A little kid in the toyshop

Judging dance

He makes superstars dance to his tune and is all booked till June with names like Yash Raj Films (YRF) and Anurag Kashyap, as have all signed him for their films. He is the ace choreographer Ashley Lobo who once didn’t want to join films but now is all set to be featured on the small screen as a judge of a reality show, thanks to his ever growing connection with Bollywood!

Ashley confesses, “I didn’t join films. I was dragged to them at a time when I was doing a musical in Delhi and was told that Imtiaz (Ali) is doing a film - Socha Na Tha. I was convinced to meet him in Mumbai but was not interested as I only wanted to do theatre. After I met Imtiaz, I landed doing almost every film of him after that. Then YRF happened and the whole thing just spiralled. I believe theuniverse is its own choreographer and decides for itself.”

Following the directions of universe, Ashley believes that a dancer comes before the dance. “What is important is the star quality about your dance. If you make my heart move, you’ll win me over,” he says revealing his mantra for his judging the upcoming dance reality show India’s Dancing SuperStar (IDS) on Star Plus.

“I do something when I feel right about it. I was refusing films but I met Imtiaz.I felt it was the right thing then, and did it. Similarly, I think now the time has come for me to let go of my privacy for the greater cause of the dancers who want to showcase their talent through this show and thus accepted it. The popularity of TV is a distracting byproduct but I will have to give up some of my privacy for the cause of dance,” he says.

Ashley is taking this opportunity to help performers get over their weak points when it comes to dance. “I am a sucker for dance and I have come to IDS to learn. I am excited to meet people from all over the country as the show is a little window that will give me an insight into their lives,” which will thus inspire him to create future work. For him, he will be on the show like a “little kid in a toyshop.”

Any film sequences he loves? “Dola re from Devdas and the funny part is that I don’t belong to that genre of dance. But I can never forget how Madhuri used herself to express dance.” So she beco­m­es his favourite but among the male leads, there are two names who give him a run for his money. “Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik are two actors who I enjoy working with, for only one reason – they exhaust me! Their work is unbelievable and they are relentless with learning and may be that is why they are where they are today,” he smiles.