I was at this and last year's showdown and used to compete in NA. While the standard is still relatively low compared to NA teams, it's a huge step from last year. There was a significant push toward a more traditional routine (and vardiyan) compared to last year, which was nice to see. Birmingham had a clean, well executed set and was folk. Leicester also had a nice dance. Queen Mary's showed potential but didn't execute as well as they could've. Some of the other teams, like Kingston and Manchester, had some traditional aspects in their performances too.
@ Hand of Goddard: They did announce Imperial as the 2nd place winner but didn't announce a 3rd place winner. Imperial should not have placed second, not if this was a Bhangra competition. Maybe a Kung-fu or cheerleading competition. There were much more deserving teams there. But they were the home team as they hosted the competition. It was a wrong placing, but expected.
@AB: I don't think UK will catch up until they take the non-Bhangra elements out of judging. There's no maximum number of people allowed on a team, which allows for 'tag-team Bhangra' taking out the stamina factor, a central part of Bhangra performance. Also, 4/5 judges were non-Bhangra dancing judges. 2 were music celebrities, 2 were just 'dance experts'. Until they cater the judging toward Bhangra, they will be slow to move forward. Right now, stunts, giddah and gimmicks are a HUGE part of the dance. Watching Birmingham was a relief. First UK university dance I seen with grace. They could actually do Jhummer lol. Congrats to you guys.
