About

Joyce Kakariyil Paul is an accomplished Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam dancer who believes that dance is a wonderful medium that can transport you to a level of consciousness that is difficult to reach otherwise. She is the founder of three different organizations worldwide:

Abhivyakti Karyashaala (NGO - S-18332/1987)
Arpan
SCARF Global (501c3)

In addition to being a dancer and choreographer, Joyce is a trained Anthropologist having completed her Ph.D in Indian classical dance history, anthropology of performance physiology and Interdisciplinary work in performing arts and sciences. Some of her work in Exercise Physiology include Anthropometry and injury patterns among Indian Classical dancers within their cultural, socio-economic and genetic context.

Her professional career in digital technology has seen her flourish in Instructional Design, Content Publishing, HCI, UX Design research and Insights strategy for hypothesis driven product development.

My World of Dance

Dance is what keeps me grounded. When I dance I am closest to who I was meant to be. When I am deeply involved in my art form, the rest of the world does not really exist or matter. All else seems inconsequential. When I choreograph, it’s the churning of an inner sea that is waiting to take the shape of a beautiful, multi-faceted snowflake. When I teach, it is the joy of seeing another generation take up this tremendously powerful art form and know that a part of you lives on through them.

Choreography comes naturally to any dancer. Its the burning desire to create movement that is waiting to find its form. Sometimes you are happy with your work and sometimes, it just is not there yet. Its a gut feeling. Senior dancers come to me for master classes wanting to learn choreography but about 80% of these skills cannot be taught. The students who have worked with me the longest, seem to automatically learn it by osmosis! Works that I feel content with include Shanthala Varnam, Mother Mary Thillana, Kalaprayanam, Guru Ashtakam and Arpan.

My teaching methodology here in the US is influenced by my background in Instructional Design and my long experience working in the corporate world. This itself lends my teaching style a sense of contemporary thought (blogs, shares, spreadsheets for notation, live webcam instructions etc.) that the tightly wrapped traditional method of instruction lacked.
My academic background in Human Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology helped me analyze the world of temple dances in a more practical and scientific manner. Students respond well to the detailed analysis of each Adavu, Mandala or the bhaava behind a character in a storyline especially when I was able to transpose a character into the current social context. It enabled my students to see real-life relevance in an ancient art form.
My success metrics lie in using my knowledge of Physiology and Kinesiology as well as my personal experience as a dancer, teacher and choreographer to tweak instructional patterns on a per-student basis.

Movement is primeval and universal. It is the lowest common denominator of human communication. Classical dance as a complex extension of this primeval movement constitutes the baseline that sets you as a dancer for further exploration into any other dance form. "When a struggling student suddenly gets a certain adavu or kannakku (the math behind a complex korvai or set of adavus) because of an innovative instructional tweak on my part, the thrill and sense of satisfaction is beyond words. My shishyas are like a long term painting in progress. I create their dance personas one stroke at a time, until they are a visually pleasing canvas of vibrant colours."

Finding a guru, I believe, is part of your destiny. In the maze that life is, you have little control over what happens. While traversing that maze, 'receiving' a teacher who is destined to light your path is truly a blessing.
I have had the distinct honour of being nourished under the tutelage of the following distinguished personalities.

Leela Samson – Director of Kalakshetra | Faculty - Sri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (1986 - 1994)
Prof C.V. Chandrasekhar – former Head of Dept of Dance, Baroda University (1993, 2005, 2011) and his daughters Manjari and Chithra (1994 to 2000)
Prof A. Janardhanan – former Principal, Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation
Prof. M R Krishnamoorthy – retired professor, Kalakshetra Foundation.
Kalamandalam Gopinath (Mohiniattam)

My formal learning was through two prestigious performing arts institutions in New Delhi namely Sriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra and Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. I started training at these institutes with leading gurus from the year 1986. Prior to that I had 3 years of informal training with local teachers in my community.

The seeds of ARPAN started as early as November 2002. It was triggered by the ambient state of Indian classical and folk dance traditions here in Washington.

Having recently moved from India, I was on the lookout for venues where I could nourish and grow my art form. After two years, I realized that I needed to do something. I needed to convey what India meant to me. I needed to reach out and communicate how dance is integrated into the lives of people in India. How it transcends from the mundane to the spiritual. How it is inextricably linked to the air that each one of us breathe as we grow up in the vibrant soil of India.

And so ARPAN was born. An offering.

An outpouring of the essence of rhythm in joy across continents. An exposition of what it means to dance the various folk dances from different states in India. Feel the joys and aspirations of the simple village folk.

An offering to the artists of yesteryears who laid the foundations of classical art forms that are so unique to India. That have their roots in scripture as old as 2000 yrs. My attempt to bring an India that is close to my heart not just as a dancer but as a daughter of the soil that has nourished me with dance, music, joy, love, compassion and strength.

A humble offering to the city of Seattle.

I am thankful to my gurus, my family and friends for their constant support to pursue my art!

My world of ID, CD, UX Design & Research

My world of Arts & Crafts

My spiritual world