Paul Rubin

Paul Rubin is a New York-based aerial choreographer. He began his flying career in 1988 with the company Flying by Foy, where he became Peter Foy’s protégé. After eight years of service, feeling he had reached his full potential, Paul became one of the founders of the fledgling company ZFX, Inc., where he truly began to carve a niche for himself as an aerial choreographer and designer. Paul’s passion, creativity, artistry, and ability to communicate with directors, designers, and performers kept him in high demand. In 2004, now known as “The Fly Guy,” Paul realized his corporate obligations were beginning to take him away from his true passion, and he knew it was time to spread his wings and fly solo. By 2008, Paul had choreographed 300+ productions of Peter Pan in eight different countries and numerous Broadway productions, including favorites such as Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, and Curtains. In 2010, Glenn Casale approached Paul to discuss a reimagined production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, wanting to add the effect of realistic simulated swimming to the mermaids.

In 2017, Paul worked as Flying Director with Franco Dragone on the production La Perle, the first open-ended production in Dubai. In 2019, Paul headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to design the first production of Disney’s Aladdin in the Arabic-speaking world. Aladdin moved from Saudi Arabia to Cairo, Egypt, where it played to packed houses until it had to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of Paul’s “frequent flyers” include Kevin James, Neil Patrick Harris, Howie Mandel, Michael Crawford, Tom Hewitt, and Cathy Rigby. He has also worked with such noted designers as Eugene Lee, David Gallo, Des McAnuff, Julie Taymor, Glenn Casale, Joe Mantello, Jim Steinman, Wayne Cilento, Rob Ashford, Arlene Philips, Patti Colombo, Howell Binkley, and Graciela Daniele.