Bali Advanced Training Fitzmaurice Voicework® Intensive Retreat

Description: Embark on an extraordinary artistic expedition to the heart of Bali, where creativity knows no bounds. The Bali Advanced Training Fitzmaurice Voicework® Workshop invites you to an immersive experience that interweaves Physical Acting, Fitzmaurice Voicework, Maskwork, the Gamelan orchestra, the acapella chorus Kecak chant-dance, and Balinese Performing Arts Training. This transformative journey promises to unlock your innate artistic potential, allowing you to delve deep into diverse performance art forms while being immersed in Bali's rich cultural tapestry.

Workshop Highlights:

1. Physical Acting: Led by Budi Miller and Fabio Motta

2. Fitzmaurice Voicework: Led by Micha Espinosa, Budi Miller, and Fabio Motta

3. Maskwork: Led by Budi Miller and Fabio Motta

4. Gamelan Orchestra: Learn the intricate rhythms and melodies of the Gamelan orchestra, a traditional Balinese ensemble. Dive into the intricacies of playing Balinese percussion instruments, merging your musicality with the collective energy of the orchestra.

5. Kecak Chant-Dance: Participate in the full-body Kecak, a Balinese ritual dance-drama that combines vocal chants with movement. Join the captivating circle of voices and bodies, exploring the interplay of vocal harmonics, rhythm, choreography, and storytelling in this unique and immersive art form.

6. Balinese Performing Arts Training: Led by Budi Miller, I Wayan Dibia, Ida Bagus Alit, I Ketut Mertawan, and Ida Bagus Gustut

Immerse yourself in the living traditions of Balinese performance under the guidance of master practitioners. This training offers direct transmission of sacred and ceremonial performance knowledge, connecting participants to the deep spiritual and artistic roots of Balinese culture from within the heart of the village itself.

Workshop Benefits:

• Multidimensional Mastery: Explore a diverse range of performance techniques and integrate them seamlessly.

• Cultural Immersion: Immerse yourself in Bali's rich artistic heritage, from traditional dance to music.

• Personal Transformation: Discover new facets of self-expression and creativity within a supportive community.

• Artistic Collaboration: Engage in collaborative activities that foster connection and creative synergy.

• Bali's Beauty: Absorb the island's stunning landscapes and spiritual ambiance as you embark on this creative journey living in the Balinese village.

Who Can Attend: This workshop welcomes advanced practitioners eager to explore and celebrate the fusion of various performance art forms while embracing Bali's cultural richness.

Experience the fusion of voice, movement, music, mask, and tradition in the breathtaking setting of Bali. This workshop promises to be an unforgettable exploration of artistic dimensions that will forever enrich your creative path.

Note: Limited spaces available. Secure your spot by registering early.

Faculty:

Micha Espinosa — Lead Teacher, Fitzmaurice Voicework
Micha Espinosa is an Arizona-based artist, activist, professor, and voice, speech, and dialect coach who has performed, lectured, and taught around the world since 1992. A proud 30-year member of SAG/AFTRA, she has worked in film, television, and regional theatre. She is a Professor in the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre at Arizona State University, with affiliate faculty appointments in ASU's School of Transborder Studies and the Sidney Poitier New American Film School. As Artistic Director of the Fitzmaurice Institute and Lead Faculty of Fitzmaurice Teacher Certification, she is a central figure in voice pedagogy internationally. She is the award-winning editor of Monologues for Latino Actors: A Resource Guide to the Contemporary Latino/a Playwrights, co-editor of the award-winning Scenes for Latinx Actors, and co-editor of the forthcoming Latinx Actor Training. A core member of the renowned international performance troupe La Pocha Nostra, Micha is passionate about social justice in actor training, global and feminist perspectives, and the voz cultural. MFA, University of California–San Diego; BFA, Stephens College. Languages: English, Spanish.

Budi Miller — Lead Teacher, Fitzmaurice Voicework | Director of Advanced Training | Physical Acting & Maskwork | Balinese Performing Arts Training
Budi Miller is a Lead Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and Director of Advanced Training for the Fitzmaurice Institute, and a UNESCO-designated master teacher of mask work. He served as Head of Acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne for seven years, and has worked as an actor, director, writer, and teacher across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Australia, Malaysia, India, and Indonesia since 1992. He is the first African American ceremonial mask dancer of Bali. His coaching credits include Emmy and Academy Award–nominated performances, as well as work with Yao in the international blockbuster Sinners, Michelle Williams in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (Academy Award nomination), Jonathan Majors in Lovecraft Country (HBO), Ant-Man III (Marvel), Creed III (MGM), and Magazine Dreams, among others. He has trained actors across Broadway, HBO, Netflix, Showtime, and major international film markets and theatres worldwide, and served as a judge at the Indonesian Film Festival (2020). His published work includes contributions to Actor Trainers on Acting for the Twenty First Century (Routledge, 2025), Stages of Reckoning: Antiracist and Decolonial Actor Training (2023), and the Journal of Embodied Research. PhD, University of Melbourne; BFA, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Languages: English, French, Indonesian, American Sign Language.

Fabio Motta — Associate Teacher, Fitzmaurice Voicework | Physical Acting & Maskwork
Fabio Motta is an award-winning performer and teaching artist based in Melbourne (Naarm), Australia, and an Associate Teacher (2022) and Associate Director of Learning Programs and Creative Research with Fitzmaurice Voicework International. He has performed and devised work across Australia, Europe, and the United States. In Melbourne, he is the Founder and Director of The Clowning Workshop, a school dedicated to clowning, commedia dell'arte, voice, mask work, acting, and related disciplines. As a freelance educator, Fabio has taught at leading institutions worldwide, including the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne University), NYU Tisch, 16th Street Acting Studio, HB Studio, Tamasha, the National Drama School, St. Martin's Youth Theatre, JMC Academy, and the National Institute of Circus Arts. His specializations include Acting, Movement, Presence, Private Coaching, and Public Speaking. Languages: English, Italian. Visit www.theclowningworkshop.com to learn more.

I Wayan Dibia — Balinese Performing Arts Training
I Wayan Dibia, born in Singapadu village of Gianyar, is an artists and scholar specializing in Balinese performing arts. Trained in a family of artists, he has studied various forms of classical Balinese dances from different masters on the island. From 1970, Dibia started to experiment with elements of traditional Balinese performing arts to create new works for a contemporary audience. His formal education and training includes Conservatory of Balinese Performing Arts (Kokar), Indonesia Dance Academy (ASTI) Denpasar. He joined the faculty of dance at the Indonesia Dance Academy in Denpasar in 1974, received grant from the Asian Cultural Council New York in 1982 to do his MA in Dance, and from The Fulbright Hays in 1987 to pursue his Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Performing Arts, both at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dibia has written a number of books and articles, both in English and Bahasa Indonesia. As a performing artist he has toured to Asia, Europe,

Australia, and The United States of America. From 1997 to 2002 he served as the Director of STSI Denpasar. While teaching at STSI or now ISI Denpasar, Mr. Dibia has recently opened a house for performing art creativity, GEOKS, in his home village. From Fall 2005 through Spring 2007, he was a visiting fellow of Balinese performing arts at The College of Holy Cross, Massachusetts, to teach Balinese music and dance. In 2011 he was invited as a consultant to the exhibition entitles “Bali Dances for The Gods” at the Horniman Museum in London (UK)

Ida Bagus Alit — Balinese Performing Arts Training
Ida Bagus Alit of Lodtunduh, Ubud (Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia) is one of Bali's most celebrated master mask makers and one of the last living masters of traditional Balinese mask carving and mask dance performance. Renowned throughout Bali and Indonesia, he is revered for his extraordinary mastery of the sacred ceremonial solo mask dance Topeng Pajegan — a form requiring the performer to embody multiple characters in a single ritual performance, demanding both supreme artistry and spiritual depth. His hand-carved masks are regarded among the most powerful and spiritually potent available, sought by performers, collectors, and sacred communities alike. A living link to an ancient lineage, Ida Bagus Alit's presence in this workshop offers participants a rare and profound encounter with the living heart of Balinese ceremonial performance tradition.

I Ketut Mertawan — Balinese Performing Arts Training
I Ketut Mertawan is the maestro and artistic leader of the Kakul Dance Company, Bali's most celebrated dance troupe and the preeminent living practitioners of Gambuh — one of the oldest surviving forms of Balinese dance-drama, dating to the late Majapahit era of the 15th century. Gambuh is a rare and technically demanding art form combining dance, music, and acting, performed in the ancient Kawi language and accompanied by a full gamelan gambuh ensemble. With only a handful of groups in the world still performing in the Gambuh style, the Kakul Dance Company stands as one of its most vital custodians. I Ketut Mertawan carries this lineage with particular distinction as the grandson of the legendary Kakul, widely regarded as one of the greatest Balinese dancers of the twentieth century. His mastery spans both performance and pedagogy, and he has shared this rare tradition internationally as an invited guest teacher at the University of Hawaii. His participation in this workshop offers practitioners an unparalleled opportunity for direct transmission from one of Bali's most important living performance lineages.

Ida Bagus Gustut — Balinese Performing Arts Training
Ida Bagus Gustut is a seventh-generation master mask maker and the son of the world-renowned mask maker and intercultural theatre artist Ida Bagus Anom — one of the most celebrated figures in Balinese ceremonial art and international performance. Carrying forward an extraordinarily deep lineage, Gustut works at the intersection of contemporary and traditional Balinese mask carving, honoring the sacred conventions of his ancestors while bringing a living, evolving artistry to the craft. His work is inseparable from its spiritual context: mask performance is an essential element of Balinese religious ritual, and each mask he creates is understood not merely as an object but as a vessel of sacred energy and ancestral presence. Beyond his own practice, Gustut is deeply committed to cultural continuity — dedicating much of his time to inspiring and engaging Balinese youth in the art of mask carving, working to ensure that this ancient and irreplaceable tradition is passed on to the next generation. His presence in this workshop offers participants a rare window into a living sacred lineage, connecting the ancient art of the mask to the hands, heart, and vision of one of its most devoted contemporary practitioners.

Request to Participate:

Submit this form if you would like to be considered for participation at the retreat, thank you!

FEES:

December 16 - 22, 2026
with Micha Espinosa, Budi Miller and Fabio Motta.

Program Fee: $1950.00 (U.S. Dollars) 2900.00(Australian) Note: FVI Scholarships are not offered for retreats.
 
Tuition Covers: living accommodations, all meals, and training facilities at GEOKS Singapadu Arts Center, transfers, cultural events, teacher fees, all classes, materials & supplies.
 
AIR TRAVEL AND PRIVATE TOURS ARE NOT INCLUDED

Payment Schedule:  
1st payment: $650 USD September 16, 2026
2nd payment: $650 October 14, 2026
3rd payment: $650 November 18, 2026
Final Participation Commitment December 1, 2026
Alternate payment plans can be arranged, but full payment must be received by 1 December.

Space is Limited.
Location: GEOKS Art Center, Singapadu, Bali, Indonesia