Music and Dance

The famous performance in Padang is the tari piring or plate dance, in which dancers skillfully dance on pottery without hurting themselves.
Another dance is tari payung (umbrella dance) portray a young mans loving protection for his girlfriend.

The graceful Tari lilin (candle dance) is performed by girls who rhythmically juggle and ballance china saucers on which lighted candles are stuck and clicking ring castanets at the same time.

Another famous performance is Pencak silat (The minan form of martial art) that feared and admired all over Indonesia, Beside dance, Minangkabau culture is rich with traditional music performance, from intimate flute and vocal music through to large-scale drum ensembles. Music of Minangkabau feature gong chime ensembles are known locally as Talempang