This year-end letter circulated to supporters of the Inwa School in December, 2019
Highlights of 2019 from the Inwa School of Performing Arts – Mandalay
Dear Donors,
Thanks to your support, the Inwa School is growing and improving every year. In 2019, our fourth year, we can report a happy group. We have made important improvements in the arts and academic programs and seen a steady growth of internally generated income. With support of a grant from SOAS (London), the school began a set of hugely successful touring performances at a national level all over Myanmar – in so doing, generating discussion through a series of thought-provoking plays on the themes of tolerance, inclusivity and equality. Our performers are receiving local-audience recognition for their excellence and for reviving the most ancient styles of the threatened vocal and dance performance. Nation-wide recruiting of students has taken a step forward, due in part to the general reputation of the school and, in part, due to the steady invitations for the school to perform overseas within SE Asia – every year at least once and this November in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We also have hosted exchange programs with arts institutions from Thailand and Cambodia. Our master teacher, U Kyaw Win, has become a celebrity on Thai television.
We welcomed Ma Htay as our first fully professional school manager. Our academic and English language, and computer training programs have been upgraded nicely. The school also welcomed two new arts teachers, U Tin Wan and U Soe Thu, to teach advanced studies in classical Myanmar music and dance, respectively. Our top graduated students have formed an incubator-phase troupe, Inwa Myay Waing Thabin (“ground circle” performance – almost extinct within Myanmar). The school now employs four of the best dance and music teachers in Mandalay and has 14 students – most of whom are on track to become top professional performers before local audiences. The school has matriculated an added 30 students and employed 8 master teachers in part-time roles.
On the challenging side, donations from international private donors have dropped due in part to the Myanmar government’s handling of the unresolved Rohingha refugees. As the government continues to struggle with this, the general population inside Myanmar suffers.
For the school, this has raised a big issue of our ability to expand as would otherwise be merited from our performance to date. With availability of funding, we would seek a permanent location for the school by buying a small piece of land, and expand our student body to about 24. This would eliminate the uncertainty of our annual land rental and increase the school’s student-to-student interaction and the vibrancy of the school.
Fortunately, our grants support and internal income has expanded to cover the current operating costs of the school. During 2019, the school has been underwritten by the $40,000 grant from SOAS. In November, the school received notice of a grant of $28,000 for 2020 from the US Embassy in Yangon for a similar program – also in touring performance to encourage discussion on themes underlying the democratic transition. The Mintha Theater is a universal delight to visitors and was rated by TripAdvisor no less than “#1 Site and Landmark for the city of Mandalay”. In spite of a generally down year in tourism, it appears the theater will generate more than 30% of the overall funding needed for the year.
In short, during the last four years the team in Mandalay has learned a lot and accomplished a great deal. The school is credibly providing the best, rounded, classical arts training in the country. It is beginning to prove that a grand cultural tradition can help the country in its long and difficult democratic transition. It is beginning to learn how to help it’s graduates find modern ways to apply their trade and make a living. To move forward, we would like to expand the student enrollment by a factor of two through scholarship support and retention of our top students as teaching assistants. The master teachers, curriculum and logistics are already in place to support this. Doubling in size would give a greater interactive learning experience and improve the dynamism of the school.
Sincerely,
Daniel Ehrlich
Executive Director
ehrlich.dan@gmail.com
artsmandalay.org
7 Park Ave.
Unit 2
Somerville, MA 02144
Highlights of 2019 from the Inwa School of Performing Arts – Mandalay
Dear Donors,
Thanks to your support, the Inwa School is growing and improving every year. In 2019, our fourth year, we can report a happy group. We have made important improvements in the arts and academic programs and seen a steady growth of internally generated income. With support of a grant from SOAS (London), the school began a set of hugely successful touring performances at a national level all over Myanmar – in so doing, generating discussion through a series of thought-provoking plays on the themes of tolerance, inclusivity and equality. Our performers are receiving local-audience recognition for their excellence and for reviving the most ancient styles of the threatened vocal and dance performance. Nation-wide recruiting of students has taken a step forward, due in part to the general reputation of the school and, in part, due to the steady invitations for the school to perform overseas within SE Asia – every year at least once and this November in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We also have hosted exchange programs with arts institutions from Thailand and Cambodia. Our master teacher, U Kyaw Win, has become a celebrity on Thai television.
We welcomed Ma Htay as our first fully professional school manager. Our academic and English language, and computer training programs have been upgraded nicely. The school also welcomed two new arts teachers, U Tin Wan and U Soe Thu, to teach advanced studies in classical Myanmar music and dance, respectively. Our top graduated students have formed an incubator-phase troupe, Inwa Myay Waing Thabin (“ground circle” performance – almost extinct within Myanmar). The school now employs four of the best dance and music teachers in Mandalay and has 14 students – most of whom are on track to become top professional performers before local audiences. The school has matriculated an added 30 students and employed 8 master teachers in part-time roles.
On the challenging side, donations from international private donors have dropped due in part to the Myanmar government’s handling of the unresolved Rohingha refugees. As the government continues to struggle with this, the general population inside Myanmar suffers.
For the school, this has raised a big issue of our ability to expand as would otherwise be merited from our performance to date. With availability of funding, we would seek a permanent location for the school by buying a small piece of land, and expand our student body to about 24. This would eliminate the uncertainty of our annual land rental and increase the school’s student-to-student interaction and the vibrancy of the school.
Fortunately, our grants support and internal income has expanded to cover the current operating costs of the school. During 2019, the school has been underwritten by the $40,000 grant from SOAS. In November, the school received notice of a grant of $28,000 for 2020 from the US Embassy in Yangon for a similar program – also in touring performance to encourage discussion on themes underlying the democratic transition. The Mintha Theater is a universal delight to visitors and was rated by TripAdvisor no less than “#1 Site and Landmark for the city of Mandalay”. In spite of a generally down year in tourism, it appears the theater will generate more than 30% of the overall funding needed for the year.
In short, during the last four years the team in Mandalay has learned a lot and accomplished a great deal. The school is credibly providing the best, rounded, classical arts training in the country. It is beginning to prove that a grand cultural tradition can help the country in its long and difficult democratic transition. It is beginning to learn how to help it’s graduates find modern ways to apply their trade and make a living. To move forward, we would like to expand the student enrollment by a factor of two through scholarship support and retention of our top students as teaching assistants. The master teachers, curriculum and logistics are already in place to support this. Doubling in size would give a greater interactive learning experience and improve the dynamism of the school.
Sincerely,
Daniel Ehrlich
Executive Director
ehrlich.dan@gmail.com
artsmandalay.org
7 Park Ave.
Unit 2
Somerville, MA 02144
