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The awakening of a national consciousness bad a most advantageous effect on Indonesian dancing, as can be seen from the fact that court-dances which used to be enjoyed only by court circles and the nobility, spread among the common people. since early in the present century, court-dancing has been the monopoly of the court no longer but has become available to the majority of the people, whilst conversely, folk dancing has begun to receive proper

Since Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945, there are no longer inseparable rifts between the groups forming Indonesian society. This means that dancing is also undergoing a change, adapted to the social structure of the new Indonesian state, which is democratic in nature.
Since independence terms like court-dances and dances of the common people have ceased to exist. All dances are national dances belonging to all' the people, to the whole Indonesian nation.
As a result of this social structure, the court-dances which used to develop only in the courts and could be enjoyed only by the kings and the nobility, have become the property of the people. The feudal characteristics of the dances of the common people, which in the period of feudal society was of a lower level has now been raised, the dances being reformed by choreographers of the new and progressive generation, so that they become dance-compositions of high value, among others the the topeng dance, kuda kepang, golek and gambyong (both from tledek or ronggeng), and ketoprak,
It is worth noting that before independence, during the period of the National Movement, which had started in 1908 with the setting up of the organization of the Budi Utomo, dancing in Central Java had already begun a development in harmony with the national consciousness. In the period of the National Movement there were already signs that the gap separating the court and the common people, was being eliminated. Court-dances began to spread and develop among the common people.

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The forerunner of the movement to make court-dancing more democratic is the city of Yogyakarta. We may state proudly that the leading figures of the movement are' the nobility themselves and they have received all support necessary from the Sultan of Yogyakarta.

A great historical event in the world of dancing in Central Java took place on 17 August 1918, when a Javanese dancing association in Yogyakarta named Krida Beksa Wirama, was established. The leading figures in setting up the association were two princes who were brothers: Prince Suryadiningrat (grandfather of the writer) and Prince Tejakusuma, who were fully supported by their brother Sultan Hamengku Buwana XVIII.
Krida Beksa Wirama endeavoured to develop Yogyakarta court-dancing among the common people. Since 1918 court-dancing, Yogyakarta style, has become more democratic although it has the flavour of feudalism.

Prince Suryadiningrat and Prince Tejakusuma, with the help of other noblemen, have succeeded in removing the wall separating the world of court-dancing from the people. It is therefore not surprising that these two important figures in dancing were highly esteemed by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. In a