Dwi Mekar VZW 

I have had many Balinese dance teachers over the years. And Eka is one of the top teachers. She is not only a great dancer, but also a fantastic teacher and a very nice person. It is often quite difficult for people from other culture to understand the logic of dance and its music. Eka explains the timing of the movements very well. All of the members of Dwi Mekar have improved the dance technique thanks to Eka.

Some might say they want to take lessons in Bali itself, but I can assure you that to get a good quality lessons like Eka’s lesson is also very rare in Bali. Eka can also offer lesson online. She explains the movement in mirror image so that you can follow the lessons easily online.

Besides dance lessons, Dwi Mekar offers other opportunities like workshops, performances during parties. They have beautiful collection of dance costumes which will definitely give an added value to any events. I definitely recommend Dwi Mekar and I myself will surely continue dancing with Eka.

In een woord: Dwi Mekar is GEWELDIG. Ik leer echt balinese dans die ik nooit durf te doen omdat ik javaanse basis heb. Ze is professional en fun tegelijk. Ze is geduldig en duidelijk zowel live als online. Haar danskeuze is uniek. Online les is wel goed te volgen. Dus bedankt Dwi Mekar.

Hi mijn naam is Rania. Ik kom uit Jakarta. Ik doe graag dansen. Toen ik naar Nederland kwam (2014), voelde ik me echt eenzaam. Ik stopte met dansen tot ik Eka en Dwi Mekar ontmoette in 2016. Eka is een heel lieve Juffrouw. Ze leert mij Balinese dansen vanaf de basis. Ik vind het heel leuk om samen met Eka en Dwimekar te dansen. Niet alleen leren dansen maar ik heb nieuwe familie gekregen in Europa. Ik vind onze dans groep niet zomaar een dans groep maar echt een grote familie. Wij leren samen, wij houden van elkaar als familie, en wij zorgen voor elkaar zodat wij samen kunnen groeien. ☺️

I have been dancing together with Dwi Mekar for three years now and I truly believe it’s the way to go to get the closest insight of Balinese dance culture.

Over the three years I learnt various dances and was always fascinated about how diverse the themes of Balinese dancing can be: about nature, about mythical stories, about playful young couples...The teacher always comes up with something new to teach us, which kept on opening my new perception of Balinese dancing. I have learnt all the basic ones and a few difficult but very interesting ones, but I still have so much more to learn.

I like how the lessons were given in multiple languages, so I got to learn the actual vocabulary for dance movements in its original language. Seledet, agem kanan, tampak sirang pada,... I don’t speak a single word in Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa Bali but through the lessons I became more and more familiar with the terms of the movements that I could do. I think through the dances and the naming of them I feel more engaged and connected to the culture.

Learning new dances was not always so easy for me and I get easily frustrated by the unknowns. Luckily the teacher was always patient with me. She pays a lot of attention to what is difficult for us and spends time on rehearsing those parts with us. Maybe it’s also her lively character, we had a lot of fun in the lessons that drove my worries away.

Last but not least I absolutely love the yearly performances we did with everyone together. It always felt exciting to show others what we learnt during the year with full Balinese costumes and makeups on! It’s also the time of year where everyone gathers together.

I learnt much more from Balinese dancing. 

Ik volg al enkele jaren Balinese dansles bij Dwi Mekar en ik kom nog altijd met plezier naar de les. Eka, de lerares, heeft een passie voor het dansen en geeft deze passie ook door aan haar leerlingen. Met geduld leidt ze ons op tot ware danseressen. Om de zoveel tijd leren wij een nieuwe dans en blijven de lessen gevarieerd. Elke zondag (en donderdag online) komen we met jong en oud samen om te oefenen. De danslessen zijn niet alleen een sport maar geven ontspanning en een voldane zondag :)

Getting to know Eka, her family and dancegroup Dwi Mekar Belgium from Antwerp, Belgium.
I first saw her at the Tong Tong Fair Market a few years earlier. Very interested in the beauty of her dance and performance. Not only her appearance but also her friendly personality radiated from her attitude. And it turned out that a few years earlier I had met her at the Sluiskul Night Market and even took a photo together, but I didn't know her well because there were many dancers at that time.

At that time I thought that this Indonesian dancer was very good, exactly like a Balinese dancer, because her makeup and eye expressions were different from Balinese dancers in the Netherlands. I only saw a glimpse, and did not see the written info, because we were also dancing at that time. At the Tong Tong Fair I tried to talk to Eka and it turned out that she lived in Belgium. I thought it was too far to practice and there was no way I could join the Balinese lessons.

Since I've been working with Rima Totani, I found out that she takes online lessons with Eka and opens online Balinese dance lessons throughout the year.Through this info, I started learning again to improve my Balinese dance.

Eka is indeed a good teacher, patient, enthusiastic, disciplined and very happy to share her knowledge with us and especially Eka is a great Balinese dance teacher, clearly teaching with her friendly and sympathetic personality. It is also great to be present at the joint meetings in Belgium, which are held several times a year, in addition to practicing the dances that have been taught or performing together for the end of the dance course. Of course, delicious Balinese food is not left out.
It's a pity I can't attend them more often, because I also have performance activities that often overlap in time.

I can say: Eka is a good teacher, the best, and takes good care of her students, not only their dancing skills, but also their performance needs. Dancing with Eka is an unmistakable performance and I was amazed, when I asked Eka and her daughter Ayu to support my dance group.
Salute and success to Dwi Mekar Belgium, it should be known to everyone who loves Balinese culture with Balinese dance teachers.

Greetings culture from the Netherlands.