Advice on improving my Bhangra?

[yolosweg]

Didn't know if this falls under the Bhangra videos forum since this wasn't a team video so I thought I'd post it here. Let me know if I should post this somewhere else.

I've been following the North American + Australian Bhangra team scene on youtube for a few years now.

Personally I always wanted to join a team but alas my university never had one and the city I lived in didn't have a bhangra scene either.

Most of my bhangra experience came from watching competition videos and just imagining myself doing the moves but never really attempting them lol. I'd just watch while eating or as a break from exam studying and constantly regret not having the experience of being on a team ?

So I decided enough was enough and that I need to physically get up and practice anything.

I'm starting to post some of my videos on youtube. Figured this would give me a chance to track my progress and ask for guidance.

I did a step compilation and a very small choreo for now, but any advice to improving my form would be really appreciated. (robot head for anonymity)



Recording myself made me realize that the way I'm imagining a move in my head isn't how it's turning out on video. In the step compilation video especially, I feel like my legs aren't high enough, I'm losing form, a lot of my moves don't look "strong" and I don't have stamina etc etc.

For eg. from other people's videos, mor chaal looks like it has three step counts while swaying your arms to one side before moving in the other direction.
I just end up doing two steps in the video without realizing.

Do I just keep repeating moves until I feel like I'm getting better? Should I attempt to follow a choreo from a team video and just practice that?

 

[Sartaj_Singh]

First off, the robot head is hilarious lmao

Bhangra is pretty tough to learn by yourself, so I respect the effort in learning from videos and trying it on your own.

Improving your form is always easier when you have someone in front of you to show you how to do the moves, as well as tell you what you are doing wrong. One on one practice with a coach or captain would be best, but Im pretty sure all teams are doing online practices anyways, so maybe look into that? Dunno if online classes are that helpful for critiques though. Another option would be to join the BTF Facebook group and try the Mentorship program they have going on, so you can pick a coach/captain and have them teach/give you critiques. This website is pretty dead tbh.

Otherwise, recording yourself and comparing it to performances online would be the best bet for improving form. Slowing down/pausing videos to see the small details in moves would help you learn how dancers execute moves properly (assuming you watch a good team). You already have the big critiques down (legs not being high, losing form, strength, stamina), so the more you practice and self critique, the better you'll eventually become. From what Ive seen in the past, it usually takes a full school year for someone to go from new dancer to competition ready, so it def takes time to improve.

Practicing basic moves over and over is always a good idea until you get the form down, but learning choreo is very helpful too. Learning a full performance routine helps you become more comfortable with moves, builds muscle memory, boosts your own creativity, and keeps things interesting. Once you learn the whole thing, pushing yourself to hit the whole routine start to finish also improves stamina.

 

[yomamajama]

Great idea, all dancers now have to dance with a robot head. Really mostly ignored everything you did and focused solely on your robot head.

 

[yolosweg]

First off, the robot head is hilarious lmao

Bhangra is pretty tough to learn by yourself, so I respect the effort in learning from videos and trying it on your own.

Improving your form is always easier when you have someone in front of you to show you how to do the moves, as well as tell you what you are doing wrong. One on one practice with a coach or captain would be best, but Im pretty sure all teams are doing online practices anyways, so maybe look into that? Dunno if online classes are that helpful for critiques though. Another option would be to join the BTF Facebook group and try the Mentorship program they have going on, so you can pick a coach/captain and have them teach/give you critiques. This website is pretty dead tbh.

Otherwise, recording yourself and comparing it to performances online would be the best bet for improving form. Slowing down/pausing videos to see the small details in moves would help you learn how dancers execute moves properly (assuming you watch a good team). You already have the big critiques down (legs not being high, losing form, strength, stamina), so the more you practice and self critique, the better you'll eventually become. From what Ive seen in the past, it usually takes a full school year for someone to go from new dancer to competition ready, so it def takes time to improve.

Practicing basic moves over and over is always a good idea until you get the form down, but learning choreo is very helpful too. Learning a full performance routine helps you become more comfortable with moves, builds muscle memory, boosts your own creativity, and keeps things interesting. Once you learn the whole thing, pushing yourself to hit the whole routine start to finish also improves stamina.

thanks for the advice!

I did try a random bhangra zoom class (i think it ended up being more bollywood though). Like you said, it was more of the instructor teaching the choreo in 45 mins without having the chance to critique anyone.

I'll check out the facebook group mentorship program--that seems like a better option . thanks again