Paul Malek has built a lot of things. A pre-professional dance training centre. A production company. A media company. A 180-seat theatre. A movement for fair dancer pay that went global. And through all of it, one question has driven him: what does it actually take to create sustainable artists in a world that keeps changing?

In this Spotlight Series episode, Loren sits down with Paul Malek, Director, Choreographer, Educator, and founder of Transit Dance in Melbourne, Australia. Paul talks about why being a great dancer is no longer enough, what it means to train artists who can build careers that last, and why curiosity might be the most important skill a dancer can develop.

He also gets into the mental health side of the arts, his three guides for living and teaching, and what he wishes more dance teachers understood about the human being standing in front of them.

If you're a studio owner, a teacher, or someone building something in this industry, this one is for you.

Click Here to Listen!

About Paul

Paul Malek is a renowned Director, Choreographer, and Educator whose influence extends across theatre and stage in Australia and across the globe. With a fervent dedication to artistic ingenuity, he ignites the ambitions of individuals, businesses, and communities, inspiring them to reach their full potential.

Having received formal training in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, Paul's early career as a dancer and global performer took him on tours across 5 continents, honing his skills and leadership as a dance captain, rehearsal director, and company manager by the age of 26.

Returning to Australia in 2007, the spirit of entrepreneurship beckoned Paul to venture into creating enterprises such as Collaboration the Project (2008 – 2015), which produced ground-breaking events like UNDRGRND Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, Immersed Melbourne Dance Industry Night, DANCE CHAT, DANCE CHAT LIVE, and Project Y (Youth Dance Company), in addition to steering over 16 professional production seasons and tours. This includes award-winning productions Yours Truly, Parkland Avenue and Unanswered.

Paul’s contributions to the artistic community manifest through his past roles as board member and President of Australian Teachers of Dancing International. A board member of Ausdance Victoria, and the inaugural Artistic Director of the Victorian Dance Festival. A founding member of Dancers Australia, MEAA, Paul champions fair pay for dancers across the industry which goes back to 2013 when he initiated the #paythedancers movement which reached global attention and has continued moving forward.

Paul was the co-director of BOOM Media (2011 – 2015), a forward-thinking Marketing and Media Company dedicated to and led by dancers. During this time, he worked as a Videographer, Photographer and Film Editor along his choreographic and producing achievements. He was also the Director of Dance Architect choreographic award and the Dance Architect Education Summit.

His choreographic proficiency shines through his work on television shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance Australia, alongside crafting captivating performances for numerous corporate events, award ceremonies, music videos and television commercials. A regular on the Dance Festival Circuit, Paul has taught and lectured at Australian Dance Festival, Victorian Dance Festival, MOVE IT London, Dance Summit New York, Come Together Dance Convention to name a few.

In 2015, Paul founded Transit Dance, a ground-breaking endeavour that serves as a testament to his visionary leadership. As Artistic Director (2015 – 2024), he spearheaded a diverse spectrum of performance platforms and educational initiatives, housed within his innovative dance and performance precinct in Brunswick, Victoria. He currently continues his influence as Chairman of the Transit Dance Board of Directors.

Beyond his instrumental role at Transit Dance, Paul stands as a prominent figure in the realm of motivational speaking, addressing audiences at corporate events, conventions, and festivals globally. As an avid dance photographer his artistic expression extends through his lens, capturing the essence of movement and grace, working alongside esteemed artists to bring their visions to life.

Envisioning a world where art and inspiration intertwine seamlessly, Paul Malek strives to leave an indelible mark on the cultural landscape, shaping the future of dance and performance with his unparalleled vision and unwavering commitment to excellence.

If you’d like more amazing content more tips and ideas check out our Acrobatic Arts Channel on YouTube. Subscribe Now!

Connect with Acrobatic Arts on your favourite social media platform:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acrobaticarts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Acroarts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/acrobatic_arts/

Learn more and register for our programs at AcrobaticArts.com  

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Loren  0:01  
Hey everyone, welcome to the acrobatic arts Podcast! 

Loren  0:04  
I'm Loren, and I will be interviewing some of the top leaders and innovators from the dance and acrobatic industry. If you are a teacher, performer, student, or a lifelong learner like myself, you are sure to find these episodes intriguing and full of inspiration. Acrobatic Arts is passionate about providing current and relevant information for everyone, so please sit back and enjoy as we share our passion with you and the world. 

Loren  0:32  
Today's episode is part of our Spotlight series where we revisit conversations that continue to resonate across the dance community.

Loren  0:46  
This episode first aired on July 14, 2021 a powerful conversation exploring what it truly means to build a career that goes beyond the stage. Before we jump back in with Paul Malek, we asked him to share a quick update on what he's been working on Paul's impact has continued to expand across the global dance landscape. 

Loren  1:05  
As a director, choreographer, educator and motivational speaker, he continues to inspire individuals and communities to think bigger and pursue excellence, both on and off the stage. As the founder of transit dance, Paul built a groundbreaking hub for performance and education in Australia, and now continues his influence as chairman on the board of directors

Loren  1:28  
From choreographing for major television productions like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance Australia to speaking on stages around the world. Paul's perspective on career longevity and leadership is as relevant and inspiring as ever. 

Loren  1:42  
Now it's time to shine the spotlight on today's guest.

Loren  1:51  
Paul Malek, hello and welcome to the acrobatic arts podcast.

Unknown Speaker  1:56  
Hello, Loren, thank you so much for having me.

Loren  1:59  
Paul. You are a man of many talents and many projects. I know our listeners are going to love hearing about your journey through life thus far, as well as the inspirational insights that you have collected along the way. Let's start by you telling us about your background, where you grew up, how you started dancing, and where that took you in life. 

Paul  2:22  
Yeah, amazing. Thank you again for having me. I'm very excited to be talking with you. I am a Australian dancer and a dancer since birth, basically, I was dancing in my mother's stomach. I grew up in a dance family, so my mother owned a dance studio in a small country town in Victoria, and I grew up in the studio. Every single night, every Saturday, I was around dance and loved it. From the get go, I moved to the big city when I was 12 years old to basically join, I guess you could relate it to like a fame high school. So it was like a high school for the arts. 

Paul  3:02  
So I was able to do full time dance, and my academic studies all the way through high school, which was very wonderful. And then out of high school, I went on and became a dancer. So I was classically trained and contemporary trained. And then I found the wonderful world of Performing Arts in my late teens, and just just kept going. So I worked in cabarets, I worked on cruise ships. I worked for like Disney touring groups. I sang, I did jazz, many different styles and many different events around the world. Danced in maybe four different continents around the world, and ended up basically being the rehearsal director at or like a stager for cruise ships in Miami for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Did that for a couple of years in my mid 20s. So I had a really like if I look at my performing career, it was basically a real snapshot of my journey in life. So it was a seven year straight performing career, and then I decided I wanted to move back to Australia. 

Paul  4:04  
So I moved back to Melbourne at about 27 years old, and hung up my dancing shoes. I opened up a studio, I opened up a production company, a dance company, I opened up a media and marketing company. I was a little bit of an entrepreneur. I wanted, I had my fingers in many, many pies, and I really enjoyed the fact of creating. I really wanted to make dance look good. I believed in I love photography, I love graphic design, I love videography, I love film. I love the theater. Like the theater is something. It's the most magical place, the theater I have. I built a theater now. So I actually, I'm sitting in the in my facilities here at transit dance, and we had 108 theater here. And after this podcast, I'm going to go into it and play with some projection mapping. So that's really exciting. I know I'm very, very blessed to be where I am. So I started transit dance maybe seven years ago. And this is a combination. We have a dance company. We have education, pre professional courses, so people who are aspiring to be professional artists. We have a high school academy now, so I've created my own little fame High School here at transit dance, and we have the youth programming, but the major, major part of our business is the pre professional training. And we have eight dance studios here, a theater, and also a black box rehearsal slash theater as well. So we've just opened, we call it the factory, and we've just opened another theatrical space, which is really exciting, because I haven't actually worked in there yet. So I'm looking forward to getting in there and doing that. 

Paul  5:38  
On top of that, I basically do motivational speaking. I'm very much big on mental health, especially in the arts and performance psychology. And I love photography. I think I said I just love photography. I love capturing stories. My favorite past time, so I love to tell stories. Wow, yeah, sorry. I always forget this, and I'll get in trouble for my business partner about choreograph on so you're thinking dance Australia. Thinking dance Australia back when it was on, and also Dancing with the Stars here, which is still continuing. I'm the contemporary consultant for many of their contemporary routines. So that's a little side, side thing that I do with my choreography.

Loren  6:14  
Well, that's a pretty big side thing for most of us. But like I said, many talents and many projects. So Transit Dance, I mean, I looked it up online, and just the pictures alone, it is an amazing facility, and it's so nice that you have everything under one roof. It sounds like you don't have to go anywhere for any other training. And so that must be nice for the dancers as well. 

Paul  6:43  
Absolutely

Loren  6:44  
What was your vision behind transit dance?

Paul  6:48  
So I worked at a lot of institutions, and there's some great institutions here in Australia. The training here is a very high caliber. What I found was that I had really distinct values and culture that I bought into my classroom, and not saying that other places didn't have similar values, but I really wanted to build a place that I could be. I could really focus on creating sustainable arts in global economy and everything that has been happening, especially now with covid Especially, I really believe that being a great dancer in a studio isn't going to give you decades and decades of employment. I believe that you need to have many strings to your bow. We need more theater creators. We need more administration staff. We need more people who are going to make events and community projects and industry events, and people who can, like, cultivate Australian damn scene and also spread that into the globe beyond that. And to do that, people need to be entrepreneurs. 

Paul  7:49  
People need to know how to social media market. People need to know extra skills. And I wanted to bring that into an education system, as well as being able to create my own art and my own professional shows and my youth company, and do things in one place where I didn't have to go out and hire theaters and work with different staff. Not they're saying that's not wonderful, but I really wanted to build a team and build a place for all of my wonderful colleagues and my friends who all work for me and work with us, not for me. We work together. We have a full time staff of 12, and every single person in our staff has somehow known me in some place in my career, whether going back to the same country town that I grew up in, or I went to full time dance with our performing arts director. My best friend is my business partner, my husband works here, so it's very much my mother and my father work here as well and like so it's very much a place where people who are hold, I hold, close to my world can really enhance their craft and celebrate how amazing the performing arts are.

Loren  8:55  
That's wonderful to have that opportunity. So obviously, you think it's important for artists to open themselves up, and what would you say the extra skills or the multiple skills that would help them further their career?

Paul  9:11  
Everything. I don't think there is a limit. I don't think there is a limit. If you I always say that artists cannot be complacent with their curiosity, and the more an artist is curious, the more they will be able to discover what hidden talents they didn't know they had. So I never knew that I could capture great photography, but I picked up a camera one day and started and I wasn't great in the beginning, but as the years go by, I could be a professional photographer if I wanted to. So like all of the images that you say that you see online, etc, etc, most of them have been taken by me. So I think that the biggest thing for artists to understand, firstly, is understand themselves and be honest with themselves, understanding the. On the benefits of routine, understanding what habitual habits you have, and then, then, once you have your routine in place, and you understand yourself, you understand your gut health, for instance, like under like, all of these things truly affect you as a human. If you can understand you as a human, if you can open yourself and be vulnerable, then you can go, well, then what is it that I want to do? Because a lot of a lot of dancers, or acrobatics, anyone within the art, they go, oh, I want to be a dancer. Alright. Well, what do you want to do? I would just want to perform. And it's that kind of idea of like, but do you understand what performing is? Because performing isn't just turning up one day and jumping in a theater and putting on a show. 

Paul  10:43  
There is so much to do with it, and we need to be able to be open to being a barista, if you love people and if you love making coffee, then be a barista and be a performing artist. I know it's not a sellout. It's actually a bonus. That's extra money in your pocket. And if you love it, do it. If you love to cook, start up your own little Soup Company online. Or if you're in a full time institution, why don't you make that soup on the weekend and then sell it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to the kids, like there's so much to do in life, if you actually just go ahead and do it. Entrepreneurship is something that is the future. It's the it's the present, and it's something that everyone can do. And it's finding that belief that you can do it that is truly amazing, that waking up every day and going, today, I'm going to write a blog, and I don't care that I'm not great at punctuation, but I'm going to do it, and by God, you will be much better at punctuation on your 111th block, I ran to them, but I hope that made some kind of sense.

Loren  11:46  
Yes, definitely you, you must be a very motivational teacher. So when you're teaching dance education to the dancers, what do you think the most valuable lessons are that you teach, and what do you really want your students to learn?

Paul  12:04  
It's so funny because I'm sitting in our boardroom and we have all of these wonderful posters with sayings on them. The first one heads, Don't bury your failures. Let them inspire you. So I guess the biggest lesson is, every single failure is your step to success. Every failure is a success, and we hear it a lot, but people really don't practice it as much. We're so hard on ourselves, especially as artists, we're really, really critical, and removing that personal critique on ourselves, allowing us to make mistakes. I have three I have three values and guides that I live my life by. They're my three guides of improvisation, and I really, truly apply them to my life now. 

Paul  12:45  
The first one is constantly evolving. We are constantly evolving. We can never be at a standstill. There's so many times where we feel we're in a rut or we're not improving, or we're not going anywhere, but that's actually incorrect, because we're continually expanding life. We're not going backwards. Time is always moving forward and outward. The second one is endless possibilities. We can do whatever we want. We can climb to the top of that silk. We can, we can do a backflip. We can, we can make our own show or become a sound designer in our spare time learning how to use GarageBand. We can do whatever we want. You have endless possibilities. And the biggest one, and I think this really works with your failures is that nothing is incorrect, no good, bad or indifferent choice is incorrect because you made it. You can't unmake your choices. So you have to be able to be honest with yourself, live with yourself, and move forward and learn from your mistakes. I think that they're kind of the real big factors in what I want people to understand as well as understanding that as a dancer, you are not just a physical being, you are a mental being, you're a soulful being. There is so much to you in being a dancer and an artist that relies on you being a human being first.

Loren  13:55  
I think that's so true. We're teaching the whole person, not just the physical aspect. Now I'm going to move on to your career as a choreographer, just so that we sort of touch on everything that you've done a little bit. Could you talk us through your process and what would you say are some of your major inspirations when creating?

Paul  14:18  
I love telling stories. I love real, truthful, honest stories. So I mean, my choreographic career has been all over the place. To be honest in the sense of, I do very, very narrative based work. I do performing arts work, and then I do abstract works that explore and it's more based on research rather than a narrative or a real, accessible kind of idea, an example would be the one of my most successful and award winning shows is called Yours Truly, and it's a wartime love story about those who left and those who are left behind. And it really focuses on three different households and the women in. Those households that were left behind, and then also their husbands or their partners that went away. 

Paul  15:05  
And the stage is within two, and the whole story is just surrounding that, that time in World War Two and and the real, true kind of Australian aspects of that and what happened to those families. And it's quite an emotional thing. And some some return, and unfortunately, some don't return. And that has really resonated so much with people, because it's a real story. You know, my Nana lived through it. She was left behind, and he did return, and it was an amazing thing in such a terrible time in our history. And those kind of things when you can connect the audience, because choreography and storytelling can, can put you on the same level as someone it can. It can really change your life in the sense of, I understand that I'm not alone. 

Paul  15:54  
I did a So You Think You Can Dance routine. A bit about a mother who had just lost her child and her son was there trying to support her through that. And the the message that I got from strangers after that piece, who had lost a child, and how it made them feel like they weren't alone and was able to connect on such a level, that's the stuff that I really that really inspire me, and I want to tell stories that not sugar coated stories, like real stories, because we all are living life, and we all have bad things happen to us, and we all do bad things, and we do great things, and we have sad times, and that's something that we can communicate through art and make people feel like they're okay, And you know, they're worth being here still.

Loren  16:42  
Now. I'm at a loss for words. I was caught up in what you were saying, and I think it is really important, and especially as an artist, to create things is to touch other people, and I feel like you are doing a great job at that. So thank you, and congratulations on all your pieces of arts that you've created. Now. You also mentioned that you have a great passion for mental health in your own experience and career. How did this come about? And how do you advocate this in your work?

Paul  17:17  
Good question. Absolutely. When I was growing up and we didn't have social media. We didn't have phones. I was told that it was weak to cry, to show my emotions, was a sign of weakness, and therefore I would not be successful. I was told that I couldn't cry because I was a man and all these things, and you build up these walls. And when I was when I came home, and I was around 28 27 28 I got attacked by a group of six guys, quite violently, and I was thrown to the ground, kicked in the face rapidly. I had 15 facial fractures. I had two face reconstructions. It was a very, very, very, very tough time, and I never actually saw someone for my mental health. I saw a lot of doctors for my physical being, but never my mental health. And it wasn't until years later that I was diagnosed with PTSD, and I've gone through many, many, many moments where I've had insomnia, etc, etc. 

Paul  18:12  
And when I went there and I saw the psychologist for the first time, I actually realized that this isn't mean there's nothing wrong with me, it means that actually there's so much right with me, and being able to talk to someone and being able to find out, it was like I went back to school and just learned so much about mental health and about psychology and about worth I think that's the thing with mental health, is that if you can understand that nothing's wrong with you, You You can start believing that you are worthy of greatness. And so many people who do suffer from depression. And I have to say that I think everyone at this point in time, especially with the what is happening in the world right now, have bouts where they just don't understand their thoughts. 

Paul  18:57  
And as artists, we are the most vulnerable creatures. It's like our chests are open, and sometimes, when bad things happen, they just hit us straight in the heart, and they keep hitting us, and we don't know how to close our chest or protect ourselves. And so we take on all this extra stress which can truly affect us as humans and as artists and make us paralyzed sometimes to be able to proceed and evolve. So I think the education behind mental health in dance and in the arts and in general is something that I'm really passionate about making sure, because I don't want anyone to feel like they're alone. And we all have a silent movie in our head that no one hears. We all can hear something that no one else can truly understand. So it does feel at times that we are alone, and that's okay, because that means that we're not alone, because we're all going through the same things.

Loren  19:51  
And this, I'm not sure if this is how your book came about, but I'd like to mention that. You know, in addition to everything else that you do and have done, you also just published a book. I believe it came out February 2021.

Paul  20:09  
so you're doing your research.

Loren  20:12  
So fairly recently, did that inspire you to write the book?

Paul  20:17  
Absolutely, I always kind of wanted i back in my friend reminded me, back in 2013 she goes, if you weren't doing this, if you weren't choreographing, if you weren't teaching, what would you do? And I said, You know what? I'd probably write a book. And a couple of years ago, I just sat down one day and I started writing, and then two years later, I had a book, and it's kind of like it's called the secret to a successful and happy life, and it's very much about my journey and my philosophies and how I came about my philosophies. There's a line in that we are the greatest problem solvers of our own existence, and I think that people, people sometimes need to be reminded just how great they are because we are. We have an infinite amount of strength we are. 

Paul  21:04  
We can move mountains with our minds, like there's so much that we can do as individuals. And I believe that this book hopefully could help some people realize that even though I come across I say Happy Monday, happy Tuesday online every single day, because I believe that we should all be happy, but that doesn't mean we are always happy. Does that make sense? So I think that the book really, really has resonated with so many people. I always said, If one person reads it and it changes their life, or it helps them get through another day, then it was worth writing, and the feedback so far from the people who have read, it has been really wonderful and heartwarming. And I literally sometimes just open it up and just start reading, because I also need reminders of what my philosophies are. Because, you know, running a business and going health or leather all the time can be, you know, draining. It can be stressful, and we just need to be reminded that we're okay and we can do it. We can be we can motivate ourselves and find what it is that we are great at.

Loren  22:11  
Well, I think you've given us lots of pieces of advice, but if you could give the dance teachers or dance students one more piece of advice, what would it be

Paul  22:22  
For dance teachers, my, my biggest, my biggest piece of advice is that every single human being that steps into our studio is of the exact same worth and to treat people not By ability, but by potential, potential to be great humans, I feel that we have the most amazing power and blessing to guide the next generation of human beings into society by teaching them dance and teaching them arts. And I think that we get so wound up in the steps that sometimes we lose sight of the value that we can give the next generation of artists, and to those artists, I just say, please be yourself. Try not to fear what you look like, embrace who you are and take that into your dance, because there is a place in dance for everyone, you do not need to look a certain way. You don't need to dance a certain way. If you love dance, you will find your place in the world beautiful.

Loren  23:30  
That was absolutely beautiful.

Paul  23:33  
That was unplanned, but I'm glad I got it out.

Loren  23:35  
It was perfect. I think you know what I think at this point in time, with what is happening around the world, I believe what you have said in this interview could really help a lot of people, and I think it's maybe what a lot of people needed to hear, or need to hear, to maybe bring more hope to the situation. So thank you, Paul. It was a pleasure meeting you, and thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today. 

Paul  24:03  
No problems at all, and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future, in person when travel return.

Loren  24:18  
If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe and follow so you never miss an episode. 

Loren  24:24  
And if you know a dance teacher, student or parent who would love to hear this discussion, send it their way. Sharing the show is one of the best ways to support the podcast. 

Loren  24:36  
Until next time, find power in your strength, freedom in your flexibility and know that we are here to support you on your acro journey. 

Loren  24:44  
Thanks for listening everyone, and have a great day!