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| Paul Bolotovsky directing the Own The Dance Floor video series shoot |
Paul is a dance instructor, and the owner of LearnClubDance.com/blog
Paul: Hey, guys, thanks for this amazing opportunity... Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog and even reading the posts!
You guys rock.
I do just want to mention that sadly, I'm not the instructor in the video. I'm the geek in the office who produces the videos. So I own learnclubdance.com, but I'm not the instructor. That's the job of the amazing Nicole Guidetti and Brian Henninger who work with me, and who are professional backup dancers to the stars.
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| Nicole Guidetti and Brian Henninger |
WMV: Were you named after the Apostle Paul?
Paul: So I actually had to Google this one. And it doesn't look like I have much in common with Paul the apostle, other than his beard. Even though his is longer. And he walks around with a staff. Actually, my name was originally Pavel. I changed it to Paul when I immigrated to the U.S.
WMV: Your blog features an article by Elizabeth Smith. Who is she to you?
Paul: Elizabeth Smith is one of our contributors, and she's been putting together some amazing content. I love her articles on the "12 Dance Tips We Can Learn From Animals," and "7 Dances We've Learned From 90s Sitcoms." Most recently, she put together a hilarious guide to "8 Subtle Ways to Tell Your Boyfriend He Needs A LearnClubDance DVD."
WMV: Your blog also features an article by Jason Saenz, entitled "How Game of Thrones Is Like a K(night) at the Club." Who Jason Saenz to you?
Paul: Jason is a big up and coming comic in the N.Y.C. area. I've been working with Jason Saenz for a few years. We met through a friend when I was helping produce a low budget zombie movie. He helped me create a web video called "Sh*t People Say In The Club." We were hoping it would go viral. I think fifty people watched it. Since then, we've teamed up on a series of blog posts for the learn club dance blog.
WMV: Are you personally a fan of "Game of Thrones"?
Paul: I love Game of Thrones. Blood, Sex, Nudity, and Unpredictability. What's not to love? I read all of the books, and I love what H.B.O. has done with the series. There's a romanticism we have as a society for Medieval Times. Also the themed restaurant Medieval Times is awesome. Go, green knight!
WMV: Your blog features a headline which includes the phrase, "To Twerk or Not to Twerk." Are you personally in favor of twerking or not?
Paul: Oh, yeah! Shake what your momma gave you. I think I read that in a fortune cookie once.
WMV: Are you the webmaster of LearnClubDance.com?
Paul: I'm more like a web apprentice than a web "master." When I first started, I worked with a team of graphic designers to work on the home page, but we ran out of money, and I ended up learning H.T.M.L. [Hypertext Markup Language] to finish the rest of the site. It's always a work in progress, but I'm a big fan of the simple, crisp design. Occasionally, there are things I want to do that H.T.M.L. for Dummies didn't teach me, so I'll outsource some of the complicated stuff...
WMV: Are you, in reality, the author of articles authored by "LearnClubDance"?
Paul: There's a whole bunch of us that add content under the Learn Club Dance handle. It's usually the dance instructors and content writers that we have on our team, but I'll jump in if I'm feeling especially funny or erudite.
WMV: In one of LearnClubDance's articles, it says that some YouTube videos are a "terrific," "free" source of salsa dance instruction. Do you have less respect for dancers who learned to dance by watching YouTube videos than ones with prestigious dance schools and/or instructors on their resumés?
Paul: I think YouTube is one of the greatest resources of our generation. Even if you watch funny cat videos in between salsa steps... The trick to learning anything from YouTube is to vet your sources. Anyone can put up a video, so it's important to choose wisely.
When it comes to respect, I don't think it matters where or how you learned how to dance. That conflict between the prestigious ballet dancer and the guy who learned hip hop on the streets is mostly just something we see in dance movies like Step Up.
Brian Henninger, who is one of the lead dance instructors at Learn Club Dance, didn't learn how to dance until after college, and even then, he didn't learn from prestigious dance schools till much later in the game. Brian is a great example of a guy who had no dance experience, who just had a desire to learn and get better, who became a professional dancer in just a few short years dancing with Mary J. Blige, Carly Jae Repson [sic], Snoop Dog, and Justin Bieber.
WMV: One of the articles on your blog, by Abby Rose Dalto, is entitled "Spontaneous Choreography From Some Unexpected Movies," and in it, she states that "there's no logical explanation for how [a] whole crowd can do a dance scene in perfect unison without it having been pre-planned." What makes her think these scenes weren't pre-planned?
Paul: Abby's piece is a funny take on non-dance-related movies where suddenly all of the actors start doing a choreographed routine. Of course, they had to pre-plan it with dozens of rehearsals, but we found it funny because other than those spontaneous dance routines, the movies had nothing to do about dance.
WMV: Two of the articles on your blog, written by LearnClubDance, are about salsa dancing. Is salsa your favorite dance?
Paul: Our salsa section on the website is one of our newer genres, and we've been focusing a lot of our marketing energy on driving traffic to our new how to salsa video. Personally, I have a huge affinity for salsa from my backpacking days, when I spent a few years traveling around Central and South America. I also think that salsa moves are incredibly versatile, and you can use many of the same steps in salsa to other types of music. So, by learning how to dance salsa, you're also picking up moves you can use in weddings and clubs as well. Even when it's not salsa that you are dancing to...
WMV: "Salsa" is a term often used in the same breath as "merengue." What is or are the significant difference or differences between salsa and merengue?
Paul: Merengue is more subtle - more subdued than salsa. To me, merengue feels more formal, more linear, where as in salsa, you have a lot more freedom to move.
WMV: Your recent interview with ElizaGales.com is entitled "An Interview With Learn to Dance Club Owner Paul Bolotovsky." What dance clubs, if any, do you own?
Paul: LOL. Unfortunately, it looks like Eliza may have printed the wrong company name in her headline. I suppose the interview should have been titled "An Interview With Learn Club Dance Owner Paul Bolotovsky." But I would love to own a club. So, if anyone is reading this who wants a partner, call me. I want to pop champagne and dance on a table.
WMV: In your e-mail to us, you mention that your "dancers are really sexy." How many people do you employ?
Paul: Learn Club Dance uses a "Tim Ferris" type of business model. So we don't have any full time employees. Instead, we partner with dozens of people, usually on a freelancer type of basis. This gives me the opportunity to not have any overhead costs, and to be really mobile. I get to work from anywhere in the world.
WMV: What example or examples, if any, would you like to give our readers, of someone or something that is not really sexy?
Paul: Sarah Palin is not sexy. Actually, I take that back. Sarah Palin is very sexy.
WMV: Yeah! On a scale of Andrea Dworkin to Michelle Obama, I'd give Miss Wasilla 1984, a.k.a. Sarah Palin, a Twenty.
You stated that "[you] always knew [you] wanted to be an entrepreneur." As an entrepreneur, where do you stand on minimum wage laws?
Paul: You shouldn't be poor if you have a full time job. Our minimum wage rates don't come close to providing a "minimum" standard of living. It's better for society when everyone does well. Crime goes down. Disposable income goes up.
Economists like to say that by raising the minimum wage, you're actually causing unemployment because small businesses will hire less people. I think that's just a convenient graph that interest groups point to on paper that doesn't translate to the real world. There are plenty of examples throughout the world where successful, industrialized, countries have a higher minimum wage and the country is doing just fine.
WMV: If you do own any brick and mortar facilities, where are they located?
Paul: I don't. Maybe someday... The world wide web is my home for now.
WMV: Please come back to us for another interview then, when you also hire full-time employees, and we'll revisit the minimum wage issue, OK?
You admit that you created your LearnClubDance business while drinking excessively in college. You also admit that you knew little about photography, websites, or dancing. Do you think schools are a waste of time?
Paul: Schools have an existential dilemma. Is their job to train students for the work force, or is their job to provide higher education learning? If they're here to provide us with on the job training, then I think they are largely missing the point. Most of the vital skills you need to succeed as an online entrepreneur are not taught in colleges.
At the same time, if the point of schools is to provide a liberal arts education, then they may be missing the point as well. Students are not always ready to make the most out of college. Most students go to college without any understanding of how the "real world" works. And too many of them view college as just a gateway to make money in the work force. So colleges are trying to enlighten a student body that, largely, does not care about the education. They just need the diploma to show prospective employers an indication that they are qualified.
WMV: You mention being inspired by a "buddy" who couldn't find the dance instruction he sought online. Who is that "buddy"?
Paul: Whew, back to dancing! We were getting a little cerebral back there. So, about my "buddy." He does exist. His name is Alex, and he actually started the company with me. He is not involved in the day to day operations of the company anymore, as he's focusing his energy on making it as a musician. Even so, he's still a big influence on the overall direction of the website.
WMV: Have you personally satisfied his thirst for knowledge of dance?
Paul: Did somebody say dance off? There's only one way to find out...
WMV: You claim you "ended up contacting all the dance agencies in town." What town are you referring to?
Paul: N.Y.C.
WMV: What is the physical address of your business' headquarters?
Paul: We're incorporated in Delaware. Send us love notes, your pop-out cards (I love those) and videos of your dance moves to 1979 Barley Mill Road, Yorklyn Delaware 19736.
WMV: In what city and State or country do you currently reside?
Paul: I'm in Brooklyn, New York.
WMV: What cities, States, and countries have you visited?
Paul: I have been really fortunate to be able to work from anywhere in the world on this business. I rode a motorcycle through Central America, and lived in nearly every country in South America. After my next project, I want to move to South East Asia for a few years.
WMV: What are your favorite travel destinations?
Paul: If it's been a really hard few months, then there's nothing like kicking your feet up in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I've been camping there to get away from the N.Y.C. winter for a few years in a row now. When "Main Street" is just a sandy beach, you know you are in the right place. Plus it doesn't hurt to rub shoulders with Sir Richard Branson.
WMV: Where would you like to visit, that you haven't visited yet?
Paul: I want to go to an El Clásico game in Barcelona. I want to go dog sledding in Norway, build an igloo in Antarctica, and learn more about Iran, in Iran.
WMV: Who are some of your favorite celebrities, including actors, athletes, and politicians, as well as musicians?
Paul: Does anyone really have a favorite politician? I really admire Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to athletes. He's one of the best soccer players in the world. And it's not because he's naturally talented. He just works a whole lot harder than anyone else, and that's really inspiring!
WMV: To answer your question, yes, someone has a favorite politician. Sarah Palin is one of ours, apparently.
In your e-mail to us, you write some Spanish. What foreign languages do you read, write, speak, and understand?
Paul: I speak Russian fluently. I used to know Spanish really well from my travels.
WMV: What schools have you attended?
Paul: S.U.N.Y. [State University of New York at] Geneseo, in upstate New York.
WMV: You say that "Guys want to learn how to spin their date around the dance floor, [and] how to grind with a cute girl..." Do you find women less interested in this sort of activity?
Paul: I'm not sure where that quote is from, but it sounds like something we would say. We do offer different instructional dance videos based on gender. For example, we have a D.V.D. [Digital Video or Versatile Disc] that we call Sexy Moves For The Club, that we market to the ladies, and we have Simple Moves For The Common Man, that we sell to the guys. We find that, not only do men and women dance differently and accentuate different parts of their bodies, but they also have different motivations for dancing. By isolating those differences, we're able to make a better product in both instances. For example, we wouldn't teach a woman how to spin a man around as in dance; it is usually done the other way around. So we would teach her how to be spun instead. As far as whether women would want to grind with a cute guy, well why wouldn't they?
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| Nicole Guidetti and Brian Henninger |
WMV: You're welcome to refer a woman dancer to us who would answer that question.
What awards, if any, have you or any of your instructors and/or students won?
Paul: I have to look into this one. Brian and Nicole won the best dance instructors of the year award from Learn Club Dance from 2007 to 2014. Can you believe they won every year?
WMV: Yes, I can believe that. Congratulations to them!
You mention learning "hip hop routines." Do you provide any hip hop routine instruction?
Paul: Absolutely! We have a two-disc set dedicated to teaching you hip hop moves, called Hip Hop Basics and Beyond. The first disc teaches you hip hop grooves. The second teaches you the most iconic moves from the past and present. In all of our videos, we focus on moves, instead of routines, so that you can combine the moves in any order you would like. Unlike a routine, you'll be able to use our moves to any song.
WMV: What specific dances, if any, do you and your writers and/or instructors not practice, let alone teach?
Paul: You probably will not find any ballet on our website anytime soon.
WMV: You seem to think that CraigsList is not a good place to place help wanted ads. You further state that the people who responded to your CraigsList ads "scared" and/or "entertained" you. Isn't entertaining you a good thing when applying for a position in the entertainment industry?
Paul: I actually use CraigsList on a regular basis. From photoshop lessons, to motorcycle shopping and awkward, missed connections, I turn to good old Craig often. That's also how I hired the majority of my current writers. When holding auditions for the vids, I was looking for the perfect instructor rather than a great entertainer. Before I created Learn Club Dance, there were plenty of other instructional dance videos out there. Most of them failed to teach beginners how to dance because they used the videos as an opportunity to showcase their own talents. Everything from the instructors to the camera work was less about entertainment and more about really teaching someone how to dance.
WMV: Please share with our readers an example or examples of the scariest people you met via CraigsList.
Paul: The scariest thing was judging people because that goes so far against my character. Ultimately, it was about finding the best possible person for this project.
WMV: Brian Henninger and Nicole Guidetti, you say, "were just perfect," and you discovered this after auditioning hundreds of applicants. Aside from the auditions, what did you give weight to on their written applications or resumés?
Paul: It was important that Brian and Nicole had the celebrity credits that they did in terms of a marketing point of view. That Nicole has danced with virtually every big name celebrity in the industry is amazing. From Britney Spears, to Jay Z, P Diddy, Shakira, Ashanti, Gwen Stefani, [and] the Black Eyed Peas, to Beyonce, it gives us that extra bit of credibility, which is so important when shopping online, and it gives our customers a peek into the life of a professional backup dancer. It's also amazing to learn how to do Beyonce's booty bounce, straight from Beyonce's backup dancer.
WMV: Are you still taking applications?
Paul: We're still expanding our team of blog contributors.
WMV: What is the best way for potential employees to contact you?
Paul: Shoot me an e-mail at paul@learnclubdance.com
WMV: What Internet links would you like to share?
Paul: Check out our blog, and stay tuned for my new website, internetwhiskey.com, where I'm sharing tips to creating your own online business: LearnClubDance.com/blog
WMV: How did you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day this year?
Paul: I can't remember. I think I went hiking. Drinking was involved. ¡Claro!
WMV: Of course!
What are your plans for Easter and Mother's Day?
Paul: Well, I'm Jewish, so I don't have any plans for Easter. When is Mother's Day again? Can you remind me when it's a few weeks away? I need to buy my mom a gift. The whole family usually meets up and goes out to dinner. By the way, have you seen the viral video for the World's Toughest Job from American Greetings for Mother's Day? Genius!
WMV: Mother's Day, 2014, is nine days away, on Sunday, May 11 - six days after Monday, May 5 or Cinco de Mayo. Perhaps you'll be reminded when we publish this interview on Friday, May 2.
No, I haven't seen the World's Toughest Job, but it sounds like a winner.
Paul: Whew! Time for lunch and a nap for...
Interview by William Mortensen Vaughan
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