User:Rashisaraogi/sandbox

Vishal Kanoi born May 12, 1983 is Kolkata's eminent choreographer, producer of musical stage shows and the founder of Studio Vishal: the official platform for learning various western dance forms.

Vishal was born in Kolkata but was raised in Mumbai where he began his training in western dance at the tender age of ten. His talent and leadership skills were tapped immediately by his mentor Shiamak Davar making him one of the most sought after performer, choreographer, and instructor in the core group of SDIPA. His potential as a gifted dancer and being an avid learner took him to the world's most renowned dance institution: The Broadway Dance Center in New York City, USA. Under the tutelage of Frank Hatchett, Hollywood's ace choreographer for four months, Vishal got the rare and golden opportunity of performing solo at the annual Student Showcase event at Broadway in 2006 which spearheaded his journey as an entrepreneur in the entertainment field and landed him on the cover page of India Today's Kolkata edition in August 2006.

Biography
Born to industrialists Mr. SriPrakash Kanoi and Mrs. Pratibha Kanoi, Vishal is the third child and the youngest member of his family. He is preceded by an older brother Mr. Vikaas Kanoi and an elder sister Mrs. Nikita Bajaj. He completed his higher secondary education from Arya Vidya Mandir School in Juhu, Mumbai and went on to attain a baccalaureate degree in commerce from MMK College of Commerce and Economics located in Mumbai, India. Along with being proficient in academics, Vishal's skills in extra cirricular activities (skating and swimming) always kept him in the limelight but not many knew that this child prodigy was actually a dancing star in the making. His parents saw the spark in their son and it became evident to the world when a ten year old Vishal danced to a standing ovation from over a thousand people at his cousin's wedding which inspired them to enroll him into India's leading choreopraher: Shiamak Davar's Institution of Performing Arts for formal training in western dance. Fortunately for Vishal, Shiamak Davar spotted his gifted feet the very next day and after an incredible impromptu extempore performance in front of the whole class Vishal was invited into the children dance troupe of SDIPA from where there was no looking back.

Performer
Vishal’s induction into the core group of SDIPA in 1994 gave him opportunities galore to perform on stage, small and big screen and show off his creative streak in dancing, singing, choreographies, and other aspects of entertainment. In 1996, merely two years after joining classes, Vishal was chosen to perform on ‘Chak Dhum Dhum’ song alongside Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the National Award Winning Film Dil Toh Pagal Hai.

His debut on big screen was followed by yet another feat in 1998 where he sang and danced to the tunes of soundtrack ‘Hakuna Matata’ from Lion King in the Walt Disney Show, Mumbai with various other artists.

The new millennium brought brighter and bigger platforms for Vishal. From acting in the Coca Cola commercial with heartthrob Hrithik Roshan and Mrs. World Aditi Gowitrikar, to performing for the small screen at the Indian Television Awards Ceremony, Vishal had started creating a niche for himself as an ace dancer.

In 2001, Vishal made a brief appearance in the Lux Soap commercial featuring Urmila Matondkar, was invited by the Egyptian government to perform at the 7th Cairo Song Festival and started assisting Shiamak with concepts and choreographies too in prestigious events like Femina Miss India.

Vishal was growing from strength to strength and in 2002 he hit a career high as dancer when he performed alongside Bollywood legends Amitabh Bachchan and Sushmita Sen at the glamorous IIFA Awards 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Toured the country with India’s first reality show all girls pop band VIVA for their debut album ‘Hum Naye Geet Sunaye’, performed ballet in Sahara TV’s epic show Ramayana, and to top it all performed at the World Aids Day in the presence of Hollywood great Richard Gere.