Earth Dance: Novel

Earth Dance tells the story of four generations of Balinese women with conflicts arising from the demands of the caste system and personal desires. Our narrator, Ida Ayu Telaga, reveals how Balinese women wish to be beautiful and ultimately, find a husband from a higher caste group. When the stubborn Telaga defies her mother’s wishes and marries a commoner, her surroundings think this is a downward move. Behind their thick glossy hair and golden complexions, lies a web of jealousy and intrigue that bewilders Telaga: Is this what it means to be a woman? Earth Dance has been translated into German and published under the title Erdentanz.

• Oka Rusmini, Author

  Oka Rusmini’s works has received many awards. In 2003, Earth Dance received a literary achievement award from the Center for Language Documentation at the Ministry of Education. She is frequently invited to national and international literary events. In 1997 she represented Indonesia at the ASEAN Writing Program. She was also invited to the 2003 Winternachten Festival held in The Hague and Amsterdam. In 2003 she was invited as a guest writer at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her published works are as follows: Monolog Pohon (poetry collection, 1997), Earth Dance (novel, 2000), Sagra (short story collection, 2011), Kenanga (novel, 2003), Patiwangi (poetry collection, 2003), Warna Kita (poetry collection, 2007), Pandora (poetry collection, 2008) and Tempurung (novel, 2010).

• Rani Ambyo, Translator

• Thomas M. Hunter, Translator