The Creation Process of Gajah Barong Dance at Lingga Purbasari Studio, Baregbeg, Ciamis

Abstract

This study examines the creative process of Gajah Barong Dance at Lingga Purbasari Studio, Baregbeg, Ciamis, as a tradition-based dance work rooted in local myth and cultural memory. The research responds to the limited academic documentation of how local narratives are transformed into choreographic structures, symbolic performance elements, and contemporary artistic forms. Using a qualitative approach with a participatory ethnographic strategy and an ethnochoreological perspective, this study analyzes the relationship between creative practice, embodied experience, and the cultural context that shapes the work. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation involving the choreographer, musicians, dancers, and artistic elements of the performance. The findings reveal that the creation of Gajah Barong Dance proceeds through four interrelated stages: exploration, improvisation, evaluation, and forming. These stages do not operate linearly, but dynamically through continuous negotiation between ideas, movement experimentation, musical composition, visual design, and symbolic meaning. The study also shows that movement, music, makeup, costume, and properties are integrated as a unified dramaturgical system that represents the transformation of a commander figure toward physical strength, inner spirituality, and cultural identity. The novelty of this study lies in its documentation of a dance creation process based on the local myth of Gajah Barong and in its ethnochoreological reading of how artistic elements function as cultural signs within a contemporary performance context. This research contributes to the study of choreography, local cultural preservation, and performing arts scholarship by demonstrating that tradition-based dance creation is not merely an act of preservation, but also a reflective and creative process of cultural reinterpretation.