It is often said that a good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning. Natyarpana's director Mrs. Kripa Baskaran has striven in all her years of teaching to embody these principles of a finer teacher to see it to that her students not only become adept dancers, but adept human beings in life. Her philosophy entails three finer aspects of dance: bonding, discipline and presentation. Her teachings are a testament to the fact that dance is not only extrinsic in its benefits: it can inherently change a person by inculcating obedience and good behavior.
Kripa has been honored by the prestigious Wisconsin Arts Board as a "Master teacher" in the State of Wisconsin for the year 2014 to 2016 and 2018 to 2020 allowing her to nominate apprentices to work under her for a year on a fellowship grant and has served as a panel of judges in the Arts board in 2021 to identify candidates. Propagation of Bharatanatyam in the Universities across Wisconsin and beyond was initiated by Kripa and a course called "World Movement traditions" course was offered for credits at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. She has performed widely across the globe and is a frequent performer in the Chennai music and dance festival. She is a recipient of the most prestigious "Nritya Seva Mani" award conferred to her by the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Committee in 2015 and the Papanasam Sivan award in 2016 for her outstanding services imparting Bharatanatyam to students in the United States.
As a high schooler, she began with students with downs syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy and through Natyarpana cares wing, several high schoolers volunteer their time in India and across the US to embrace the special children and introduce them to classical arts. Kripa's goal is not only to create better dancers but better leaders. She now has students representing and running their own Natyarpana wings in North Carolina, Connecticut and Madison.
Kripa has her Masters and MPhil degree in Bharatanatyam with distinction and is on the path towards her Doctorate degree in Bharatanatyam.
