The Lenggang Nyai dance is a new creation dance inspired by a folk tale of the Betawi people in Jakarta which was created from the life story of Nyai Dasimah.
Historically, this Lenggang Nyai Dance was created by a dance artist named Wiwik Widiastuti. The name Lenggang Nyai Dance itself comes from the word "lenggang" which means "wandering - lengok" and the word "nyai" which is taken from the story of Nyai Dasimah.
According to the story, Nyai Dasimah was a beautiful woman from Betawi who was in confusion about choosing her life partner. At that time he was faced with two choices of men of different nationalities, namely the Dutch man and the Indonesian man. After much thought, Nyai Dasimah chose a Dutch man named Edward William. After marriage, Nyai Dasimah's life changed.
The existence of rules made by her husband made Nyai Dasimah feel constrained. Feeling deprived of her rights as a woman, Nyai Dasimah decided to rebel and fight for her freedom. The struggle for women's rights made Wiwik Widiastuti inspired to create this new dance to commemorate Nyai Dasimah's struggle to fight for her rights and freedom as a woman.
This movement in the Lenggang Nyai Dance depicts the characters and stories of Nyai Dasimah. In the show, dancers dance with agile movements that depict the cheerfulness and flexibility of Betawi girls. This agility can be seen from the movements of the dancers' body, feet and hands that move dynamically. In addition, there is a movement from one side to the other which illustrates Nyai Dasimah's confusion when making the decision to choose her life partner.
The moral values ​​in the Lenggang Nyai Dance are a message for women who are making life choices. The Lenggang Nyai Dance conveyed a message especially for women to become women who have principles. This principle must be strong and a woman must have the courage to make decisions and face the risks of her own choice. More precisely, choose a life companion that comes from God (pray a lot and draw closer to God, His ways will undoubtedly be shown).