Gandrung

Gandrung (; Osing: ; ; ) is a traditional dance from Indonesia. Gandrung has many variations and is popular in Bali, Lombok, and Eastern Java among the Balinese, Sasak, and Javanese (especially the Osing Javanese). The most popular variation is gandrung from the Banyuwangi region in the eastern peninsula of Java; thus, the city is often referred to as Kota Gandrung, or "the city of gandrung". Originally a ritual dance dedicated to the goddess of rice and fertility, Dewi Sri, it is currently performed as a social dance of courtship and love in communal and social events, or as a tourist attraction. The Gandrung Sewu Festival is held at Banyuwangi annually.

== Descriptions == thumb|left|upright|Gandrung dance performance in Balinese manuscripts. A collection of the University of Leiden, Netherlands Gandrung derives its name from the Javanese word for "love". It is theorized that the dance originated as a ritual dance to express the people's affection for the rice goddess Dewi Sri, with trance and as a kind of fertility dance. However, it has now lost its ritual connotations, especially among the Muslim Javanese and the Sasak. The dance has evolved into a social dance describing a girl looking for love companions. The dance has thus been de-ritualized and has mostly lost its connections with the rice goddess.