Behind the scenes at Devdan

As soon as we heard about the Devdan show in Bali we knew we just had to go. We love learning about the culture of a country and hoped to enjoy the fusion of traditional and modern dance with a Bali meets Cirque du Soleil style.  We didn’t just want to see the show, we wanted to see the transformation of the performers and preparation of the sets with a behind the scenes tour.

Despite the short notice of our request we received a confirmation from the lovely Echa confirming our media seats for the show and a private backstage tour beforehand. We had instructions to arrive early so we could go backstage, into the dressing room, etc.

The Devdan show is performed at the Bali Nusa Dua Theatre so we planned to have dinner nearby.

On our arrival at the theatre at the scheduled meeting time, we were welcomed by Echa and her colleague who took us through the welcome area through to the theatre. Once inside the theatre we saw the production team preparing the stage, testing equipment, etc.

We were directed upstairs to the rear of the auditorium and into to the control room. Here we met the technicians who explained the lighting and sound equipment to us and showed us the screens, audio devices and controls.

We made our way to the makeup room and were introduced to the performers who although busy doing their own makeup, took a brief moment to chat with us. We were permitted to take photos and I was mesmerised watching them quickly transform themselves without the assistance of make up artists.

From here we were taken onto the stage, where Echa took our photo and had the crew activate the turntable so we could do a full rotation. They showed us the stage props and the costume area where all the costumes are arranged in sequence to allow smooth costume changes.

When we were guided through each area, we had the technical equipment explained to us. We learned the theatre is equipped with a state of the art lighting system with 40 moving lights, a 90,000 litre pool, a centre stage turntable capable of rotating 360 degrees with 16 rotations a minute. The air conditioned theatre accommodates 645 seats and the layout ensures everyone has a good view of the show.

After the tour we went off to have dinner and on our return there was quite a crowd gathering for the show. We were welcomed to the theatre, posed for an entry photo and escorted to our seats by the ushers.

Indonesia’s many islands are home to the most diverse and intriguing cultures with over 300 ethnic groups, each with their own ethnicity, religion and history. Experiencing this show highlights the varying cultures across the archipelago without following a Bali tour guide around in a crowd of bored, sunburnt tourists. Indonesia’s motto “many, but one” is reinforced in the story of Devdan.  Combining pyrotechnics, waterworks, colourful costumes with song and dance, Devdan’s story is unity in diversity.

The set has stunning backdrops and a full indoor river and the choreography shows the skill and dedication of the dancers. We thoroughly enjoyed the aerobatics and wow factor of the show, but appreciated it more, seeing see the work that goes in behind the scenes to produce this jam packed production. This cultural stage extravaganza is put together for four performances a week, each lasting 90 minutes.

The performers undergo months of intensive training and are talent scouted from dance schools, competitions or auditions before performing with Devdan. Based on the reaction of the audience, my favourite part of the show is shared by many. That of the skill and dedication shown by the aerial ballet performed by a lovers using silks with breathtaking grace.

We were so excited and very privileged to be given this opportunity to go backstage and meet the cast and crew of the eye catching spectacle. After the show all patrons were invited to take souvenir pictures with the cast.

We can’t recommend Devdan enough, this high energy visual dance tour of Indonesia’s culture and diversity is a definite must see when in Bali. We are sure you will be entertained by this vibrant, colourful dance spectacular just like we were.

Disclosure: We were provided with complimentary tickets to the show but this is not a sponsored post. We want to thank Devdan for their hospitality and for allowing us backstage.

Have you been to Bali and learned about the culture?  Is Devdan a show you would see to learn more about the culture and Indonesian regions?

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