East Nusa Tenggara to Host Cross-Border Music Concert

The program of the festival will feature three mass traditional dances – Tebe, Likurai and Bidu – which are expected to be the highlight of the event. 

Tebe dance is very similar to Ronggeng dance when dancing couples also exchange poetic verses. Traditionally Tebe was a welcoming dance for warriors retuning home from war. The record number of performers dancing Tebe was recorded by the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) in October 2015 when 4,601 people joined the dance.

Likurai dance became especially well-known after it was performed at the 2018 Asian Games. It is one of the traditional types of war dances from Belu performed by male dancers with swords and female dancers with small kendang. Likurai is often performed at traditional ceremonies, important guest reception, art performances and cultural festivals. The record for Likurai dance was set up in October 2017 with 6,000 students from three regencies of NTT's cross-border zone performing the dance.

Finally, Bidu dance is typically performed by eight female and two male dancers. The dance tells a story of finding a life partner. 

Two years ago, the Cross-Border Festival drew in over 30,000 visitors and the local authorities of NTT's cross-border zone hope this time it will attract even more guests.

East Nusa Tenggara is the southernmost province of Indonesia consisting of over 500 islands the largest ones being Sumba, Flores and the western part of Timor.

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