Maryse Noiseux

Founder Of Site

Maryse Noiseux, born in Canada, has worked for several years in the field of theatre as an actress and director. After founding a theatre group in Montreal, focused on experimental and Oriental theatre, she came to India in 1980 to learn Kathakali, with a fellowship in fine arts from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.

From 1981 to 1983 she followed the intensive training as a regular student in the well-known Kathakali school Unnayi Warrier Smaraka Kalanilayam in Irinjalakuda. She was later on, awarded a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for higher studies in Kathakali.

The meeting with the great master Sri. Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair, was fundamental to her artistic life. She studied under him from 1984 until his death in 2000, and often performed with him in Europe.

Together they founded, in 1989, Satsangam - International Centre of Art and Culture in Trivandrum (Kerala, South India) which has become a place of reference to many westerners who wish to know and learn about the art of Kathakali and Indian culture. Maryse has been teaching and conducting seminars in India and abroad since 1990.

She has performed all over India and numerous times in Italy, France, Canada, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica where she was teaching at the National school of dance. In Europe she works mostly in Italy where she performs, conducts workshops annually for the past 2 decades.

A documentary film on her life called ‘Kathakali a path of life’ by Christiane Ballan, a French film director, was made in 2009 and has been presented in different international film festivals.

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