Family Programs Presenter Bio From 2012 ... 2013 Coming Soon

Camp Magic for Kids, Featuring Katherine Mcleod

A distinguished Storyteller, Drummer, Writer, Illustrator hailing - CANADA

Camp Magic is an arts based kids program created 11 years ago by Canadian Storyteller Katherine McLeod. The goal has always been to provide children with a safe, fun environment where they are regularly invited to explore through an enormous and inspiring variety of activities. Each child's "gateway" to creating is activated in any number of ways. For some children, it's the simple act of freeing themselves to learn a new skill like hoola hooping, stilt walking, or swing pois, while for other children it may be painting a picture, searching through piles of re-cycled junk, singing a song, or listening to a story.

Camp Magic is filled to the brim with amazing opportunities for your child to dig into their imaginations with a group of wonderful facilitators, and other children who are all there for the same reason… to have fun.

About Katherine:
Camp Magic all started 12 years ago in an emptied out school classroom filled with paints, costumes, re-cycled junk, drums, puppets and 15 excited and enthusiastic children! Today, Camp Magic is thriving in Singapore with over 100 children per week in our June/July program. Due to the success of this program, and amazing feedback from both children and parents, Katherine started up Camp Magic Solstice in December 2010, and in Melbourne (July 2010) and Mumbai (in January 2011). A true traveler at heart, Katherine has spent the past 20 years on the road. She thrives on meeting different people and experiencing their cultures through language, food, and stories. Camp Magic is a celebration of this amazing world community we share. By giving children the opportunity to connect through stories, Katherine believes that the imagination can be further ripened and revealed to the listener. The story is the "jumping off point" for all the discovery that our Camp Magic programs bring.

For more information, please see: www.katherinemcleod.com

Hamanah Drum N Dance

INDONESIA

There is no doubt when you think of African drumming & dance in Indonesia the first name to come to mind is Hamanah Drum N Dance. The founders of Hamanah Aby Niang are specialists in African drumming & dance. Known for our totally unique interactive high energy workshops and shows, Hamanah Drum N Dance are professionals in getting a group to their feet & united in rhythm! At the 2012 Festival, Hamanah will be leading drum circles and West African dance classes for adults and children with visiting dance teacher Aby Niang. See below for the bios.

Born in Dakar, Aby would attend a dance class of a mixed group of Sengalese & Guineans each day after school.

A quick learner, Aby was a skilled dancer who became an expert in both traditions and fast became a professional African Dancer and Djembe player. Aby found dance through her passion and continued training hard for the pure joy it brings to her heart.

Aby never dreamt of being a dance teacher but all that changed in 1995 when she was selected to travel to Japan to become the 1st African woman to offer dance tuition. Little did she know that at the time was the beginning of the African Music movement that would sweep over Japan in the few years to follow & she was an immediate success story.

When in Japan, she joined a band called Wara-ba, a mixed group of Sengalese & Guinean artists that had come before her. Due to the high demand & interest Aby started to teach African Dance classes & became the 1st woman to offer this in Japan.

Aby's reputation & success led her to perform with some of the greatest African musicians visiting Japan such as Mamady Keita & Mamadou Doumbia not to mention countless famous Japanese musicians. She has performed for the African Festial Japan, Lumine Festivals, TV Commercials, Cultural Centers, Tokyo Disneyland, Video Clips with Amuro Namie, Chemistry, Tetsuya Kumuro, Jean Michel Jarre for the 2008 World Cup & Paris Oallet Opera with Bejarre.

Her performances spread throughout Japan to the following cities: Tokyo, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Osaka & Kobe from 1995 to 2011. Aby is now residing in Bali Indonesia taking a resident position with Hamanah Drum N Dance - Indonesia's 1st African Drum N Dance Company.

For more information see: http://www.hamanah.com/

Shoshana Kuttner

Young Actors Project - USA

Shoshana has been joyfully teaching and directing young performers since the beginning of her career as an actor and dancer. She started working professionally in the Bay Area with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She then toured with two productions nationally, The Secret Garden and A Christmas Carol before landing in New York City, where she performed at the Lincoln Center Institute.

Shoshana began offering professional youth acting programs in the community of Malibu in 2004 and in 2006 she co-founded the Young Actors Project. To date she has produced, directed and designed sound for just under fifty theatrical productions. Some of her directing & producing credits outside of YAP include Fat Men In Skirts by Nicky Silver (Sunset Gardner Stages), Massively Horrific Long Island Geeks with Tremendous Ego Problems by Steve Altman (Malibu Stage Company), and four musicals in New York: West Side Story, Footloose, Oliver, and Free to Be You and Me. Shoshana graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Drama and Dance from San Francisco State University and received an advanced certificate in Classical Theatre from Oxford University in the UK.

She is a proud member of the stage actors union: Actors Equity Association, a certified Yoga teacher, and a successful acting/audition/voice coach for children and adults. She is honored to have the opportunity to create a company of talented young actors who continually inspire her with their self-expression and creativity.

For more info see: www.youngactorsproject.com

John Litten

Young Actors Project - USA

John is an accomplished playwright, actor, and co-founder with Shoshana Kuttner, of the Young Actors Project. He is committed to creating new plays and as well as adapting classic stories for the actors he works with. He has penned 22 original plays and 18 adaptations of classic literature for young actors. Most notable are his adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, and Pinocchio.

While earning is B.A. in theatre at San Diego State University John was able to perform in Mexico, Russia, and at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival held in South Africa: the second largest theatre festival in the world. As an actor, John works in film, television, and theatre. He was most recently seen onstage in Johnny Darkness by Eugene Butler at the Actors Forum Theatre.

As an acting teacher and director, John is creative and inspiring. His motivational, passionate coaching style brings out unique and exciting performances from every actor. He has a great gift for showcasing individual talent in his writing and direction, while bringing together the entire company in team spirit.

For more information, please see: www.youngactorsproject.com

Deborah Koehn

Yoga for Elders - USA

For over 30 years Deborah and David have lived their vision of traveling to remote corners of the world leading Yoga Adventure, retreats, workshops and Yoga Alliance registered Teacher Trainings.  Deborah’s first teacher in 1971 was Indra Devi, the mother of yoga in the western world.  She studied Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K Pattabhi Jois, has an extensive background in the teachings of BKS Iyengar, the inspirational work of Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten and the brilliant therapeutic teachings of Aadil Palkhivala.

Playfully weaving a wealth of wisdom and experience into her classes, Deborah’s teaching reflects time in nature with shamanic peoples and a heartfelt enthusiasm for integrating the essence of ancient traditions, subtle and physical anatomy and contemporary yoga therapy while skillfully inspiring beginners and experienced yogis alike.

She is known for her ability to make yoga accessible to everyone.  Yoga for the Village People, an integral part of their travel, invites teachers and students to join her in seva (service) touching the lives of many in small villages around the world.

Deborah, together with adventure photographer David and filmmaker daughter Alison Teal have been featured in numerous photos and publications including Yoga Journal, Women in Sports and Fitness, Outside Magazine, Fit Yoga Magazine, Athleta, Prana, and Patagonia catalogs and ESPN Television.