancers are difficult to differentiate, especially because of the new creation of Remo Dancer's costumes.

With feminine-style dance, the dancer has a unique hair-do, and wears a black mekak to cover the breast, a rapak to cover the hip to the knee, and a piece of selendang or sampur put across the shoulders. There are various kinds of womens' Remo Dance costumes.

The musical instruments used in the Remo Dance performance consist of bonang babok, bonang penerus, saron, gambang, gender, slentem siter, seruling (flutes), kethuk-kenong, kempul and gong. The various music that accompanies the dance can be gamelan laras or irama slendro or pelog. Various tunes used are Surabaya Jula-Juli, and Tropongan. Other tunes to accompany the Remo Dance are Walangkekek, Gedok Rancak, Krucilan or newly created gending. A Remo Dance performance lasts for fifteen or more minutes. In ludruk performances, a Remo Dancer sings a song in the middle of his or her performance.

Source : http://www.petra.ac.id/eastjava/culture/remo.htm