congrats to all teams that placed.
DUKE! wow, never expected that routine. it seemed like a complete change from their previous routine- more traditional, new vardiyan..loved it. i honestly think that traditional is your style...this routine is probably your best to date. you had some "modern" steps in there, but still, it was a good blend, especially for a competition like AKD. if you guys work more on execution, nakhra, etc. i can see you guys getting into a lot of comps this season.
nc state- same situation as duke, kind of. you guys didn't switch up your style or anything, but was your best routine so far. traditional, very coordinated, etc. BUT i would work on your performance skills a little more. nakhra was there, but only for some people. also, pretty much for those same people, they need to open up more on stage and enjoy the performance- i got this feeling that they were extremely nervous and were unsure about what they were doing..the audience should get this feeling that the performers are confident and are having fun on stage. other than that, the only negative thing i can think of was the dholi- didn't seem like he got a lot of practice in with the mix. at times, he killed it, but for the most part, he was off beat and it didn't go with the music; might have been the echo of the music, not sure, because jeetu is a sick dholi, no doubt. suggestions: you guys need to be more creative with your routine. for the competitions that you guys normally go to(esp these fusion comps) the judges want to get pumped and see that wow factor, while also seeing that you guys have traditional elements such as phumaniya, jhumar, sial koti,etc.for akd, rangoli, and any others..i think the judges are the same for all three categories, so make sure you keep that in mind- they probably don't know too much about the whole traditional versus modern thing, so if you want to win, you are going to have to change your routine up based on the comp and its criteria.
nyu- most anticipated performance of the night (for the audience...i was all about seeing vcu, sorry boys. but you were right there in second place in my heart). lots of good gimmicks, esp the put a ring on it thing (one of the best gimmicks of the night, along with delaware's i'm on a boat). i can't really critique the hip-hop stuff, since i don't really know much about it, but from what i saw, it was pretty clean and well done. in terms of the bhangra, i'm not a fan of the modern style (i know you guys had some traditional stuff in there), but then again, you guys perform at fusion comps, so i understand that. however, work on the chadra tying..i saw lots of leg. also, the part where you pulled the hip-hop munde's pants off was good, but for some reason it didn't really get the crowd going. maybe incorporate it more into the mix, or put more emphasis on it? or it could've been because you guys did it twice in your routine..not sure. in the beginning, when the bhangra guys are in the front and the hip-hop guys are hiding behind the "panda" signs..i would work on that- coordinate it, or practice it more because i saw one or two of the guys almost run into other people on the team before they jumped over their bhangra "partners"
vcu- first time i have seen vcu perform, and it was well worth it. i didn't really pay attention to the details because i was too busy doing the routine with them in the back on the theater. BUT i hear that this was the B team? if it was, then props to you guys. not many B teams can go to a comp and place 2nd. there were some flaws here and there (energy, nakhra in the jhumar..only during certain parts of the routine though). formations looked good for the most part- i couldn't really tell since i was on the first level. but, as i said earlier, i wasn't really focusing too much on the details, so can't really write a review. you guys made my night though and i can now cross "watch vcu bhangra perform" off of my list of things to do before i die.
note: i didn't expect any of the bhangra teams to place. akd seems like a comp that favors more modern bhangra, gimmicks, stunts, etc. i know vcu came a couple of years earlier and lost, but then placed at blowout (either that same year, or the year after, not sure). i think vcu placed mainly because of the audience and their batman gimmick- i am not saying that you guys shouldn't have placed (i think it was very smart of you guys to bring that routine to this comp), but thats just the way i view these types of comps. more traditional teams seem to be at a disadvantage. if any teams apply to comps like this, then don't be surprised if you don't place because, for the most part, the comps have 3 judges who judge all of the performances based on the same criteria.