Rucina Ballinger
- Full Name
- Rucina Ballinger
- Pen Name
- Bu Ru
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- Suki Zoe
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- Website for biography
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Biography
In English
She and Agung were the klian adat or traditional heads of their hamlet in Abianbase, Kapal for 2013; as far as we know she is the only foreigner to have held this position.
After the initial Bali bombings in 2002, the non profit sector became her world and she was the director of YKIP for over a decade, assisting survivors of the bomb with scholarships and livelihood programs. She then worked for the Annika Linden Foundation, helping to create the Annika Linden Centre in Denpasar, Bali, dedicated to one of the bomb victims in the spirit of helping those who are economically disadvantaged. Currently, she runs the CSR program of the Amicorp Group via the Amicorp Community Foundation in the village of Les, North Bali, where a Vocational Training Center is set to be built.
In 2003, she and three other foreign women of a certain age and size (all married to local men) formed Grup Gedebong Goyang, a comedy group that does song paradies and skits about current affairs in Bali. Their Balinese version of SAKITNYA TOH DISINI has over a million hits!
Currently she divides her time between Les village and Ubud, where she resides with her entire family (sons Gung Anom and Gung Prabu; daughter in laws Jero Bahari/Edenie and Gung Tia and grandson Gung Arun and granddaughter Gung Prabha) and three dogs.In Balinese
In Indonesian
Di Amerika, pada 1979, dia turut mendirikan grup kesenian Bali bernama “Gamelan Sekar Jaya”. Tiap tahun menggelar pentas seni di California, lalu kerap mengundang guru tari dari Bali dan dia sendiri menjadi salah satu penarinya di acara itu.
Pada kunjungan berikutnya ke Bali, dia bertemu dengan Anak Agung Gede Putra Rangki dari Kapal, Mengwi, yang kemudian menjadi suaminya. Sesuai dengan kepandaiannya menari, Rucina mengajar tari Bali dasar kepada anak muda di Abianbase dan Desa Les. Bersama sang suami, ia mendirikan Dhyana Putri Adventures, sebuah perusahaan kecil yang mengajar budaya Indonesia dan khususnya Bali, para siswa, wisatawan dan mahasiswa asing. Pada tahun 2013, dia menjadi orang asing pertama yang pegang judul KLIAN ADAT ISTERI di Desa Abianbase, Kapal.
Selain dikenal sebagai penari, Rucina juga mendirikan Grup Lawak “Gedebong Goyang” yang beranggotakan empat perempuan bule yang sudah berumur. Pada mulanya, ada empat anggota tapi pada tahun 2019 mulai ada dua anggota saja, yaitu Rucina dan Antonella de Sanctis (Italia). Pementasan disajikan dengan menggabungkan adegan kecil dan lagu dalam bahasa Bali dan Indonesia, diselingi komedi dan kritikan.
www.rucinaballinger.com
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