DR. AM. Hermien Kusmayati

After 4 years of research and scientific hard work, a symphatetic and friendly middle age woman, got a prestigous academic title from Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta – she is a long time lecturer of ISI - Institute of the Arts, Indonesia, Yogyakarta, DR. AM. Hermien Kusmayati.

Despite an expert of art and dance as a science, she is also a dancer, herself. In her tender age, she learned ballet in Malang. In Jakarta she learned and fell in love with Javanese classical dance.

Finished high school in 1969, she did not hesitate to join ASTI in Yogyakarta. she is convinced that her mission of life is in the field of art and dance.

Since 1974, she joined Pakualaman Royal Dance Group as a Javanese Dance trainer. She got a valuable experience to work together with other women-dance experts of the mansion, namely Mrs. Sulomo, Mrs. Retnaningrum and Mrs. Laksmintorukmi. She was deeply involved with the royal Pakualaman dance reorganization until she became an expert of the sacred court dance Bedhaya. Scientific papers related to Pakualaman are "Bedhaya Tejanata", "Bedhaya Endhol-Endhol", "Bedhaya Court Servants" and "Bedhaya in Pakualaman Royal House".
She made also a research (1993) of "The Comparison of Jebeng Dance Style in the tradition of Yogyakarta
Sultanate and Puro Pakualaman".To present date, she is entrusted to organize Javanese classical and sacred court dance in Puro Pakualaman. She has participated in a lot of art and dance workshops in many cities of this country as well as abroad. Meanwhile her process of study continued, she was a diligent student in her subject. In 1976-1977, she studied Ethnomusicology in the Netherlands, where she got a chance to open wider her perception of art.

Back in Indonesia, being active in the field of art and dance, she graduated from ASTI (now is ISI) in 1979 and in 1988 she got her MSc degree from Post-Graduate Study of Gajah Mada University. She had other important paper works a. o. : "The meaning of dance in a ceremony in Indonesia" (1990) "Regional dance" (1992) etc. For her Doctor degree, she spent 6 months in Leiden, The Netherlands, doing research work.

A happy family of artists

DR. Hermien's personal life matched completely with her professional activities. Her husband Mr. Mardiyo is also an artist-dancer a member of Roro Jonggrang Foundation since 1963, regularly participated in Ramayana Dance Theater held in Prambanan. Since 1978, he is a lecturer and dance Guru of ISI. The happy couple have 3 children, apparantly they have same hobby with their parents. They love tremendously Javanese art-Gamelan music and dance.

In many occasions, the whole family is engaged in a workshop of performing art. It's really, a happy family of artists.