Legong is a classical balinese dance group that has so many and very complex motion tied with percussion accompaniment structures said to be the influence of gambuh. The word comes from the word Legong itself, consisting of “Leg” which means a elastic or flexible dance, and “Gong” which means or refers to the gamelan. Legong thus implies a bound dance (especially its accentuation) by the accompanying gamelan. The gamelan that used to accompany the dance called Gamelan Semar Legong Pagulingan.

This is classical dance which is usually staged in the palace courtyard to entertain the king. It is performed by three girls dancer in colorful costumes. The story is adapted from classical story of King Lasem in which the arrogant King Lasem desired the unwilling Princess Lanke Sari whose father he plans to stay. King Lasem himself later killed in a battle.

In accordance with the onset, the standard legong dancers consist of two girls who have not had a period, danced in the moonlight in the palace yard. Both dancers are called Legong and they always equipped with a propeller as a assisted tools. In some other Legong dance there is a additional dancers, called condong, which not equipped with a propeller. The dance structures generally consist of papeson, pangawak, pengecet, and pakaad.

Legong developed in the royal courts of Bali in the second half of the 19th century. It is said that the idea started from a prince of Sukawati, during his illness saw two girls dancing gracefully accompanied by a beautiful gamelan in his dream. When the prince recovered from his illness, his dream was manifested in the repertoire of dances accompanied with a full gamelan.

In times, legong had lost popularity in the early 20th century by the rise of Kebyar form from northern Bali. Revitalization efforts began since the late 1960s, by digging back the old documents for reconstruction. Legong Kraton Dance once ussually staged in the palace courtyard to entertain the king. The story is adapted from the classical story of King Lasem in which the arrogant King Lasem desired the unwilling Princess Langke Sari whose father he plants to stay. King Lasem himself is alter killed in a battle.