JOY movement project
Mission Statement
To radiate joy
JOY movement project brings accessible dance experiences to the Upstate community and offers purposefully inclusive programs in a celebration of our diversity.
Vision Statement
Living fully in our bodies today to reap in a joyful tomorrow
Values
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Joy in Inclusivity - giving all people a safe place to belong
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Joy in Diversity - when we magnify the marginalized, all lives are enriched
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Joy in Shifting perceptions - embracing change as the only constant in life
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Joy in Humility - humble minds and humble hearts ground us in experience
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Joy in Humanity - all humans are messy and beautiful
About Us
JOY movement project was founded by Helen Joy as an opportunity to bring a fresh lens on live dance to the Greenville community.
Through community outreach, educational programming for all ages, and interactive performances JOY movement project shares the tools of discovering self-worth through movement and dance practices, to live fully in our bodies with self-love and self-reflection.
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JOY movement project collaborates with local creatives, highlighting many known actors, singers and musicians, to perform unique, immersive productions across the Upstate. Through site-specific work, JOY movement project aims to bring dance and performance to a wider audience, taking art to the community outside the box.
Helen Joy
Artistic Director
Born and raised in southern England, Helen Joy (they/them) has been dancing since the age of 3. Their earliest dance studies and training at the Royal Ballet School and local studio helped establish a strong foundation with focus in ballet, modern, jazz and tap. They continued their collegiate level training at the age of 16 at Central School of Ballet where they earned her Bachelor's degree in Professional Dance and Performance. Helen Joy recently completed her MFA in Dance, Creative Practice at Saint Mary’s College of California.
Helen Joy’s professional career led them to dance for music videos, fringe musicals and collaborative projects across the UK. For several years, Helen Joy worked exclusively with Jean Ann Ryan Productions as a dancer/singer, aerialist, choreographer/rehearsal director and production manager for shows on luxury cruise lines.
Helen Joy moved to Greenville, SC in 2016 and worked as dance professor at Anderson University’s South Carolina School of the Arts. Here, they led courses for all levels of Ballet, Jazz and Modern Dance for students working towards their Musical Theatre or Dance Bachelor’s degrees, and created original pieces alongside coaching aspiring choreographers. They are now the resident dance professor at Furman University teaching Somatics and Musical Theatre Dance. They can often be seen on stage in local musical productions.
"Joy is at the center. I move as a human being who constantly shifts, morphs and evolves, using my body as a voice to instill hope, equity and fight injustice. I move with luxurious fluidity and tender touch with moments of clarity in going nowhere, giving narrative to each gesture and value to my temple. Those observing see the worth of the dancer as a whole human life, all its imperfections and challenges, as a reflection of my own life and those who I collaborate with. I want to share dance as a communal experience, something that is lived and felt as ritual and celebration for all."