Cities like Lucknow have immense untapped talent: Paul

Dancer and choreographer Paul Marshal, who choreographed for films ABCD-2 and A Flying Jatt, is glad that dancing has come a long way in the industry

Dancer and choreographer Paul Marshal, who choreographed for films ABCD-2 and A Flying Jatt, is glad that dancing has come a long way in the industry.

Paul Marshal (sourced)

“Things have changed drastically for the dancers and choreographers in the industry. Now, there is work and appreciation for budding artistes on all platforms. However, the number of newcomers joining the industry have definitely gone up due to the high number of reality shows,” says dancer who has been part of reality shows like Dance India Dance, Dance Plus and India’s Got Talent.

Paul recalls that he has left music thinking its costly passion to follow. As a teenager he never wanted to add burden on his mother so decided to find a way to it.

“Even a simple drum set was costing ₹15,000 at that time, so music went on the back burner. A few of my friends who were into dancing asked me to join them. So, I started with Marathi shows as a support dancer and was paid after each performance. Along with these shows, I got trained in folk dancing. So, I learnt on the way.”

The young choreographer says things have changed for him since he started assisting big choreographers for stage and reality shows.

“On the show Krazzy Kiya Re, I met my partner Rahul Shetty and Master Dharmesh. That’s how reality shows happened and later, I joined Master for a number of shows as an assistant. Now, Rahul and I work as a unit (R&P) and have choreographed for films and shows,” says the winner of show’s third season.

He has done a number of shows and workshops in Lucknow and plans more soon. “The pandemic has hit the dance industry really bad. Budding dancers have lost track of dance totally. After wrapping Dance Deewane season 3, where I am a choreographer, I will start working on my workshops. There is immense talent left to be tapped in these cities,” shares Paul.