GalaxyCon Columbus: Paula Abdul

I remember back when I was three years old, I always sang along with the radio when it came to the “Oh, oh, oh” part of Paula Abdul’s (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance) hit “Straight Up.” So there was no way I’d miss her panel at GalaxyCon Columbus.

The 61-year-old singer, dancer, and TV personality loves to talk about dance. In fact, she’s still brought to tears whenever she sees beautiful dance performances. She said, “Dance is something that’s unlike any other artistic visual medium. Dance just gets into your soul and every fiber of your being. It changes your life for the better for the rest of your life.”

Abdul will be busy through 2024. She currently serves as a co-producer of the musical How to Dance in Ohio. She has a tour with New Kids on the Block and a forthcoming documentary. On top of all that, she’s writing her memoir.

“[It’ll] be like Tolstoy’s War and Peace because I’ve had a very colorful, decades-long career. And I’ve had careers in different areas that are separate and distinct from anything else. So it’s not an easy story to tell. Just be patient.”

On Developing Choreography

When Abdul started professionally developing routines in the late 1970s, the industry was much different. “There were no computers. I had no point of reference of any video footage I could watch, unless I would go to see a movie. But for me, I would go to the library and study periodicals.”

She also believes that choreographers, whether professional or aspiring, are missing a major point in their planning. They need to focus on the artist and design a routine based on that individual’s strengths and unique qualities: Aim to be complementary rather than merely attracting social media likes.

Instead, choreographers today are missing opportunities to shine. “If you’re an artist that doesn’t dance, it’s just dancers all around you. It’s not paying attention to the artist first.”

On Choreography for Michael Jackson

One of Abdul’s early projects was to work on choreography for the Jacksons, including Michael Jackson. She found a way to hold Michael’s focus by challenging him to stick to every single step of her routine without any deviations. He had to be able to execute all the moves and then go back and repeat the routine again two more times. Then he was finally free to improvise as he liked.

Abdul explained, “He had the gift of having a brand new performance every night because he knew it inside out, backwards, forwards. He could pop out of the choreography, do whatever he want[ed] to do, pop back into the choreography, and it was always a formula that worked.”

Then she taught him the value of taking a moment to freeze on stage and look up into the crowd for a few moments. “Sometimes your best movement is by doing nothing and it creates a frenzy with an audience because they’re clamoring. They want to see what you’re gonna do next.”

On Career Advice

At Q&A time, Abdul offered words of caution for any dance instructors who aren’t demonstrating enough of their choreography and techniques with students. “A lot of people are competitive and they are like, well, I don’t want anyone to see what I’m doing. Guess what? Your students are going to find someone else that’s going to share openly.”

To aspiring dancers, she said, “I always tell people if you want to make it in this business with your talent, you’ve got to commit. Believe like a child believes in Santa Claus in the gifts that you have and [do] not deviate from that. Give it five years max of killing it out there.”

After five years of classes, auditions, and other activities, Abdul recommends that you take stock of your progress and retool your career goals where you need to. “What I don’t want people to do is to get bitter that it didn’t happen for them. You have so much in other gifts that you can give and align your heart with…It’s really important to do that.”

Visit the GalaxyCon Columbus website for more information. Follow Paula Abdul on Instagram for her latest updates.