AEG had a phenomenal time at Bhangra in the Burgh XI!
We would first like to thank the board (Nandini and Isha) for doing a phenomenal job and especially to our liason Rai and Ishi for getting us everything we needed. Hotel needs to be the same every year because this years hotel was so close to the venue. Now onto the review.
Mixer:
This was probably the only part of the competition in which my team did not fully enjoy. The food that was served at the mixer was pretty bad and the mixer games we were not really feeling it. The dance battle aspects felt forced and awkward for a lot of our dancers and there wasn't a lot of team participation. You guys need to find novel ways for teams to engage each other!!! Good attempt, but it wasn't the most fun mixer. However, what I really liked from the mixer was the tension I felt in the air especially from the high caliber teams that were competing at Burgh. Double blind is once again the best way of picking show order and I think at the end of the day, everyone had their eyes set on winning which made the mixer so stressful.
Practice Space:
We did not take our practice space and instead rented Millennium Dance Complex over in downtown Pittsburgh. We got there and practiced for a couple hours and weren't bothered or restricted by time limits. We were a bit dissapointed that our practice space was limited to only 35 minutes when last year we got the whole night. We understand that last year we only got the whole night to practice because of the team that was to utilize the space after us decided not to use it. I believe all comps should prepare Friday night in a manner where every team is given as long as they want to practice. We only paid for the studio because we did not want to be restricted to that 35 min time limit.
Tech Time:
No complaints here, everything ran right on time since the team hotel was literally a block and a half from the venue and we were able to walk there. Love that everyone gets 25 min which should be a standard tech time across all competitions. Thank you once again Nandini for letting us and all the teams tie their pagghan at the venue at a earlier time and coordinating that especially when it was raining outside that Saturday.
Show:
All the teams really brought it and was very impressed with the caliber of dancing exhibited from everyone. We loved the buzz that everyone was talking outside of the dressing rooms about how every audience member was excited to see this team or that team. It was great to see old faces from the Bhangra circuit come to burgh to see such a historic lineup. We loved the support we got from RU Bhangra and MBT especially when AEG performed. Burgh always boasts a nice crowd in the audience and it appears that this year almost every team brought some supporters to cheer on for them.
Judges Meeting:
My biggest complaint here is that I did not like the format of the meeting. AEG was the first to arrive at the judges meeting but we were told that we would be going according to show order....We were given 5 min with each judge and there was some weird rotational method where some people waited outside for ten min at a time and others didn't have to wait. We would like Bhangra in the Burgh in the future to have one meeting for 15 min where all five judges and each respective team captain or captains are in that room together. Other than that the feedback we received was valid and we will do our best to implement those changes moving forward.
After Party:
Bouncers are dickheads and we were lucky we didn't have to wait that long. We got bottle service and they literally brought us a bottle a bucket of ice and mixers to drink. When I asked about where this table that they had for us was, they told me that package was $400. This made zero sense in my mind because where the hell were they expecting us to drink.... I understand that you guys got a separate organization to run the party, but I do miss back in the day when the priority was to get roster members of the competing teams into the after party over the randoms that show up and bought a ticket just to be at the after party.
Overall a solid weekend and a stressful, but fun one for everyone because of the tension that was felt in the air. In my opinion the best lineup of the year because you brought together the best of collegiate and the best of independent into one competition to all battle it out. Congratulations once again to NSG and FCB for their respective placings and to Nandini, Isha, Rai, and Ishi for all the help and support they have given not only to myself, but AEG as well.
