APPEX Fellows from Myanmar

U Chan Tha
U Chan Tha is Artistic Director of Yangon's most distinguished company, Thitsa Metta Shwe Mann Thabin. The youngest son of the renowned Myanmar artist, Shwe Man Tin Maung, he carries on the family tradition in the company founded by his father. The featured performer in this seventy-eight member company, U Chan Ta constantly tours the country, performing from nine o’clock at night until five in the morning. U Chan Tha has often represented Myanmar on cultural missions; he has participated in the 1997 Singapore Dance Festival, and has traveled to Singapore, Indonesia and the U.S. An actor, singer—and most especially—dancer, he is considered one of Myanmar's outstanding performers.

U Ye Htut
As the chair of the Department of Dramatic Arts of the University of Culture in Yangon, Myanmar, U Ye Htut established the first dramatic arts program in this newly established University. He received his degree in Myanmar literature and language from the University of Yangon, and has taught English and Political Science. Early in his career he was active in the performing and literary arts, and his creative work encompasses a broad range of media, as playwright, poet, screen writer, television and theater director, and documentary filmmaker. U Ye Htut has led cultural missions to Thailand, China, and Japan, and in 1996 was awarded a literary prize for his research work, Myanmar Zat Kyee: The Traditional Grand Drama In 1997 he published a book titled Myanmar Dances in English and Myanmar.