A documentary film by Lisa Karrer.
Narrated by Deena Burton, from her unfinished work "The Dancing Cure"
Copyright 2005 Lisa Karrer
Duration: 14:20
Deena Burton first studied Indonesian dance at the Center for World Music in Berkeley, and lived for six years in Indonesia, studying and researching dance and dance-drama. She later received a Fulbright grant and an Asian Cultural Council grant to further her studies there. Ms. Burton's teachers included S. Karjono, the late Ben Suharto, Ibu Sudji, Nugraha Sudiredja, and Rama Sasmita Mardawa. After performing with dance groups in Indonesia, she returned to New York to found the Bali-Java Dance Theatre and Arts Indonesia, and co-founded the Indonesian Consulate's Javanese Gamelan ensemble Kusuma Laras. Ms. Burton choreographed for and performed with artists and ensembles including Asian-American Dance Theatre, Ping Chong and Company, Yin Mei Dance, Balinese-American Dance Theater, East-West Fusion Theater, Music for Homemade Instruments, Gamelan Son of Lion, composers Barbara Benary, Jody Diamond, Nicholas Brooke, David Simons, and composer/performer/director Lisa Karrer. For many years Deena and her husband, composer Skip LaPlante, collaborated on duet performances. She received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University in 2000, where she completed her dissertation on Claire Holt, an American scholar of Javanese Dance in the 1930's, and was a faculty member at New School University's Eugene Lang College.
Deena Burton passed away on April 3, 2005, after a prolonged battle with cancer. She will always be remembered for her enthusiasm, creativity, strength and vision; a superlative performer, scholar and teacher whose kindness and generosity knew no bounds.
To buy a DVD, for $17, ($15 plus $2 mailing) contact:
Lisa Karrer
lisaakarrer@gmail.com