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Journalism of Courage
For a young Daniel Praveen Paul,growing up in the upscale Chennai neighbourhood of Anna Nagar,life revolved around school,homework and just one hour of games. There was little room for TV or music in his disciplined life. But years later,Paul,popularly referred to as Danny by his students,has become a dancing sensation in faraway Finland. At his small studio in Tampere,southern Finland,27-year-old Paul has been teaching the Finns to do the latest Bollywood jhatkas and matkas for the last two years.
The Finland government recently decided to finance Pauls company,Danny8217;s Bollywood Dance Crew DBDC,which runs his studio. Finnvera,a state-owned financing company and the official Export Credit Agency of Finland allocated a large sum for it. I had no intention of opening a dance school. At that time,zumba was at its peak. So I thought of popularising Bollywood on the lines of zumba. I created a market which wasnt there, says Paul,who managed to get 80-90 students between the age groups of 3-65 years within a month of opening the studio.
Paul discovered his love for dancing at the age of 13,when he secretly joined a neighbourhood dance school called John Britos Dance Academy,much to the dislike of his father,who wanted him to learn karate instead. He thought dancers didnt have a good reputation, says Paul,who paid fees for karate class and reached an agreement with his dance teacher to learn at the academy free of cost. Soon,his passion grew and while pursuing a BSc in bio-technology,he became a choreographer and partner in a south Indian dance reality show,Jodi No 1.
Pauls father emphasised education before all else. He finally accepted my keenness to pursue dancing as long as my grades didnt suffer, says Paul,who kept the promise,as he struggled to maintain a dance-study balance,graduating with a good score. The teachers in my university thought that dancing would not take me ahead in life. That hurt because I took both dancing and studies seriously, he says.
In 2008,Paul moved to Finland for a Masters in bio-engineering from Tampere University. Alongside academics,he enrolled in tango lessons at a local dance school. Soon enough,his instructors noticed his moves on the dance floor,and offered him a job at the school. The timing could not have been better as Paul had just submitted his Masters thesis and could do with some pocket money. While working as a research assistant at the university,Paul started teaching Bollywood dance at a cultural centre,where he would pay rent by the hour. His big break came when a local event company asked him to perform at a cultural function and was willing to pay him and his troupe of three 1,800 euros. It was more than I ever dreamt of earning for my dance. This was a sign that I was appreciated.
After training a small crew in basic Bollywood steps,Paul entered and reached the final round of Finnish reality show Finlands Got Talent,dancing to the beats of Babuji zara dheere chalo and Daler Mehndis Tunak tunak tun remixed to Gangnam Style. We wanted to use authentic,peppy Bollywood songs,which have Hindi lyrics and no westernised accent. But its a good thing we did not win as it made us realise that we were not that good. We got sympathy from the audience and people started paying attention to our style of dancing, he says. This was followed by a choreographed sequence for reality shows like So You Think You Can Dance Finland and Pakko Tanssia,where he choreographed the judges on Dhinka chika,and the background score of Raavan.
After getting publicity in the Finnish press,Paul submitted a business plan to Finnvera. I discussed with Danny and he had a good business plan and also he had danced on Finnish TV. People knew him and he had many customers, says Pertti Lahdeaho,financing manager,Finnvera. A major part of the funding went to his new 400 sq-ft studio,which is located inside a mall. The studio is built on two levels,comprising two different dance halls,a lobby and an office.
Paul currently works with a small team of choreographers whom he has personally trained. All choreographers present their ideas after listening to a song and improvise on it. Some of my dancers write down the ideas as it helps them express better, says Paul,who has plans to expand his studio to other cities in Finland. We will review his plan in a few months to see whether he requires more funding, says Lahdeaho.
Meanwhile,Paul regularly visits his parents in India where he keeps up with the latest Bollywood choreography styles. His father now flaunts his sons credentials in his neighbourhood,calling him the CEO of DBDC.
