Bhangra competition graveyard

[yraparla]

what about mixing?? were there always affects and crazy transitions??

Generally they were hard cuts as opposed to the seamless mixing we have now (although still well-timed and not necessarily abrupt). In the mid 2000s you saw much better mixes, I think the rise of digital audio workstations (Audacity) was a huge influence for this. People would also rip sections of songs for effects and dhol beats, and in fact the most popular effects on BTF are literally handed down with the same filenames that the person 7-10 years ago named them. No joke.

California teams were very instrumental in bringing a performance concept, so including mix and voiceovers as a production and really engaging audiences. Of course it was happening around the continent at the same time (TRB, ), but I really feel like SoCal pushed and popularized mixes as important aspects of bhangra competitions, as opposed to seeing them as a canvas on which to dance. Others may disagree, but I point too Soormay, KJ, RP, Sher Foundation, LBC (ey yo LBCCC...lights, camera, bhangraaa), etc.


But I was in high school pre-2007 so don't take me as gospel. People competing at that time could have a different perspective. I only know what I saw at Blowout and on videos, which is a small sliver of the circuit at the time

 

[Kartik]

Haven't had the time to post on BTF much after graduating but after reading through this depressing thread I felt the need to make a couple comments.

Every couple of years there's a new batch of people claiming the circuit is dead and I'm sure I'll be joining you all soon now that I'm out of it myself. At the same time you'll notice that the majority of people who are entering/actively participating in the circuit will say that it is thriving like never before.

Kinnell's post on this thread is one of the few I can agree with 100%.

Also, I'm pretty surprised to see a lot of you aching for the rivalries of the past. Honestly, the really heated rivalries were a HUGE pain to deal with. When (alleged?) Virsa supporters booed AEG, local rivals from T-dot, Vancouver, etc. got into fights at competitions, or some random dude created a fake account on BTF to start a flare, that wasn't fun for anyone. I always found it stupid when young kids/adolescents treated Bhangra competitions as wars against their sworn enemies.

Trust me, there isn't the slightest drop in motivation. No one is "soft" just because they're not acting like thugs act competitions. I know for us at Cornell we were seething with motivation go beyond what was expected of us, and I know that's true not just of Cornell but of many teams across NA - you've seen it with Cal, BK, Shane-E, FAUJ, UNC, AEG, UVA, VanCity, CMU, FCB, Empire, the list could go on and on and on. I think every one of those teams looks different, and if you don't see that then I think you need to look closer.

Go visit any one of these successful teams that's working their butt off to put together a winning performance and you won't find a bunch "soft", "unmotivated" "copycats" - you'll find a dedicated group of ultra hardworking, creative, talented dancers who have an unquenchable thirst to succeed.

You don't have to love their style or be wowed by their performance; you can think that they're flawed and boring or too timid to challenge the formula; you can make sarcastic comments about their videos on BTF and complain with your past teammates about how the good times are gone if that makes you happy.

But respect them, because these are the people who are carrying on a legacy that you once upheld. These kids dedicate hundreds of hours to doing the same stuff you once did - taking the time to understand them and support them will only make you feel better about your involvement with Bhangra.

 

[mrchicity]

I think that the thread kinda got off track for the past day or so, but the overarching point wasn't that teams themselves are less motivated to work hard for competitions. The fact is, competitions just don't generate as much hype these days. It used to be an honor to get accepted to some of these competitions (for example, DDA 2009 had one of the sickest lineups ever, I don't think this year's DDA quite compares ). Part of the problem does lie with teams: there aren't many teams to get excited about these days. It's not that they don't work hard and prepare for competitions, but they don't innovate on the same level as SGPD, NJ, NYPD. We have teams like AEG and FAUJ who are definitely more innovative than your average team, but when are they competing next? Then, the next problem lies with the competitions. Competitions just can't create amazing lineups anymore. Maybe they aren't getting applications from these higher echelon teams, but comps these days don't seem to be enticing teams to come and compete. Then you have the comps that do get great lineups but have plenty of teams drop out (a la Elite 8 2012). All of this. translates into smaller crowd turnouts and less reason to really pay attention to a competition.

 

[himynameis]

I do it for the drunk girls

 

[Jacquizz Rogers]

[SIZE=medium]In my travels, I have seen many ups and downs in the competitive bhangra circuit. The downward spiral that started around the mid 2012 year is continuing now is unlike any other in the past. When the circuit was flourishing, there were many rivalries and teams would look forward to going on stage and leaving it all out there for their rivals to see. There was no other goal in mind except leaving that stage on fire once your team’s routine was done and making sure no other team would want to follow up your act. That fire is not there anymore because teams are too nice. Instead of jerking each other off, teams need to start going for the jugular and want to send their opponents home crying to their mommas. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]What could possibly stir this pot and cardiovert the circuit? I have the answer.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]One of the major contributors to the lack of fire and rivalries these days is the famine of girls of the floozy kind. Believe me folks – there is no more powerful stimulant. We have plenty of young teams with boys that have 4 whiskers on their face which they call a moustache, but these boys have not become men yet. Hungry men that are out for blood and will stop at nothing to win the hearts of their harlots. This situation can be resolved with androgen supplementation and get these boys up to the challenge. It might only take 2-3 altercations to stir the pot and truly create the new wave of rivalries but it must start with the new influx of girls. Imagine this scenario – Team A is at tech time but team B has a much later tech time. Team A’s blue jordi’s girlfriend is now roaming the halls with team B and flirting with the green jordi on team B. Team A returns to watch the two of them eating [/SIZE][SIZE=medium]croissants[/SIZE] [SIZE=medium]in the lobby together while sharing a vita coco. You would be a fool to think both team A and B wouldn’t bring it extra hard on stage that night and show the other up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Bhangra Circuit – we all know the problem but after reading my message we all now know the solution too.
[/SIZE]

8)

 

[campy614]

[SIZE=small]
Also, I'm pretty surprised to see a lot of you aching for the rivalries of the past. Honestly, the really heated rivalries were a HUGE pain to deal with. When (alleged?) Virsa supporters booed AEG, local rivals from T-dot, Vancouver, etc. got into fights at competitions, or some random dude created a fake account on BTF to start a flare, that wasn't fun for anyone. I always found it stupid when young kids/adolescents treated Bhangra competitions as wars against their sworn enemies.

Trust me, there isn't the slightest drop in motivation. No one is "soft" just because they're not acting like thugs act competitions. I know for us at Cornell we were seething with motivation go beyond what was expected of us, and I know that's true not just of Cornell but of many teams across NA - you've seen it with Cal, BK, Shane-E, FAUJ, UNC, AEG, UVA, VanCity, CMU, FCB, Empire, the list could go on and on and on. I think every one of those teams looks different, and if you don't see that then I think you need to look closer.

Go visit any one of these successful teams that's working their butt off to put together a winning performance and you won't find a bunch "soft", "unmotivated" "copycats" - you'll find a dedicated group of ultra hardworking, creative, talented dancers who have an unquenchable thirst to succeed.

You don't have to love their style or be wowed by their performance; you can think that they're flawed and boring or too timid to challenge the formula; you can make sarcastic comments about their videos on BTF and complain with your past teammates about how the good times are gone if that makes you happy.

But respect them, because these are the people who are carrying on a legacy that you once upheld. These kids dedicate hundreds of hours to doing the same stuff you once did - taking the time to understand them and support them will only make you feel better about your involvement with Bhangra.
[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]

First paragraph - I actually completely and utterly agree. This was too much - for me at least. It got old pretty quickly...

For the paragraphs after that, let me make myself clear - I respect and applaud all of you. The dedication, hours of practice and planning, and hard work. I've been there, and I respect the dancers doing it now. I didn't mention laziness, I didn't mention lack of respect - so I'm scrapping that off the table.

What I'm trying to say is, now being removed from the circuit for over a year, and not being able to catch every competition/watch every video online, my eyes aren't as trained as they used to be. So, like many people going to see shows (keeping in mind most show watchers don't have a bhangra background), I'll only be able to catch things at face value. And for that evening, I'll only be watching each performance once. So if I watch each of these teams that you listed, at surface level I see the formula 10 times (aside from Empire and the fact that some of them are coed and some of them aren't).

Yes, it's designed to be a winning performance for which you all have worked extremely hard. Yes, teams have been so obnoxiously clean nowadays that I'm very happy I don't judge. And yes, this takes a huge amount of talent. But you have to understand that the audience isn't going to look that much closer than they already are. They aren't able to. And they probably won't see these performances again.

So now given this, what is going to bring them back?

Sidetracking for 3 seconds, I think there seems to be some sort of pattern.
-Up until 2006-7 we were all trying to put together routines that we thought were bhangra (we didn't know any better).
-2006/7-early 2010 we now had traditional bhangra at the palm of our hands for a few years and were able to do our own version of traditional bhangra. We did.
-NJ performed at Elite 8 2010, and flipped traditional bhangra on its head (white literally). Other teams did this as well before then, but they didn't have the impact that NJ did. It literally was a game changer. So we all tried to flip traditional bhangra on its head in our own ways, and this lasted for 2 years. Crowds came because there was always the question of "what's next?"

We're now in the year or approaching the year that could be a paradigm shift that us old bastards are waiting for. Something that'll excite crowds and sell out tickets, as well as get creative juices flowing. It's also an even playing field - LITERALLY ANY TEAM can flip the game on its head.

I'm well aware I could be wrong - but wouldn't it be fun to be that team that has literally all of BTF logged in after a comp commenting on the results thread "HOLY SH*T THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!"[/SIZE]

 

[SunnyS]

Its feeling like rap changed, there was a time it was rugged.
Back when if a ***** reached it was for the weapon.
Nowadays *****s reach, just to sell they record

I don't come on btf much but...this. This is epic.

 

[yraparla]

Its feeling like rap changed, there was a time it was rugged.
Back when if a ***** reached it was for the weapon.
Nowadays *****s reach, just to sell they record
[/size]

[size=78%] I don't come on btf much but...this. This is epic. [/size][size=1em]

The irony of that rapper saying that line is too much to handle though

 

[nkrishnan]

Its feeling like rap changed, there was a time it was rugged.
Back when if a ***** reached it was for the weapon.
Nowadays *****s reach, just to sell they record

[SIZE=78%] I don't come on btf much but...this. This is epic. [/SIZE][/size]

The irony of that rapper saying that line is too much to handle though

The next line in the song is:Spaghetti Bolognese in the Polo LoungeReal rugged[size=1em]

 

[R_Dhillon]

Look at the state of independent teams (the general driver of change and creativity). The all-girl's segment is dying the fastest. The all-guy's segment has lost big names like ABC, PCBCA, JJ, and others that are more or less dormant (nj, shan-e-punjab toronto, apd).

I for one am really shattered by the loss of ABC whom are my favorite. They would bring such class and a whole new level of bhangra in their performances. There was always something to new to see. Its sad because no other team in the last year has shown me something that gets me off my feet and say WOW that was EPIC. ABC @ bruin 2012 never gets old, I would even go out to say they deserved to place first but thats a different story. As a dream match up, I would love to see ABC vs SGPD. It really sucks that both these teams are out of the circuit (from what i know).


2013 in my opinion has been a dreadful year for bhangra. AEG at bruin this year was the only great performance of the year for me. Having said that, a year like this here in Aus would be a really good year

 

[Kaur]

A problem we are having here in Vancouver os that the general population is sick of bhangra because they see it everywhere. We had

Bhangra Idols (3x a year down to 1)
VIBC
Bhangra Showdown
Bhangra Allstars
IPFF
Raunak Punjab Di
Virsa Punjab Da

And others that Iam forgetting. The only comp left is Idols in Vancouver and this year it only happened once. Ppl see bhangra for free at melas, and every Indian event they attend so they arent as inclined to spend $ to go
watch it.

Do i think it will pick up again once its not in their face as much anymore? I hope so.

We had huge rivaliries
PANJ vs PCBCA
Jawani vs UBC Girls
VIBE vs UBC

Were those a good thing or more negative thats an individual opinion but overall a city to go from having 7-8+ independant teams down to only 3-4 sucks!

 

[faizan]

hk, i had no idea that was the situation in bc. that's alarming.


What the heck is happening to canada!!!

 

[R_Dhillon]

A problem we are having here in Vancouver os that the general population is sick of bhangra because they see it everywhere. We had

Bhangra Idols (3x a year down to 1)
VIBC
Bhangra Showdown
Bhangra Allstars
IPFF
Raunak Punjab Di
Virsa Punjab Da

And others that Iam forgetting. The only comp left is Idols in Vancouver and this year it only happened once. Ppl see bhangra for free at melas, and every Indian event they attend so they arent as inclined to spend $ to go
watch it.

Do i think it will pick up again once its not in their face as much anymore? I hope so.

We had huge rivaliries
PANJ vs PCBCA
Jawani vs UBC Girls
VIBE vs UBC

Were those a good thing or more negative thats an individual opinion but overall a city to go from having 7-8+ independant teams down to only 3-4 sucks!

That's crazy!! I wish Australia had that sort of a circuit going. We are lucky to even have 1 comp a year

 

[Kaur]

hk, i had no idea that was the situation in bc. that's alarming.


What the heck is happening to canada!!!

Melas- bhangra
Olympics- bhangra
Concerts- bhangra
Weddings- bhangra
Vasakhi- bhangra
Fundraisers- bhangra
Club Nights- bhangra

Its in peoples faces so much that they dont buy tickets to go watch it at comps therefor Vancouver has 1 comp left -_-

 

[singhk1]

Ghg

 

[faysal]

hk, i had no idea that was the situation in bc. that's alarming.


What the heck is happening to canada!!!

Melas- bhangra
Olympics- bhangra
Concerts- bhangra
Weddings- bhangra
Vasakhi- bhangra
Fundraisers- bhangra
Club Nights- bhangra

Its in peoples faces so much that they dont buy tickets to go watch it at comps therefor Vancouver has 1 comp left -_-

That's why the UK has progressed so much in the last year or two because the situation is quite the opposite. We suddenly had ONE competition a year after a decade or two of having none from 2007-2010, and crowds of 4/500 still flock to watch. 3 years later we have 3 or 4 and that covers pretty much every team that exists over here. Having less competitions isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but could it also be that teams aren't as stressed about their chances of getting into a lot of comps? especially with some of the more dominant teams MIA or competing less. I don't know many of the current generation of dancers but I do recall plenty of conversations with friends in the past really worrying they might not get accepted to comp abc because team x y and z have also applied. Just a thought, but if it wasn't only the likes of E8 and wbbc that teams weren't certain they would be getting into, surely that would also be something to push everyone else to their limit to really stand out more. Maybe some of the younger kids can shed some light on this?