Paopanga Karunnaraporn

Biography

Paopanga Karunnaraporn, affectionately known as Pao, began her dance journey at a young age under the tutelage of Ms. Preeyapan Sridhavat at Chiangmai Ballet Academy in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Since 2008, she has performed in annual charity productions and garnered awards at international dance competitions across Thailand and Southeast Asia. At the age of 13, Pao expanded her dance repertoire to include Street Dance and K-pop, driven by her own initiative. She has since competed in numerous national competitions, notably winning the BLACKPINK “Kill This Love” Dance Cover Contest organized by YG Entertainment. From early on, Pao demonstrated an unwavering commitment to dance, constantly seeking opportunities to grow, perform, and refine her craft.

In 2021, she was awarded a government scholarship to pursue a Diploma in Dance at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in Singapore. There, she trained under an esteemed faculty including Caren Carino, Susan Yeung, Filomar Tariao, Gillian Tan, David Zeitner, Yarra Illeto, Shouyi Goh, Adele Goh, Lee Young Wei, Xu Leiting, and Daniel Lorenzo. Pao regularly performed in productions such as Crossings, Third Space, and Dancers@Work, and was named to the Dean’s List across multiple semesters. She also received the Most Improved GPA Award, reflecting her consistent academic and artistic growth.

As part of her artistic development, Pao joined the NAFA Immersion Programme in Perth, Western Australia, where she collaborated with LINK Dance Company to create Three and It’s Our Time—works that were showcased both in Perth and at Singapore’s SMU Night Festival. These pieces were later featured in ELLE Singapore’s 30th Anniversary celebration. Back in Singapore, she contributed to Guo Fan Ge, a cross-disciplinary project combining NAFA’s dance and music faculties, presented at the University of the Arts Singapore Symposium 2023. Pao deeply values collaboration and believes in the boundless potential of dance as a medium for interdisciplinary innovation.

Since graduating in 2024, Pao has been performing professionally with Decadance Co., touring internationally to festivals such as Dans En Ville (Belgium & Germany), Stockholm Fringe Festival (Sweden), and Istanbul Fringe Festival (Turkey). Locally, she performed in Decadance Co.’s double bill repertoire, featuring works by Rachel Lum (Singapore) and Sam Coren (UK).

A passionate Jazz dance educator, Pao earned her Associate Teaching Certificate in Jazz Dance from the Australian Teachers of Dancing (ATOD) in 2023. She has since choreographed Jazz pieces for stage and competition, and teaches Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and K-pop to a wide range of students.

Pao is devoted to using dance as a medium for creativity, discipline, and self-expression, both on stage and in the studio.