He is handsome; he is a super talented dancer and
an actor. He was called to judge a dance event at KC College 5 years back and
he readily agreed to do so, and that time he was gaining a lot of popularity
with Dance India Dance season 1. I have known him since then. In these years he
has grown in all aspects and now is at the peak of his career. He is a dancer, actor,
producer and above all an amazing human being. Let’s Talk Life with dancer and
actor Mayuresh Wadkar, where he talks about his journey of life, his job as a
salesman in his initial days, his struggle, reality shows , acting, love for
his family and most importantly his immense love and passion for DANCE.
- Kindly tell us something about yourself ?
I did my schooling from
Thakur Vidya Mandir – Kandivali and have been dancing since my school days. I
was the only boy in the school who danced and rest all were girls. Started
performing and winning all the interschool dance competitions. I started
earning since class five to support my family and got a hack of working hard
since then. I unexpectedly failed in 2 subjects which I thought I would clear
(English and Georgraphy). I somehow managed to clear my 10th and
later pursued Correspondence in BA from Pune University.
At that time, dancing was
not that famous, so I started my career as a editor(trainee) for Balaji
Telefilms for daily soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi , Kayamat, Kahi
To Hoga , but my colleagues there motivated me to become an actor At that time
the only one thing I knew was Hardwork. My dream was to be become either a
Dancer or an Actor and since childhood I had the vision. There is a very
strange story behind this, what my mother told me. She told me that I use to
wake up hearing songs on the radio, and when I grew up I imagined myself
dancing around the tress with actresses: P.
During my editing days, a
casting director and now a household name Imam Siddique, applauded my dance and
promised me that he would take me to meet Terence Lewis. That time I was
unaware of Terence Lewis,but when he told me that he was the choreographer of
the movie Naach ( Antara Mali), I was like wow.. I really loved the moves in
the movie and was looking forward for that meeting. Imam Sir showed me the path,
I met Terence sir and he really loved my dancing . I graduated from Terence
Lewis Contemporary Dance Company and started giving auditions. I got selected
for Jhalak Dikhlaja and Dance India Dance, but I choose the latter over the
former as DID gives an artiste an individual recognition. I was amongst the top
5 contestants for DID 1, after that I did couple of TV shows an d then did ABCD
movie with Remo D’souza, that was an amazing experience that I will cherish all
through my life.
I blindly kept working
hard, God gave me a path way, I was straight and did not take a wrong path to
achieve my goal. Al through my journey my family and my friend Raju were my
mental and emotional anchors. My friend Raju was working then, and gave me
Rs100 everyday when I did not have money.
My likes and dislikes
depend on my mood. I honestly dislike people who are judgemental about others
as I strongly believe that all 5 fingers are different and God has made all of
us keeping something in mind, so respect it.
- What are you doing currently professionally?
Currently I am chilling,
socializing with friends, giving my parents happiness by spending time with
them. If you ask me work wise, we recently had ‘Mayuresh Night’ in Surat, where
I performed 5 dance sequences with dancers. I have opened a dance academy in
Mumbai and Patna. I am continuously travelling for live performances, shows,
workshops judging across India I have
recently produced a Marathi film, for which I have choreographed as well. I did
Dare to Dance on Life ok. I will be choreographing Bangladesh – Lux Fashion
Show pageant it is in its 8th year currently and I am planning a
musical very soon.
- What made you choose this career?
I am happy and satisfied
with what I am doing. I enjoy every bit of what I do. Whatever job I did or
rather I am doing it becomes a part of my life and I think from my heart. My
happiness and smile that I was getting out of dance and performing made me
choose this as my career.
- You have been a part of couple of reality shows as a performer and then as a master, talk about your journey then and how is it different now?
Initially I was a normal
dancer, DID (Dance India Dance) made me famous and a household name. The Aerial
act that I did in DID gave me recognition and till now no one has broken my
record. Before DID my life was tension free and cool, as the person who I had
to face if I made a blunder or a mistake was myself but now the struggle and expectations from
people is 5 times more than it was before. I have my own company Versatility in
Music, Acrobat and Dance (VMAD), I have personally trained all my assistants and
with God’s grace the company is doing well. The response we get is
overwhelming. We have workshops all over India.
- How did you venture into acting?
I did a small role in
serial ‘Maayka’ on Zee Tv after DID. Later I did ‘Adalat’ on Sony and suddenly
ABCD happened, from which I learned a lot. I am planning a musical soon for
which I will be acting and choreographing .I am learning acting from an eminent
guru.
- Apart from Dance, what do you do in your pastime?
I party, chill and socialize with friends, spend time with
family. I love playing poker, travelling and love helping and counselling
people.
- What is your take on dance reality shows?
Dance reality shows came up for people to show their passion
for dance. Nowadays there are too many of these dance reality shows and I
strongly feel that competition has killed the passion for dance. People end up
participating just to get famous and not showing off their talent. When I was a
part of DID, my funda was to perform and respect my stage, guru.
- Perks of choosing your career?
Dance has always clicked for me. I am happy in my space today
because I am doing what I love. The recognition, respect you get is
overwhelming, but at the same time it gives a feeling of responsibility to
excel in life. It made me confident in life and my struggle helped to face all
kinds of challenges in life.
- Challenges that you came across? How did you overcome them?
I had learned Contemporary and Jazz from Terence Sir. During
DID auditions I saw people performing Hip-Hop, learning hip –hop was a
challenge but I overcame that. Positive thinking helps me overcome all the
challenges that come my way.
- What is your Nothing is Impossible moment?
I was always sheltered, I was always under people and had a
notion that I will succeed only when I have a leader or people above me to tell
what i have to do. I use to demotivate myself, but when I started sharing my
ideas openly, things changed a lot. I opened my own Dance company and did
couple of reality shows and that time I realized that I can grow on my own and
did not require anyone’s support.
My acting coach wanted me to choreograph for a Punjabi movie,
stage choreography is different but for films camera angles and handling is
also a part of it. I was initially very nervous as I would be doing it for the
first time and there was a lot of finance involved in it and there no chance
for a goof up. My sir had faith in me and my previous experience of editing and
camera helped me to choreograph it beautifully.
I always believe no experience goes waste. I did a salesman’s
job in my initial days, which required door-door selling and this experience
taught me marketing myself which is the most important aspect to sustain in
this industry obviously after hardwork. I learned to respect people.
- Lastly what advice would you give to the aspiring dancers/actors who want to make their mark in the field?
My advice to everyone is believe in yourself and always do
your homework properly. Do not ever lose hope and keep practicing. Understand
that 5 fingers are different so treat everybody equally and with respect. Love,
help and pray for everybody. Appreciate everybody’s work. If you have it in you
(passion to be someone), nobody can take it away from you.
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