Ivan Pulinkala
Assistant Professor/ Director of Dance Program

Ivan Pulinkala received his Bachelor of Commerce (Hon.) degree from Hindu College, Delhi University, and his M.F.A in dance from Mills College, Oakland CA.  Originally from New Delhi, Ivan has worked professionally in the field of dance and musical theatre both in India and the U.S.  His work has been commissioned for concert dance, musical theatre, as well as corporate and commercial film.  While in India, Ivan served as the artistic director of his own company, performing and choreographing across the country.  He served as the choreographer-in-residence for Delhi Music Theatre, and was named among the 25 Indian artists of the Millennium by the India Today Magazine in their December 1999 issue. 

Ivan serves as the director of the Kennesaw State University dance minor program, and teaches classes in modern technique, jazz technique, musical theatre dance forms, choreography, dance history, dance appreciation, kinesiology and performance.  In addition, he is the artistic director of the Kennesaw State University Dance Company and the faculty choreographer for departmental dance and theatre productions.  Ivan received the Board of Regents award for Teaching Excellence from Murray State University for 2005, and currently serves on the national board of directors of the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA).  He has received art grants both in India and the U.S., including a recent grant from the Kentucky Arts Council.  Ivan is a co-founder of the Contemporary Dance Exchange in Nashville, TN., a company founded to promote modern dance in the Nashville community.  He has worked with a variety of talents, including students with physical and mental disabilities, and is committed to developing programs that bring dance to underprivileged youth as well as into the K-12 school system. 

Original Modern works include: Firestorm (2005), Migration (2004), No Way Out (2003), Inside My Twisted Mind (2004), Mock Abduction (2002), Touch Down (2004), Secret Garden (2003), To Be Baptized (2003), Passages (2003), Coffee Break (2003), As Time Moves On (2003), Popcorn Suite (2002), Dirty Business (2002), Offerings (2003), A New World (2002), Cycle (2002), Geometric Relationships (2001), Second Construction (2001), Slow (2000) among others.

Professional musical theatre choreography/ performance credits include: Tommy, The Music Man, West Side Story, Grease, Best Friends, Evita, Fame- the musical, Me and My Girl, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat among others.

Professional affiliations: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), National Dance Association (NDA), American Association for Health Education (AAHE), American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA), Delhi Music Theatre (DMT)