ABSTRACT
Malay social dance conceived through the mixing of eclectic and syncretic forms and styles is autochthonous (derived from the place it was found) and allochthonous (originating somewhere other than where it is found) in origin. The two mainstream social dances, zapin and ronggeng, have evolved diachronically and synchronically to the present time. Shaped through allochthonous-autochthonous processes, the eclectic Malay-Hadrahmi Arab zapin and the heterogeneous synthesis of Malay-European-Asian ronggeng have kept to their original forms and styles befitting contemporary nuances and aspirations without losing their fundamental performative aesthetics.
