We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pablo Pauldo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Pablo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Back in April 2025, I took part in an audition / creative residency for a piece. I already knew who the choreographer was, and just from that, I knew we were going to do something special—something that would leave a mark on me for years. And it did.

This residency was more about movement research: how we express our feelings, our traumas, our masculinity, our femininity, our strength, and our essence—through movement and words. It was about how we want to describe ourselves as human beings, as artists. There were no wrong answers—everything was exploration, an attempt to express something.

The audition was spread over five days, and as each day passed, I realized more and more that we were actually creating something meaningful. As artists, and on a deeper level, this residency helped me avoid drowning artistically. I was in a phase of questioning my artistic identity.

By doing this residency and diving deep into myself—my vulnerability, my roots, my power—and by sharing all of that with other artists who were also searching within themselves, I came out of this experience fulfilled and reminded. I didn’t drown—I found myself again, in a way. I reconnected with my roots and remembered why I dance.

For me, dance is another language. Everything I can’t say with words, I say with movement. Everything I live, see, feel, think—I try to recreate it through movement, to honor the memory I carry. If it doesn’t had meaning, I do not stand by it.

This residency was so deeply meaningful to me. It helped me tremendously, creatively—and I still feel its impact today.

On another note, the choreographer who led that audition was also the first one to book me for my very first paid dance job, back in 2023. I remember that like it was yesterday—it was a meaningful moment because it marked the beginning of my career. Now in 2025, he called me back for this. He saw me again. He saw another chapter of me. Without even knowing it, he has helped me grow as an artist since the very beginning. I see him as a mentor. I respect him and his artistry deeply.

That residency was truly meaningful. I will never forget it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

So my name is Pablo Pauldo. I am a dancer and choreographer based in the Parisian suburbs, but I just see myself as an artist, before anything — before starting my professional journey as a movement artist. I grew up inspired by cinema, video games, concept videos, and just art in general. Dance was just a hobby for me, ’cause I just be moving, lmao. I’m self-taught, so I was just dancing to release something.

I started my dancing journey in the K-pop cover community in Paris. I first joined a dance group, and 2 or 3 years later, I left and started my own with my girlfriend at the time. I wanted to create a dance group that had its own universe, meaning, and codes. It was a very cryptic and mysterious group, driven by electronic and alternative sounds.
We were still promoting ourselves in the K-pop cover community and still did some covers, but we danced to all kinds of music, which was beautiful. I wanted my group to be an outcast — fearless and confident — because it wasn’t like anything people had seen before. I liked how misunderstood we were and how it resonated with some people.
I liked it because I was true to myself and what I stand for. Even if only 5 people knew this group, I didn’t actually care, because that group was my playground. I experienced so much with it. I left the group but it’s still active. SORORITY, @wearesorority on any app, go watch our work and support us please. Everything’s homemade and authentic haha

Like I said, I was self-taught. I learned so much — as a choreographer, art director, editor, sound mixer, curator, dancer, leader. I was multitasking all the time.
All that to say: I basically learned everything in the streets — and I like that. I’m a Black queer boy from the Parisian suburbs who learned everything I know now by putting myself out there, trying, learning, and repeating.

During that time, I also choreographed two pieces for a very close friend of mine at the Paris School of Fine Arts. Such great projects and memories.
Even then, I didn’t consider myself an artist or a dancer. I knew I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t think I wanted this to be my life. Dance came suddenly into my life. It was always there — whether I wanted it or not.
I’ll dance all my life. If I don’t dance, I die. It’s a huge part of me.

My family didn’t fully support my artistic career at the beginning. But thank God I’ve always been kind of a rebel — I’ve always fought for what I love. Without even knowing, I knew I had to keep going no matter what.
It took me some time to accept it, but now I embrace it. My family supports me — and they always did, in a way. It was always meant to be. I’m so happy and grateful to see how supportive they are of my career. My mum is my guardian angel. At first, she was afraid to let her son go out into the world on his own, but now it brings her nothing but joy to see that I’m happy doing it and proudly carrying the family name out into the world. She protects me and puts even more of her faith and love into me. She means everything to me.

Now it’s 2025. I’m 22 years old. I’ve done multiples shows, danced and choreographed for so many music videos, projects, and artists. I’m the head choreographer for the first Nigerian female artist to ever be nominated for a Grammy.
I’m also part of the Fashion Freak Show by Jean Paul Gaultier. But I still have so much to learn about the world as an artist. And that’s makes me feel so alive. For me, I know it’s just the beginning of my career. I don’t take anything for granted.I just keep working and never stop learning, by trying — simply doing what has always felt true to me through movement.

I’ve doubted myself so many times. Even last year, I was incredibly shy to say that I was a dancer and choreographer.
When I enter spaces that are unknown to me, surrounded by so many interesting artists, I feel so vulnerable and small. I feel like I don’t belong — because my background is the street, while all these movement artists come from great performing schools, programs, or at least have been taking classes since they were young.

Now, I see that as my strength. I’m vulnerable and strong at the same time. I like being small in an unknown space, learning everything like a baby discovering life. You always come out of it with the best.

I’ve accepted that no matter what, I’ll always be different — and that’s okay. As long as I trust myself, trust God, and know that my mom loves and supports me, nothing can stop me.
I’ll always learn, create, and grow. I’m still scared of what’s waiting for me, but I’m no longer doubting myself.

I’m a self-taught artist. That’s it.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Nobody talks about how hard it is to be your own agent and boss when you’re a freelancer — how financially unstable life can be, how hard it is to always be ready to accept a job, or to choose between two opportunities you’ve been offered when you can’t do both.

There are so many cons to being a creative. But I know one thing: all artists who choose, every single morning, to live from their art — it’s because if we weren’t artists, we would die.

I come from a modest family who didn’t understand what being an artist or freelancer in this society really means. They just wanted me to have a good, stable life. They wanted to protect me, in a way.

But unfortunately — or maybe fortunately — even with all the negative aspects of being an artist in this society, I will always choose this path. Because if I weren’t an artist, I know I would never be truly happy.

I don’t want to scare people who want to start a creative journey, but I’m just saying: if you don’t deeply love what you do, there’s no real point in doing it.

All the creatives I know — especially my close friends — I can feel how deeply driven they are by what they do. Even with all the struggles that come with it, they’re still happy, because they chose this life.

That’s just how it is — there will always be ups and downs. But as long as you know what you’re fighting for, everything will be okay.

And that’s also part of my queerness, in a way — choosing this creative life and creating something every day through movement.
Being outside of society’s norms, outside of what we usually see — that’s also queerness to me. Hope that makes sense

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Not be dramatic but all that I said for now, it’s a good illustration of my resilience haha

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pablopauldo

Image Credits
Maëlia Dioulo