The New Wave of Jaipongan Dance

Jaipongan is a dance style created in 1979 that blends folk dances with Pencak Silat, the martial art performance of West Java. After rising to wild popularity in the 1980s, the genre declined in the 1990s. Recently, a new manifestation of Jaipongan with more varied movement, music, and costumes has appeared in both formal and informal performances, locally and internationally. This article discusses the form’s background, the major innovators of the 1980s, and how it is returning to prominence.