Javanese dance is the dances and art forms that were created and influenced by Javanese culture. Javanese dance is usually associated with courtly, refined and sophisticated culture of the Javanese kratons, such as the Bedhaya

Bedhaya

The bedhaya is a sacred ritualized dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta...

 and Srimpi dance. However, in a wider sense, Javanese dance also includes the dances of Javanese commoners and villagers such as Ronggeng

Ronggeng

Ronggeng is a type of Javanese and Malay social dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong...

, Tayub, Reog

Reog

Reog is a traditional Indonesian dance form.There are many types of Reogs in Indonesia, but the most notable ones are Reog Ponorogo and Reog Sunda . Although both share a similar name, there is no connection nor similar theme among these traditions...

, and Kuda Lumping

Kuda Lumping

Kuda Lumping is a traditional Javanese dance depicting a group of horsemen. Dancers "ride" horses made from woven bamboo and decorated with colorful paints and cloth. Generally, the dance portrays troops riding horses, but another type of Kuda Lumping performance also incorporates trances and...

.

Javanese dance is usually associated with Wayang wong

Wayang wong

Wayang wong also known as Wayang orang is a type of classical Javanese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of Ramayana or Mahabharata...

, and the palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta

Surakarta

Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

 due to the nature of dance being a pusaka

Pusaka

Pusaka is a Sanskrit word meaning treasure or heirloom.In Javanese Kejawen culture and the Austronesian cultures affected by it, known as the Malays, but most specifically the inhabitants of modern day Indonesia and Malaysia; , Balinese Bataks, Bugis, Manado, Minang, Moro, Pampangan, Taglog and...

 or sacred heirloom from ancestors of the palace rulers. These expressive dances are more than just dances, they are also used for moral

Moral

A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...

 education, emotional expression, and spreading of the Javanese culture.

Types of Javanese Dance

Javanese dance reflects the stratified hierarchy of Javanese society, and roughly can be identified within two mainstream of traditions:

1. Tari kraton (palace dances)
2. Tari kawulo (commoner dances)

Tari Kraton

The courtly Javanese palace dance is the type of dances that developed, nurtured and fostered by Javanese Kratons, mainly Yogyakarta Sultanate

Yogyakarta Sultanate

Yogyakarta Sultanate is a Javanese monarchy in the province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.-History:...

 and Surakarta Sunanate

Surakarta Sunanate

Surakarta Sunanate is a Javanese monarchy centered in the city of Surakarta, in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. The Surakarta Kraton were established in 1745 by Pakubuwono II. Both of Surakarta Sunanate and Yogyakarta Sultanate are the successors of Mataram Sultanate...

, the patrons of Javanese Mataram

Mataram Sultanate

The Sultanate of Mataram was the last major independent Javanese empire on Java before the island was colonized by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force in interior Central Java from the late 16th century until the beginning of the 18th century....

 culture. Javanese sultans are known as the patron and the creator of Javanese court dances.

Kraton dances employs sets of rules about certain dance movements, body and hand gestures that requires discipline to learn. Gamelan

Gamelan

A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....

 orchestra is the prerequisite for Javanese court dance performances as well as for other Javanese art forms such as Wayang

Wayang

Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...

 performances. The serene elegance, slow pace and constrains of its movements gave Javanese dance a meditative traits. Javanese court dances were heavily influenced by Javanese Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

-Buddhist legacy. As the result the costumes, jewelry and story, often reflects or based on Hindu epic tales of Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

 and Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

.

There are three basic types of courtly Javanese kraton dance:

1. Beksan putra – These are the dances for men, which serve two purposes: a military close-order drill and highlighting martial skills. Dancers may learn beksan putra dances to familiarize themselves with the movements for narrative dances.
2. Beksan putri – Putri is the Javanese word for female
   Female
   Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
   
   , and these dances include courtly dances designed for royal events with very precise movements and distinct staging with subtle layers of meaning. Such dances were often used for entertainment or courtship.
3. Beksan wayang – These are narrative dances from epic poems, and usually are named after the characters in them, usually an alus-style hero and a gagah-style villain.

Tari Kawulo

Also known as "Tari Rakyat", is the popular dances of the commoner. This is the type of Javanese dances that developed in villages or cities that located relatively quite far from Javanese kratons as the center of Javanese palace culture. Kawulo dances is lack in Javanese courtly dance discipline, constraints, and refinements. This type of dance relatively more open and adaptive to foreign influences.

Several dance is functioned as courtship or social dance, such as Ronggeng

Ronggeng

Ronggeng is a type of Javanese and Malay social dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong...

, Gandrung

Gandrung

Gandrung is a traditional dance from Indonesia. Gandrung has many variations and is popular in Bali, Lombok and East Java, among the Balinese, Sasak and Javanese...

 and Tayub, while others as celebratory dances such as Reog

Reog

Reog is a traditional Indonesian dance form.There are many types of Reogs in Indonesia, but the most notable ones are Reog Ponorogo and Reog Sunda . Although both share a similar name, there is no connection nor similar theme among these traditions...

 and Kuda Lumping

Kuda Lumping

Kuda Lumping is a traditional Javanese dance depicting a group of horsemen. Dancers "ride" horses made from woven bamboo and decorated with colorful paints and cloth. Generally, the dance portrays troops riding horses, but another type of Kuda Lumping performance also incorporates trances and...

. The movement of social dances, such as ronggeng and tayub are somewhat more vigorous and erotic, closely related to Sundanese

Sundanese people

The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...

 Jaipongan

Jaipongan

Jaipongan, also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people, West Java, Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and Pencak Silat movements.- Background :...

. Because of this erotic nuances, this type of dance often gained shady reputation as the dance of the prostitutes.