Mimi Rasinah

Mimi Rasinah was an 11th-generation Cirebonese dancer who was a master of the Indonesian mask dance Topeng. She learned the art of Topeng from her father since she was five years old, and also mastered the musical arts of gamelan and kendang. She performed in exchange for food during the Japanese occupation, and witnessed the destruction of her family's collection of heirloom masks, props, and puppets by the Japanese soldier. She also lost her father and her left eye sight during the war. She married twice, and settled down with a kendang drummer named Amat. She retired from performance in 1972, but was rediscovered by a team of filmmakers and dance scholars in the 1990s. She starred in an internationally distributed documentary film titled Rasinah: The Enchanted Mask. She also performed in Japan, Canada, and the UK, and taught traditional mask dancing to schools in Indramayu. She suffered a stroke in 2005, but continued to perform until the end of her life. She died on August 7, 2010, a day after her final performance from her wheelchair. She was the oldest Topeng dancer known to still be performing. She passed on her masks and costumes to her granddaughter, who became her successor.