One month before the opening of Bintan Cultural Festival next March, Bintan Resorts made a try out of its dancers at Pasar oleh-Oleh (POO), taking chance of the Valentine's and Chinese New Year day. It was one of the most colorful dance fest in POO, big thanks to coreographer, teacher, and dancer mas Pur, whom the Company flew all the way from Yogya late last year.
The stage decoration was minimal, with a tint of batik, chinese lamps, and ang-pao trees. It would have been more impressive if they had changed the cheap white neon lights with a more warm-toned bulbs, but it was not that devastating.
The fest started with a few kindergarten and primary school performance, which were not that bad, considering the short (though) exhaustive training they had, and way above the average performance they usually showed during the Company's events.
The performance of the adults, Bintan Resorts employees BTW, were colorful. Smiles were everywhere during each move, although a few did it overwhelmingly wide and artificial.
But it was not before the Kuda Lumping dance that the crowd started to stare in awe. And nobody realized that they were the Fire-Safety team, specially prepared by mas Pur.
Now all they need is to fine-tune their moves to perfection, trim those fatty bellies, and they will be ready for the Festival.
See you all 13 March 2010 at the Reservoir Park for the opening!
For the Balinese Hindus, the Day of Silence, Nyepi, falls on the Balinese Lunar New Year. And although the Balinese community in Bintan Resorts are far away from their hometown, this ritual is not forgotten.
The day started early. By 16:30 final preparation can be seen in the only Balinese Temple in Lagoi. 
Offerings were arranged, scents were burnt, and the umbrella for the God was opened. It was, after all, a very hot day.
I have always been fascinated by the richness of both color and variety of the offerings. It is said that the offerings made the bulk of the budget. And there are no regrets.
The individual prays when they delivered the offerings, were elegant. There is little wonder why the Balinese are such talented artists.
The way they hold the flowers with their fingers, the position of their palms, the head, and the bow, were all so gentle yet you can feel the seriousness in the pray.
And so the Ritual of the Day of Silence was begun.
The Opening Ceremony of this 10-days event was a success. It took place in Bintan Resorts Amphitheater last saturday. The opening was done by the Regent of Riau Archipelago. The main performances were fluid, seamlessly flowing one after another. Apart from the Balinese dance, they were performed professionally. These are the highlights (that I like).
The Master of Ceremony was good, I felt the interaction with the audience. He even threw jokes a few times.
Kalimantan dance, performed by the dancers of Nirwana Gardens Resorts.
Tari Betawi by the ladies of BRC.
Tonight: Balinese Ceremony and Ogoh-Ogoh parade. See you all at the Township.
