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Tashi Dhondup,
1999, 2000
was born and raised in India and began dancing at the age of eight. At
age 12 he became the youngest member to join TIPA (Tibetan Institute of
Performing Arts) where he performed in operas and had the opportunity
to tour to Northern India for three months. He went on to further his
training in Tibetan dance, music and opera, and in 1989 became a Junior
Artist at TIPA and went on his first tour abroad to Scandinavia. He has
performed in Europe and the United States and was featured in Martin Scorsese's
film, "Kundun". He is a virtuoso performer of the six-stringed
darnyn and is also developing his skills as a playwright and filmmaker.
Tsering
Dorjee (Bawa), 2000
was born
in Shimla, India, and is a distinguished Senior Artist at TIPA (Tibetan
Institute of Performing Arts). He has been active as a performing artist,
specializing in Tibetan Folk and Monastic dance. Dedicated to the preservation
of Tibetan arts in exile, he is also a research scholar at TIPA. He has
been on numerous cultural exchange programs, including performances in
the Netherlands and a World tour as a dancer and musician. In addition,
he has been featured in Eric Villi's film "Caravan" as well
as Martin Scorsese's "Kundun".
Keremane Shivanand
Hegde, 1996
is from Karnataka, where he is the fourth generation of his family to
perform the Uttar Kannada style of Yakshagana, a traditional South Indian
theatre form. He is adept at performing both male and female characters,
which is a rare skill in this art form. In 1985 Shivanand left Karnataka
to enter the Natya Institute of Choreography in New Delhi, studying choreography
and Kathak under the direction of Maya Rao. This program gave him a foundation
in various folk and classical performance traditions from other parts
of India. Between 1990 and 1992 he was supported by an Indian government
scholarship for cultural workers. After achieving distinction in the art
circles of Delhi, he returned to his home in Karnataka and became one
of the leaders of the renowned company, Sri. Idagunji Mahaganapaati Yakshagana
Mandali, Keremane. He has toured with the company internationally.
 Ettumanoor
Parameswaran Kannan, 2000
is a performer
of traditional Kathakali from Kerala, India. He began studying this remarkable
theatre form in 1976 under the late Kalanilayam Mohankumar. In 1989 he
studied facial expression under Padmasree Mani Madhavachakyar and continued
into higher level training in Kathakali under Kalamandam Vasu Pisharody
from 1990 to 1993. He has won numerous awards for his Kathakali performance
and has performed in the United States as well as many other areas both
inside and outside of Kerala. He has also been engaged in the development
of new creative works that incorporate Kathakali techniques and is currently
a researcher in the International Centre for Kerala Studies at the University
of Kerala.
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| "The
cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach has opened my mind and
settled in my subconscious in such a way that I find myself looking
at life and art in a more conscious and fresher way." Vinay Kumar |
Vinay Kumar,
1996, 1997
Born in South
India, Mr. Kumar is a dancer, actor and director who studied theater at
the School of Drama in Calicut University in Kerala. He won a first prize
for his direction of the play ‘Stree’ performed by the
Women’s Polytechnic Campus Theatre. In 1992, he joined the Ankanam
Theater Company where he studied several different traditional Indian
performance genres including Kalaripayattu, Kathakali and
Kootiyattam. He has given theatre workshops in voice and movement
training and acted in a short film on environmental preservation. As an
independent artist, he is working to create a new contemporary Indian
theatre style.
Koyppa Sarada
Narayanan,
1997
Known professionally
as Painkulam Narayanan Chakyar, Mr. Narayanan was born in Kerala to the
distinguished Chakyar family of traditional storytellers and actors of
Sanskrit drama tradition of Kootiyattam. Having studied from the
age of ten under the late guru Painkulam Rama Chakyar, who is credited
for the revival of the art form, Mr. Narayanan has participated in several
key cultural events, including the prestigious Kootiyattam Festival
held in New Delhi. He has traveled internationally, conducting several
workshops, as well as co-directing the experimental production of Bhasa's
Swapnavasavadatham (produced by Darpana Academy, 1992). As his
family holds the rights to conduct Kootiyattam performances at
various temples, he perpetuates the tradition by teaching the younger
generations that will follow.
 Sonam
Phuntsok, 1999
was born in Gangtok, North Sikkim. He has studied at TIPA since 1976 and
has a Masters degree in Tibetan music and religious/monastic dance. He
has toured Europe, Asia and the United States since 1986, and every year
since 1991 he has performed leading roles in the Opera (Shoton) Festival.
With Hubert von Goisern, he produced a CD as well as an audio record (a
blend of western and Tibetan folk songs) and played a leading role in
Martin Scorsese's film "Kundun" as Reting Rinpoche. Sonam has taught Tibetan
folk music and monastic dance at the Middlebury College in Vermont and
has been an opera (Lhamo) teacher at TIPA since 1995.
 Tombisana
Rajkumar, 1999
is a Manipuri martial artist and theatre director from Imphal, India.
Over his professional career, he has used the traditional martial arts
of Manipur known as Huyen Lallong (or popular term Thang Ta, the art of
the sword and the spear) to enhance the performance of his actors in an
effort to create a new contemporary Manipur style of theatre. Tombisana
is an actor and theatre director with the Forum for Laboratory Theatres
of Manipur, and has studied under the guidance of G. Gourakishore Sharma,
Thang Ta with Guru S. Devabrata, and ritual in martial arts with Guru
M. Ebotombi Singh. He received a B. Sc. from Gauhati University and has
taught at the National School of Drama in New Delhi. His international
experience includes workshops for British actors on martial energy and
trance and a 1997 intercultural production of "MacBeth" in London, England.
He has toured Japan, and has presented programs, demonstrations and workshops
in Manipuri martial arts for international festivals in Calcutta, London
and Dusseldorf.
 S.S.
Kalai Rani,
1997
An actress trained
at the Chennai Film Institute as well as at the Tamil Nadu Government
Music College, Kalai Rani applies her performing arts experience to
her work as the resource person at the Children’s Theatre Workshop/Koothu-p-pattarai
Theatre Group in Tamil Nadu. Though her formal training focuses on the
traditional Indian disciplines such as Kootiyattam, Karnatik music and
Thala, Ms. Rani has also worked extensively in Western theater productions,
thus expanding her range of cross-cultural performance forms.
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