Sue Sylvester
kinnell
- Messages
- 467
Meeting Sarina Jain in person changes a lot of things as well. Her intention is not to dilute the art form in order to commercialize it. She learned bhangra in a certain way, in a manner that most of us non-Punjabis can definitely relate to. She doesn't assume any grand origins (ie: "I was taught by Ustad Jor-El, spent 7 years dancing for Phantom Zone Agriculture College and sent to this planet with a penultimate purpose to teach bhangra") She took a passion she had and made a business around it. She is quite humble about what her limitations are. She even acknowledges she knows little about traditional bhangra and is very open to learning more about it. But as AEG tried to teach her some basic moves, it was evident that her style works for her dancing ability and that she could do very little good with what we consider "bhangra".
Dilbagh talks about one of the core philosophies and driving principles of AEG that I know many other teams also agree with or are starting realize. Bhangra is a dance that will change. There is an essence that needs to be maintained, but in the end, the dance is for the audience. But what 99% of teams keep forgetting is that if we box ourselves to an audience of 15 people on BTF and bhangra heads who know the minute differences between double chaffa and a double chaffa cappucino variation, then we limit the growth and exposure of the form. The rest of the world sees bhangra as a dance, we need to sometimes re-evaluate what truly defines the dance and what can be improved to increase appeal to the rest of the world without compromising the general essence.
Many people will see Sarina Jain as detrimental to bhangra. I no longer see her as that, especially after meeting her in person, and knowing her intention is not dilution for the sake of commercialization but simply doing what she knew. [SIZE=small]Honestly, I see certain judging mentalities in the competitive world more detrimental to bhangra than "MASALA BHANGRA". Seeing judging comments like "phumania was too complex" or "too much swag" makes you realize the ever-shrinking box that we've put ourselves into and how it's affected how we view others in our industry (aka "Sarina Jain"). I agree that there is still an essence and defining characteristics of bhangra, but those are simpler than we think. [/SIZE][SIZE=small]I'm still not the biggest fan of people who know differently or have access, but could care less. For example, you have reality shows that may mislabel a Bollywood dance to a Bollywood song as Bhangra despite having an expert who knew differently and could have said something. But this is completely different situation from Sarina Jain.[/SIZE]
I see it akin to an immigrant who has difficulty with English. He has an accent and butchers the language in spoken and written form but his lack of speaking ability is a result of him not being exposed and quite situational. Given the opportunity, he would try to get better but he also knows that using more complex words and phrases may bring attention to his inability to communicate effectively, use them in the correct context or even pronounce them correctly. This is completely different from someone who grew up in the United States, had a respectable education resulting in a college degree, but then tyPn lKe d1s 4 kno gud raisin.
Dilbagh talks about one of the core philosophies and driving principles of AEG that I know many other teams also agree with or are starting realize. Bhangra is a dance that will change. There is an essence that needs to be maintained, but in the end, the dance is for the audience. But what 99% of teams keep forgetting is that if we box ourselves to an audience of 15 people on BTF and bhangra heads who know the minute differences between double chaffa and a double chaffa cappucino variation, then we limit the growth and exposure of the form. The rest of the world sees bhangra as a dance, we need to sometimes re-evaluate what truly defines the dance and what can be improved to increase appeal to the rest of the world without compromising the general essence.
Many people will see Sarina Jain as detrimental to bhangra. I no longer see her as that, especially after meeting her in person, and knowing her intention is not dilution for the sake of commercialization but simply doing what she knew. [SIZE=small]Honestly, I see certain judging mentalities in the competitive world more detrimental to bhangra than "MASALA BHANGRA". Seeing judging comments like "phumania was too complex" or "too much swag" makes you realize the ever-shrinking box that we've put ourselves into and how it's affected how we view others in our industry (aka "Sarina Jain"). I agree that there is still an essence and defining characteristics of bhangra, but those are simpler than we think. [/SIZE][SIZE=small]I'm still not the biggest fan of people who know differently or have access, but could care less. For example, you have reality shows that may mislabel a Bollywood dance to a Bollywood song as Bhangra despite having an expert who knew differently and could have said something. But this is completely different situation from Sarina Jain.[/SIZE]
I see it akin to an immigrant who has difficulty with English. He has an accent and butchers the language in spoken and written form but his lack of speaking ability is a result of him not being exposed and quite situational. Given the opportunity, he would try to get better but he also knows that using more complex words and phrases may bring attention to his inability to communicate effectively, use them in the correct context or even pronounce them correctly. This is completely different from someone who grew up in the United States, had a respectable education resulting in a college degree, but then tyPn lKe d1s 4 kno gud raisin.
