Mar Mar Aye (Vocals)
Mar Mar Aye was born in Myon Mya in Burma in the Irrawaddy Delta. Born into an artistic family, she started singing when she was three-years old. She was trained by her musician parents and released her first broadcast when she was eight. Her second record, at the age of 13, That Tan Paw Mhar Kasar-mae (Let’s Play on the Rainbow), became very well known and after 1955 she became a very popular artist. She sang almost 6000 songs, including movie soundtracks and independent records and cassettes, as well as radio broadcasts. She worked for Burma Broadcasting Service from 1961 to 1977 as an assistant producer. Before she left Burma she had her own singing school as well as a music production company. She has acted in three movies, one of which, Mya Chudhan (The Sound of Emerald Bells), was nominated for an Academy Award. She also wrote articles and Tho Ga Lay May May (novel) for one of the most published magazines in Myanmar (Burma), Mar Haythi (The Royal Lady). She is currently performing in the United States and compiling an archive of materials related to the history of Burmese music.

Marla Htay Bu (Dancer)
Marla has been learning Burmese traditional dance under U Win Maung since 1999 and has become a well-known performer in the Burmese community in New York City. She performs annually with the Shwe Man Thabin in Myanmar (Burma) and has also performed in Singapore and several times with U Win Maung.

Lillianne Fan (Dancer)
Lillianne has been training with U Win Maung for seven years. She is an advanced level student and has performed with U Win Maung many times. She has mastered solo dances, the Oil Lamp dance, Yo Dhaya and classical Burmese dance styles. Lillianne also performed in Lotus Fine Arts’ Ramayana production.

Ward Keeler (Lecturer)
Ward Keeler is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in performing arts, and language and culture in Southeast Asia. He has published books and essays on shadow plays, language, and gender in Java. He has also done research on performing arts in Burma. He spent 1987-88 in Burma as a Fulbright Scholar, and returned for shorter stays in Mandalay in 2002 and 2003. With Rick Heizman, he produced a CD entitled Mahagita: Harp and Vocal Music of Burma (Smithsonian Folkways 40492). He is a Trustee of the Burma Studies Foundation and the editor of the Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group.

U Kyi (Hcau Loun Pat-Six Drum Set)
U Kyi (73 years) started playing the drums specializing in the Chau Lon Pat for the Marionette dances since he was 12 years old. He performed with several private SAING groups before joining the National Saing Troupe in 1963 in his early 30s. He traveled around the world on cultural exchange programs and was part of the troupe that performed at the Asia Society in 1975. U Kyi has now retired but continues to play his drums with the Yangon Sein Ba Maw private saing group. He is a nationally honored musician on the panel of judges for the annual nation-wide song and dance competition.

U Sein Nyunt Naing playing the Saung Gauk (Harp). Photo by Linda Vartoogian.

U Sein Ka La (Kyi Waing-Gong Circle, Patala-Xylophone)
U Sein Ka La (62 years) learned to play various SAING instruments since he was 8 years old. He performed with private SAING groups since age 16. At age 20, he formed a private SAING group called Danubyu Sein Kala. In 1964, he went to Yangon and worked with Master SAING leader Yangon Sein Bo Tint. In 1969, U Sein Ka La was selected to join the National Saing Troupe. He has travelled throughout the world, including to the US in 1975 when the National Saing Troupe & Dance Theatre performed at the Asia Society.

U Tin Maung (Ya Kwin-Large Cymbals, Si do-Large drums)
U Tin Maung (69 years) learned to play various Saing instruments in the Sein Bo Tint Saing group when he was 11 years old. He joined the Culture Ministry from 1969-1995 and currently plays with the Karaweik Saing musicians. He is a nationally recognized musician who is on the panel of judges for the annual nation-wide song and dance competition.

U Win Maung (Dance Director)
A member of one of Burma's leading families of traditional theater performers, U Win Maung is the son of the late Shwe Man Tin Maung and a member of the Shwe Man Tha Bin Dance Troupe. Mr. Maung is a fine dancer and an outstanding teacher. He has danced professionally for 25 years. Mr. Maung came to the United States in 1990 and has performed around the country. New York's Burmese community is relatively small, and within it, Mr. Maung has become a leading artistic figure. He teaches four weekly classes in Burmese classical and folk dance at LOTUS Studios to about eighteen students of all ages. Mr. Maung has directed numerous performances of Burmese music and dance around the city, and his one bedroom apartment in Queens has become a kind of artistic salon for Burmese residents. When the famous Burmese singer Mar Mar Aye visited New York in 2002, Mr. Maung instantly arranged well-attended classes in classical and popular Burmese singing - an opportunity the Burmese community would not have had without his initiative.

Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Pat Waing (Drum Circle) and Mar Mar Aye, Vocals.
Photo by Jack Vartoogian.

U Sein Ba Maw (Si and Wa-Cymbal and Woodblock timekeepers)
U Sein Ba Maw (63 years) learned to play various SAING instruments since he was 12 years old. He continued his studies under various SAING masters and at age 39, he formed his own private SAING group called Yangon Sein Ba Maw which still performs at private functions in Yangon today. He is a nationally honored musician and is on the panel of judges for the annual nation-wide music and dance competition. Kyaw Kyaw Naing studied SAING with U Sein Ba Maw for 3-4 years after graduating from the prestigious Pantra Cultural Institute.

U Hla Myaing (Patala-Xylophone, Maung Hsaing-Gong Set)
U Hla Myaing (40 years) is a graduate of the prestigious Pantra Cultural Institute and has won several gold medals in the annual song & dance competition. He sings classical songs and plays all saing instruments including the oboe with his private Pantra Sein Hla Myaing saing group. He was recently been selected to be on the panel of judges for the annual nation-wide song and dance competition.

Mi Mi Myint-Hpu (Tour coordinator)
Mi Mi Myint-Hpu is a former advertising account executive, restauranteur, and humanitarian advocate from New York City who moved back to Myanmar (Burma) in 1996. Together with pianist Kit Young, she helped set up the Gitamei Music Center in Yangon, which aims to bring together musicians and music lovers of the world to build understanding, trust and friendship across cultures.

Kyaw Kyaw Naing (Music Director, Pat Waing-Drum Circle)
Kyaw Kyaw Naing, at 39 years old, is a young master musician with mastery of all of the drums, tuned drum sets, xylophones, tuned gong sets, and other percussion instruments. He learned these traditions from his late father, Chein Tit Tee, one of the most famous masters of his generation. Chein Tit Tee toured the United States in 1975 as part of the Asia Society tour. Since 1999 he has been living in Queens, New York. Other members of his troupe currently reside in Burma and include: Ko Hlat Thein, Ko Htun Oo, and Kyi Than. These musicians add the sounds of the bamboo flute, siwa and cymbols, drums, and oboe to the brilliant percussion of Kyaw Kyaw Naing.

Sein Nyunt Naing (Saung Gauk-harp, Si Do-Large Drums)
Sein Nyunt Naing (44 years) is a graduate of the prestigious Pantra Cultural Institute. He studied Saing instruments before taking up the Myanmar Harp. He performs with his Sein Nyunt Naing private Saing group in Yangon and has recently been selected to be on the panel of judges for the annual nationwide song and dance competition.

U Mya Ngwe (Hne-Oboe, Palwe-Flute)
U Mya Ngwe (63 years) started to play the Palwe (flute) since he was 10 years old. At age 13, he joined the Sein Maha Tha Bin Zat and learned to play the Hne (oboe) under the oboe master SaYaGyi Weizar Nyunt. At age 17, he became the leading Hne player with the Sein Kyi Mya Saing troupe. In 1969 he joined the Ministry of Culture and has toured extensively on cultural exchange programs. He retired in 1999 and plays with the Yangon Sein Ba Maw private Saing troupe. He is a nationally recognized musician on the panel of judges for the annual nation-wide song and dance competition.

Maung Maung Myint Swe (Dancer)
Maung Maung Myint Swe is a well-known dancer whose performances were often televised on Myanmar Television Programs. He was born in Pegu, Burma. His sister is a Burmese dance instructor. He is the nephew of Burmese Saing master Sein Chit Tee, and Burmese Traditional and Classical Dance under the guidance of Daw Aye Kyi (Sein Chit Tee’s wife) since age 6. He won numerous first prizes in competitions during his school years, after which he served as assistant dance instructor for various scholls and governmental agencies in Burma, and a dance instructor for 10 years at the International School in Rangoon. For over 15 years he was a member of the National Burmese Dance Troupe, which performed and introduced Burmese Traditional and Classical Dance to foreign diplomats. He performed at MIT, Asia Society of New York, and many other institutes in the US. His dance career and experience extends well over 30 years. Currently, he teaches Burmese Traditional and Classical dance in New York.

Pyit Taing Daung (Maung Kyi-Large Hanging Gongs, Pat Waing-Drum Circle)
Pyit Taing Daung started to study Hsaing Waing at the age of 8. At 18, he wrote music for a movie. At 22, he began to sing background music in movies and on television.

Clifton Taylor (Lighting Designer)
Clifton Taylor has created lighting, projection and scenic designs for dance, theater and opera companies around the world. Principally known as a designer for dance theater, his work can be seen in the repertories of the Rambert Dance Company (London), American Ballet Theatre (NY), the San Francisco Ballet, the Scottish National Ballet, Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens, Ballet de Lorraine (Nancy, France), Ballet Jazz de Montreal, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (NY), Maggio Danza (Florence, Italy), Sardono Dance Theatre (Indonesia), and the Ballet Company of Rio de Janeiro among many others. Other work includes numerous projects at New York’s Asia Society, a lab for new work by Asian artists; the landmark US tour of Cambodian dance theatre by the Royal Cambodian Ballet: Dance: The Spirit of Cambodia; and new works for Lar Lubovitch, Elisa Monte and Jacqulyn Buglisi, three choreographers who have named Mr. Taylor ‘Resident Designer’ at their companies.

Man Ya Pye U Tin (Slide Guitar)
At 74 years old, Man Ya Pye U Tin has been one of the most famous and respected slide guitarists in Burma for many decades. During the early 1900s the lap-style slide guitar was introduced to Asia by seamen, traders, and colonizers, and became popular in Japan, Tanzania, India, and Myanmar (Burma). Burmese musicians adapted this instrument to the intricacies of Burmese traditional melodies. Learning the tradition at the age of eleven from a village master, U Tin moved to Yangon as a young man to continue his work as a musician. He played with many of musicians of the time including U Koko, the renowned sandaya player. He continues to perform live as well play for studio recordings.

Su Htun (Dancer)
Su Htun has been U Win Maung’s student for five years. She has danced with U Win Maung in several shows and continues to be under his training. She is an advanced level dancer, specializing in the Oil Lamp dance and also in the animal character movement (deer). Su Tun has also performed in the Ramayana, a production presented by Lotus Fine Arts production. She has performed numerous times in programs organized by Lotus.

Aung Win (sandaya-piano)
Aung Win studies piano in Myanmar (Burma) as a child. He performed with sandaya, Sagaine Hla Shwe. He was a founder and director of the ensemble Sandaya Aung Win from 1985-1988. Sandaya Aung Win reached a large audience performing on the national radio and TV. In 1988, he moved to Thailand and Singapore performing traditional Burmese ensemble music in both places. In 1991, his ensemble went to the international piano festival in Germany. After touring Germany for several months, he moved to the US in 1992. This is the second time he is performing in the US.

Tin Maung San Min Win (Dancer)
Tin Maung San Min Win grew up on the stage, dancing virtually as soon as he could walk. He was the grandson of the late Shwe Man Tin Maung and nephew of U Win Maung. At age 12, he won the first prize (gold medal) in the youth category in the National Dance Competition. He dances and performs various roles with Shwe Man Tha Bin Dance Troupe in Burma touring nationally while continuing his academic studies.

Musicians and Dancers after the performance. Photo by Linda Vartoogian.