Kadek Suardana
Sebagai daerah yang tersohor dengan aktivampiritas seni dan budayanya, Bali memperoleh liputan yang luas dari media massa. Namun kerap yang mengemuka adalah pemberitaan-pemberitaan...
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Born in Denpasar 1956, Kadek Suardana finished his secondary education at the Conservatory of Traditional Music (KOKAR) and continued to study at the Academy of Indonesian Arts (ASTI) but dropped out after the first semester. After spending some time in Jakarta gaining knowledge and experience on theater production, he settled in Bali again, and from 1980 to the early 1990s, he headed a contemporary theater group called the Sanggar Putih. It was during this time that with his fascination with Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he began producing several versions of the play. He also worked independently as composer and dramaturge for the Australian based The One Extra Company’s production Dancing Demons (1990) based on the Ramayana, and as composer for Goetenberg Opera Ballet (Sweden) for their production Bima (1996). In 1998, he composed the soundtrack for television drama Api Cinta Antonio Blanco (Jatayu Cakmawala Films) for which he received the VIDIA Award at the Festival Sinetron Indonesia. In the same year, he founded Arti Foundation the Arti Foundaton with Gde Aryantha Soethama, Dewa Gede Palguna, and Ulf Gadd. Under his direction, Arti Foundation has produced various innovative performances based on the traditional arts such as the Gambuh Macbeth (1998) Ritus Legong (2002) , Tajen I (2002) and Tajen II (2006). Since 2002, Kadek Suardana has also been active in giving workshops of Balinese dance at various educational and cultural organizations in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture of Japan.
Gde Aryantha Soethama
Born in Klungkung, Gde Aryantha Soethama took an early interest in writing when he started writing poetry as a teenager. He went on to write short stories and essays, and started writing for major newspapers and journals in Bali and Jakarta. After working as a journalist, correspondent and chief editor, he became a freelance writer specializing in short stories and journalistic writing. Two of his short stories have been chosen by Kompas (1993 and 1994) and have been translated into English. His novel Pilihanku Guru received first prize in a novel-writing competition organized by the Bali Post, and has been published by Gita Nagari (Yogyakarta) under the title Senja di Candidasa (2002). HIs other novel Wanita Amerika Dibunuh di Ubud, and compilations of short journalistic essays Basa Basi Bali, Bali is Bali, and Bali Tikam Bali has been published as Buku Arti. Gde Aryantha Soethama was awarded the Katulistiwa Award in 2007.
Dewa Gede Palguna
Dewa Gede Palguna was born in 1961 in a remote village of Bangli where ‘there was electricity only from the beginning of the 1990s’. After graduating from the faculty of law at Udayana University majoring in constitutional law, he was recruited as a lecturer at his alma mater. He completed his masters degree in international law at Padjadjaran University in Bandung. Palguna was deeply involved in the clamor of the reform movement in Indonesia, and after the collapse of the New Order regime, he was appointed as one of the five persons representing the Regional Delegation of Bali to the Peoples Consulative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (MPR). At the same time, he was also recruited as a member of the first ad hoc committee of the Assembly’s working body concerning the amendment of Indonesia’s constitution. In 2003, at the age of 42, he became the youngest to be appointed judge at the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) where he served until 2008. In 2000, a compilation of his writings covering a wide range of issues has been published under the title Parlmen Litere (Bali Mangsi Press). His other writings Mahkamah Konstitusi, Judicial Review, dan Welfare State, Nationalisme: Identitas & Kegelisahan, Saya sungguh Mencemaskan Bali have been published by Sekretariat Jenderal dan Kepaniteraan Mahkamah Konstitusi. Currently, he is a Ph.D candidate at the Indonesia University, and has returned to his position as lecturer at the Udayana University.
Ulf Gadd
Swedish dancer and choreographer Ulf Gadd started to study the ballet at the age of eight. In 1960, he joined the Royal Swedish Ballet and was appointed soloist in 1965. In 1967, he went to the New York Harkness Ballet. The following year, he returned to his native city of Goethenburg, where he created The Miraculous Mandarin. On the basis of its success, Ulf, along with his colleague Conny Borg, decided to found a new company, the New Swedish Ballet. They were invited to perform in Paris and London. Meanwhile, The Miraculous Mandarin was on the repertory of the Royal Swedish Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre (with Bruhn and Makarova playing the leading roles) and the German Opera Berlin. In 1967, Ulf Gadd won the prestigious Nijinsky Prize. Between 1976 and 1988, he was the director of the Goethenburg Ballet and brought the company to international claim with his highly prized ‘dance theatre’ productions. In 1988, he entered the Academy of Indonesian Arts (ASTI) in Denpasar, Bali, and in 1999, he was appointed as a regular teacher. In 1996, he was called back to Sweden to direct the ballet in the brand new Goteborgs Operan for three years. During this time, he created a colossal production based on the story of Bhima Swarga in collaboration with Kadek Suardana, and at this return to Bali in 1998, with Kadek Suardana, Gde Aryantha Soethama and Dewa Gede Palguna, he founded the Arti Foundation. Ulf Gadd passed away in Bali in June 2008. He will always be in our thoughts, and we will never forget his love and dedication for the culture of Bali.
I Made Pria Dharsana
