The Balispirit Festival Team:
BaliSpirit Festival 2009 has been blessed with an array of amazing individuals whose vision, creativity, commitment, and hard work have led to this first ever Yoga, Dance, and Music festival in Bali – our offering of Love and Gratitude to the island and its peoples.
We are yogis and musicians, mothers and fathers, organizers and educators, artists and techno-geeks, business-people and people-of-faith. We are humbled by this opportunity to serve, and pray our efforts are a benefit for all sentient beings.
See below for the Motley Crew:
Meghan Pappenheim - Co-Founder & Festival Producer & Kadek Gunarta - Balinese Program Director
Originally from New York City, Meghan's questing spirit took her to Bali in 1992 where she met her husband Kadek Gunarta. Since then, Meghan and Kadek have created a vibrant group of inter-related companies in Ubud beginning with Tegun Galeri, a boutique featuring exotic crafts from all over Indonesia. Following the Bali bomb attack in 2002, Meghan launched a website to bring tourists back to Bali. Balispirit.com has since become the definitive site for Bali's growing holistic scene, attracting 150,000 direct hits a month. The website is also the vehicle through which Meghan coordinates a network of holistic venues and services around the archipelago. The BaliSpirit Yoga Barn, a beautifully crafted ricefield retreat in the centre of Ubud, opened early 2008. This welcoming venue promises to be the home space for many cooperative performances and gatherings of visiting performers and yogis, Balinese teachers and mystics. With the lessons and successes of the first BaliSpirit Festival behind her, Meghan and her team are already putting together the framework for a richer and more conscious raising festival for 2009.
Pak Kadek’s commitment and passion has helped ensure that the Festival represents the best of Balinese culture and music. His vision is to create a Festival Board, full of talented passionate people who will ensure its success for many years into the future. An Ubud native who comes from a long line of traditional musicians and craftsmen, Kadek is a talented designer and woodworker. His growing concern about Indonesia's environmental degradation led him to begin creating furniture from recycled wood. Now he brings that same strength and passion to BaliSpirit Festival’s success.
Robert Weber - Co-Founder, Videographer & Producer of Night Music Performances
Robert is an itinerant musician, writer, producer, and permaculturist. He inspires and directs holistic and inclusive multi media project that wed artistry and activism, technology and nature, human and Divine, in devotion to the awakening heart of this precious Earth. Robert is a partner in the American company Woven Media, a graphic design, music and video production company. Robert and his family have lived in Bali since 2004.
Amsalan Doraisingam - Festival Director
Born in Kuala Lumpur and having grown up in towns across Sarawak, Amsalan was definitely prepared for the winters of Minnesota. Amsalan received a Grinter Fellowship to complete a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Florida. He has worked as a professional director, actor, designer and dramaturg in the USA, UK, Ireland, Greece, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Amsalan has always had a keen interest in the process of creative collaboration and the successful management of festivals. In Florida, he worked on the Teen Playwright Festival and the Senior Citizens Playwright Festival; in London, as Assistant Artistic Director for Theatre Royal Stratford East, he worked to formulate and create BRITASIA!, a ground-breaking two week festival celebrating British Asians within the performing arts.
Estee & Murni
Helvi Lystiani (Estee) - Festival Manager
Born and raised in Jakarta by her incredible Javanese mom (the original Shakti force!), 29 y.o. Estee is now living and loving in Ubud. For her role as Festival Manager she has enormous passion, skills, and determination, learnt the hard way, challenging difficult tasks on issues that matter globally.
Most recently Manager for Resource Raising and Mobilisation at Indonesia’s largest environmental organization, Friends of the Earth (WALHI), Estee also helped set up Indonesia’s Mining Advocacy Network to champion communities affected by mining. She takes inspiration from people and communities she meets across Indonesia, Bolivia, Croatia, and Australia. She also helped found Plecing Kangkung, fun and talented translators who subtitle important films so they can reach wider audience, including the Jakarta International Film Festivals. She finds joy and challenge in the evolution of a project - taking the vision, making it workable, managing the team who make it happen. Her special talents lie in public campaigns, event organising, and communications. “I’m a dreamer and a doer; I grow mostly through learning-by-doing. Sure, life is arbitrary, but it is succulent, so I try to share, love, and enjoy as much as possible. “Working with this festival I get a chance to experience one of my favourite things - interacting with a great mix of people to make a great idea come to life!”
Murni Cantik - Festival Graphics & Promotion
Born and Bred in Gianyar, Murni is CV.Tegun/Balispirit's in-house graphic designer, managing all promotional materials for all related businesses. Murni joined up with Balispirit founders Meghan and Kadek in the days when it was just a concept rather than an actuality. She is a truly self-made woman, finishing school early and beginning work as a domestic helper in the home of an Ubud family. She got bored in that position and was hired by CV.Tegun a few years later. Closely mentored by Meghan, Murni quickly worked her way up through all facets of the business in different roles. Mostly self-taught, Murni moved to the position she now finds herself in, as her capacity and potential became evident. As the festival team often states, "Murni ROCKS!".
Jennifer Richardson - Media and Sponsorship
Now based in Bali, Jennifer Richardson consults in both Australia and South-East Asia. She is an outstanding trainer, facilitator and writer, with a strong background in public relations and communication capacity building. Her company, JRPR & Associates, has won Australian Communication Awards for projects based on effective leadership and communication in times of change. Though she decided she wanted to move to Bali 17 years ago, she raised two sensational sons first. A PR consultancy with a German government-led aid project for women’s and children’s health in Nusa Tenggara has helped her fulfill that dream. Jen is passionate about transferring her skills and has offered her time as mentor/ coach/ facilitator to the Maximising Public & Media Relationships Her goal is to enable her clients to paint the best possible future for their lives. She assists individuals, organisations and regions to see a bigger picture and move themselves into it.
was born in Honolulu and raised in Los Angeles. Fortunate to have been surrounded by great artists from a young age, she began to study Balinese and Javanese dance 22 years ago with Ibu Ni Made Wiratini and the late master KRT Sasmintadipura. In 1990 she began her formal study of Javanese gamelan and singing under Bapak Midiyanto and later continued under Bapak Tri Haryanto. She began teaching Balinese dance sixteen years ago and ten years ago became a founding member of Çudamani, a Balinese arts school and performing company dedicated both to the study of traditional Balinese arts and also to providing a place for young artists to experiment with creative work. Susilo is responsible for organizing Çudamani's international projects, touring and for developing and overseeing curriculum for Çudamani's music and dance programs. Susilo has been part of Çudamani's breakthrough work in pioneering girls' music education in Balinese gamelan. An area of performance traditionally reserved for men and boys, gamelan is opening itself to women and Çudamani is a leader in this area. Emiko also continues to tour and perform as a vocalist, dancer and musician, both with Çudamani and as a soloist. Her love for the arts has brought her to work in arts administration to facilitate the work of other artists, so that their wisdom can be shared with others. Work with (mom) Judy Mitoma at UCLA's Center for Intercultural Performance coordinating the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange programs is an essential part of Emiko's life and continues to be a source of inspiration even when Emiko is living in Bali.
