He wanted to join the Army but fate had other plans for this winner of India’s Got Talent Season 6. Acrobatic dancer Manik Paul talks to Sangeeta Yadav about his experience in the show, dancing journey and how dance has changed his life
· How was your journey with India’s Got talent (IGT)IJ
I don’t consider myself as a winner as I have to go a long way and this is just the beginning. The biggest challenge was to prepare an act in two days and aerial acrobatics is very difficult dance form. I was told to choreograph and perform on Chinese pole dance and that was very risky. My hands got bruised. I was nervous but everything went well and I got a standing ovation. The judges told me that even professional dancers don’t have that grace in their aerial acts but I got it right.
· How did dancing happenIJ
It was in 2010 when I was staying with my family in Guwahati. One of my friend wanted to participate in Bengali talent hunt TV show Tokur Tokur. I accompanied with her, she gave her auditions but couldn’t get selected. My friend asked me to give it a try. I not only got selected, but won the show as well. There was no looking back after that.
· nDid you always want to be a dancerIJ
I wanted to join the Army; my father died in 1999 in a terrorist attack. That time I was only five and my mother singlehandedly brought me up. I thought being an Army officer, I would fight terrorists and prevent from more such attacks. Since childhood I was into martial arts, running and yoga and that’s how I have such a flexible body. But after winning that talent hunt show, many doors opened for me. Terence lewis sir, who was one of the judges at the talent hunt show, invited me to Mumbai. But I decided to start my dancing journey with Sudarshan Chakraborty at Cooch Behar. He taught me contemporary and acrobatic dance for two years. We used to do a lot of shows. I also gave audition for Dance India Dance in Kolkata but I couldn’t make it.
· What was your biggest struggleIJ
When I shifted to Mumbai, I started working as housekeeping and office boy. For six months I worked part-time and learnt dancing from Shree Samartha Vyayam Mandir. That phase was a big struggle for me. Then I called Terence sir and he was very impressed by my performance in that talent hunt show. He enrolled me in his academy for free and also provided me full sponsorship for studying diploma in dance foundation.
· How has dancing changed youIJ
I’m a different person on the stage as I express myself better through my performance. I feel confident and can interact with the people better now.
· Did you have any fearsIJ
If I get serious injuries I may not be able to do anything else as I don’t have any professional training in another field. We are not financially strong nor do we have ant support system to fall back on.
nWhat advise you would like to give to the other aspirantsIJ
Do not look at success, do your best. Stand out in a crowd and make your own identity through hard work and sheer determination.
· How are you planning to spent the prize moneyIJ
I’m planning to buy a house and gift it to my mother.
· What are your plans nowIJ
I’ll go back to Mumbai to complete my diploma and look for other opportunities. My main focus is practice and master new dance forms. I want to work in movies as dancer or assist in choreography. I also want to open my dance studio and train others who have talent but no money to pursue their dream of dancing.