Haven't seen all the videos so I'm not going to comment on whether this should have placed or not. I loved the sap segment. Wished the lights had been on in the beginning so we could have seen everything you guys were doing because it was tight haha. You guys have also always had very clean and energetic performances (this one included) so the following comments are going to be more related to what I, personally, wasn't a huge fan of or think should be improved.
Saab said:
I think some parts were less impactful and focused on variation, causing me to lose connection to the set(ex. Wasn't a huge fan of Mirza or chaffa variation, but the way you continuously kill betkes as a team, especially the betkes and spins in saaps, is powerful).
Agreed. It seemed as the set went on that I was seeing variations on variations of variations, to the point where they lost impact and, as Ram put it, I lost connection with the set. There were times where I kept asking myself "why are they doing that?" or "what's the point of this?" I also feel that this led to insufficient build-up when you hit the climax of certain segments because everything before, during and after was a variation/changeup. Consequently, many segments were just hard to remember because they had no defining moment and didn't leave enough of a lasting impression.
SGupta7 said:
Been a fan of fauj for a while now and I think what impresses me more than the intricacy of the choreo and variations is the intricacy of the formations. You guys are rarely standing still and there are times when i'm legitimately confused on how you transition from one formation to something so different so seamlessly.
I actually disagree with Shawn on this. You guys had a lot of movement and you had some nice touches, switches, rotations, etc., but again, there isn't a formation from this set that left a lasting impression. I was glad to see you guys move further away from the army gimmick in this performance and really emphasize the dancing...but that necessitates that you come up with more formations that are unique or memorable. A few segments in which a formation idea is introduced, built out, and seen through to the finish would go a VERY long way. The VCU of old and JJ were probably the best at doing this and while I am NOT saying you should be just like them, it might be helpful to incorporate a few of those elements to strengthen your sets. You've shown in the past that you're capable of doing this too (the Look Lak segment that you did at Bell 2013 is by far my favorite FAUJ segment).
As far as the dancing goes, you guys continue to do a pretty good job of making sure people are on the same level and dance with josh and energy. My only complaint is that too often I see dancers with hunched backs or chins stuck to their chests. IMO, posture is the most important thing for every dancer to focus on. Kinnell has always done this consistently for your team and I think more people need to emulate how he does that. If some of the energy you guys used was directed to keeping your backs straight and chins up at all times, I think it would really throw your dancing over the top.
Those are just my two cents. All that being said, FAUJ is still one of the better teams in the circuit today and you do so many things right that other teams don't and clearly put a great deal of thought into your routines. Good luck at future competitions!
