Information to be added here

Mohd Anis Md Nor is professor of Ethnochoreology and Ethnomusicology at the Cultural Centre (School of Performing Arts), University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. He earned his B.A. Honors from the University of Malaya, M.A. (Dance Ethnology) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and PhD. (Southeast Asia Studies and Musicology) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

LIBRETTO: “THE VOICE OF DIPONEGORO”
Written by Dipondgoro and sung as libretto in the production
translated into English from Javanese by Kathryn Emerson, Jakarta.

PRELUDE:
Verses 1-2 in Sinom metre :
(from The History of Dipanegara in the land of Ngyogyakarta Adiningrat, Volume I)

I.
A poem in sinom verse serves as our opening,
With the intent to preserve,

Diponegoro is a performance that reconstructs Prince Diponegoro’s journey that sparked off what became known as the War of Diponegoro (1825-1830). The wide support of the people, the large number of victims, the huge costs, and the charismatic leadership of Diponegoro make this war one of Indonesia’s most popular symbols of resistance.

Mahnaz Fancy is the Development Director for the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund. Prior to this position, Fancy served as Executive Director of Arts of the Islamic World Virtual Museum.

Sayyeda Mirza-Jafri is a strategic philanthropy consultant. Most recently she was the Project Manager for One Nation, a philanthropic collaborative that challenges stereotypes and misperceptions of Muslim and Islam in America. Prior to One Nation, Mrs. Mirza-Jafri was engaged in developing a Middle East and North Africa leadership program for the EastWest Institute. Mrs.

Rachel Cooper has been at the Asia Society since 1993 where she is the Director of Cultural Programs and Performing Arts. She has extensive experience in the presentation of traditional and contemporary Asian and Asian-American arts and culture. She oversees the development and presentation of Asia Society programs in music, dance, theater, film, literature.

Zeyba Rahman develops and directs integrated cultural and educational platforms for performing, visual and literary arts as well as film. From 1997-2007, Rahman served as a Director of Morocco’s Fès Festival of World Sacred Music and its companion Fès Forum.

Aisha al-Adawiya is the founder and executive director of Women in Islam, an organization of Muslim women which focuses on human rights and social justice. Ms. al-Adawiya organizes and participates in conferences, symposia and other forums on Islam, gender equity, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural understanding.

Shirin Neshat is a leading contemporary artist. In her videos, films, and photographs she draws upon her Iranian heritage for inspiration and addresses the complexities of the contemporary Muslim world through visually arresting imagery. She has exhibited her works internationally at major museums, galleries, and performance halls.

Born in Kuwait in 1972, Sulayman Al-Bassam graduated from Edinburgh University and went on to found Zaoum Theatre in London in 1996. Sabab Theatre is the Arabic arm, established in Kuwait in 2002. Led by Al-Bassam and working alongside mixed groups of Arab and Western performers, the company's work challenges, questions and celebrates the complex relationship between the Arab world and the West.

Asad ur Rahman received his B.A. (Honors) degree in English from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and advanced degrees from Aligarh Muslim University in India and Cambridge University. While at London University, Rahman focused his research on late Victorian poetry.

Amira Zahid is the Founder and Trustee of the Dahesh Museum of Art, the only institution in the United States devoted to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting works by Europe's academically trained artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Anisa Mehdi is an Emmy Award-winning journalist specializing in religion, and the arts.