CIRCLE CITY BHANGRA COMPETITION: Create your own destiny!

[Circle City Bhangra]

[SIZE=small]Hello BTF![/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]The Circle City Bhangra Committee wanted to reach out to all of you for your feedback as we continue to prepare for the upcoming competition on Saturday, April 8, 2017 in Indianapolis, IN. Typically, feedback regarding a competition is asked of the teams after they've already competed and experienced the competition in its entirety. They often times don't even have the opportunity to witness the changes and be a part of the suggestions they made. So we want to give the teams an opportunity to play a role in some of these decisions and truly create their own destiny![/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]The following are some questions to start off with, and feel free to post your own questions:[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=small]Would you prefer the team hotel be closer to the auditorium OR the after party?[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=small]Would you prefer 1 on stage and 1 off stage rehearsal OR just 1 long on stage rehearsal?[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=small]What are some things you found unnecessary in the goodie bags in your hotel rooms? What did you find absolutely necessary?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]We will begin advertising this competition here in the next week or so along with releasing applications by mid to end of October. We've received great interest in the competition and really look forward to receiving your applications.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]You can also reach us at circlecitybhangra@gmail.com
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Regards,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Amrit & Navdeep Singh[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Co-Directors[/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Circle City Bhangra Committee[/SIZE]

 

[A.JAGGI]

Re: CIRCLE CITY BHANGRA: Create your own destiny!

Great post. I appreciate you guys taking the initiative and really trying to make a memorable competition.


Personally I feel that having the venue closer to the hotels is very beneficial. It allows dancers to be able to get some rest, teams to regroup back in hotels and watch their tech time videos on tv, allows dancers to shower, more importantly teams dont have to take all their stuff in the morning during tech times, loosing and leaving gear/props isn't uncommon and having hotels closer allows teams to move around be active in certain situations. Plus, younger and younger teams and team members are starting to compete so not like every ones going to the after party

I would definitely prefer having an on and off stage practice rather than just one tech time practice being longer. Having a practice space the night before comp is very helpful, regardless of being give[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]n space or not, teams 9/10 times will still meet and practice the night before because those practices are very crucial. [/font]

Goodie bags, food is v important. Best thing I've ever gotten in a goodie bag was BAB 2011 when we got Big apple keychains. Loved it. Burgh gave lanyards which was nice! Some comp gear apart from shirts are nice.

some comps gave condoms which was well.... awkward but I can see their point of view.

 

[ramv88]

Great thread.....great questions.....annnnd best of all great attitude Circle City Committee.



question 1- hotel should be closer to venue, It's so convenient and ensures more flexibility when it comes to tech time since the teams need to take time to make it there----therefore ensures that everything for the most part stays on schedule. After the show, its easy for erryone to get back and get turn't for the after party easily. Plus for u guys...it's cost effective.

question 2- 1 on stage and 1 off stage- agree with Angad with the practice space.

question 3- can't comment to my knowledge as to what's not necessary---- however it's all about the FRUIT SNACKS baby.


Couple of other things that I can think of are......

- Determining the mixer order and how it's done (either give the teams who paid early or award teams from how well they perform during mixer games)
- Marketing- If you guys haven't thought of this---helps if u guys ask bhangra/fusion/raas comps located close to the midwest (Burgh, Srujan, Motor City, ADZ, etc) to spread the word of Circle City as those comps happen before your competition!

Best of luck guys



- Dholi Ram

 

[SGupta7]

- Determining the mixer order and how it's done (either give the teams who paid early or award teams from how well they perform during mixer games)

Please don't choose the lineup based on arbitrary mixer games. Pick show order randomly from a hat or something. 99% of the time I don't want to even be at the mixer, i'd rather be practicing or sleeping or chillin with my team. Don't make the mixer mean anything, keep it light and have decent food.

As for tech times, always try to maximize the time the performers have on stage before the show. Only makes for a better performance and a more enjoyable experience for your audience. Practice spaces the night before the comp are a must and practice spaces the day of the comp are always appreciated.

 

[KushK]

- Determining the mixer order and how it's done (either give the teams who paid early or award teams from how well they perform during mixer games)

Please don't choose the lineup based on arbitrary mixer games. Pick show order randomly from a hat or something. 99% of the time I don't want to even be at the mixer, i'd rather be practicing or sleeping or chillin with my team. Don't make the mixer mean anything, keep it light and have decent food.

THIS. KEEP IT RANDOM and SHORT.

 

[Howie Magz]

I liked Buckeye Mela's Mixer. Best one I have been to to this day. I also liked Blowout's mixer and Bhangra Fever's mixer as well. Those were my favorite mixers from all of the competitions I've attended. You guys should ask their committee how they organized those.

 

[Basim]

LOVE this topic. I'm so happy to read about a committee reaching out to bhangra teams/the bhangra community regarding options that will affect each team.

With the competition date set 6 months away, I really like the initiative taken to ask important questions and get some feedback well in advance.

• I have always liked hotels closer to the venue since it helps teams have some down time, get ready well in advance and not have to worry about the travel time/ride to the venue. Additionally, if the committee wants to make food available at any time (i.e. a brunch after tech time), they have the option to set it up at the hotel or possibly in the venue halls (if the venue allows for it) without much difficulty. Lastly, if a team forgets something at their hotel, it's not hard to for a team member to go grab it.
• My thoughts align with A.JAGGI about the rehearsals. The more rehearsals that are available to teams, they more planning and slightly changes/adjustments to their sets teams can make. I am not sure if your question was regarding practice space, but I also agree having practice space before an actual performance is just golden. You can even set
• Necessary: Healthy stuff and/or things that are quick to eat are always a plus. Sometimes teams don't have the time for a full out or want a to a heavy meal, so these types of things are a plus. Absolutely Necessary: A schedule for each individual team on when they need to be where & what is going on throughout the days. The address of the after-party venue is necessary so teams can GPS it if they are going on their own (transportation isn't provided). For the people that drink, I hear that a free large bottle of "booze" goes a long way. lol. Great to have: VIP badges, wristbands, etc for JUST TEAMS so that they don't have to wait in a long line to get into the after-party. By the time teams make it back to the hotel, change, and get to the after-party.. it's usually quite late.. so having access to easy entry is a huge plus.

Since Ram brought up team order selection, I like the concept of incentivizing teams to get their applications in early, stage lighting cues (i.e. if they need spotlight during a particular segment of their set), and anything else the committee may require from teams (i.e. final mixes in before the mixer so that your venue's sound techs have them all ready to go for the stage tech times & performances). The teams that can provide these items successfully in advance should get priority to select their spot in the lineup. This also helps you (the committee) since you have more time to review information (i.e. applications) and plan things out accordingly.


I like the suggestions that Ram through out there for marketing your comp.
Anyway, just wanted to say awesome job with asking the right questions to plan around the needs/desires of teams Circle City Bhangra Committee. Don't be scared to reach out for any more advise.

~ Basim

 

[siddyp]

Since Ram brought up team order selection, I like the concept of incentivizing teams to get their applications in early, stage lighting cues (i.e. if they need spotlight during a particular segment of their set), and anything else the committee may require from teams (i.e. final mixes in before the mixer so that your venue's sound techs have them all ready to go for the stage tech times & performances). The teams that can provide these items successfully in advance should get priority to select their spot in the lineup. This also helps you (the committee) since you have more time to review information (i.e. applications) and plan things out accordingly.

I disagree pretty strongly with incentivising teams to give you stuff early just to be able to pick their lineup spot.

You want teams to have the maximum amount of time and flexibility to put on the BEST possible performance for your audience. That comes with allowing teams to do their thing. No one shows up to the show without a mix. Have a rule in place that if its not in by the mixer, then points are docked. Otherwise, give teams the freedom/flexibility/least amount of stress on their mixer to put the best possible performance and mix on stage.

And a problem I've had with this in the past, is that comps have said "the team that turns in a mix first gets first pick" and some team turns in a mix first. But that team turns our to be the LAST team to turn in a FINAL mix. so its like, hey. just send us an MP3 file and you win the ability to pick your spot first. like wtf?? Like with the mix, if a team says hey, we made an adjustment to our set and we added this dope nasty gimmick, are you NOT going to let them turn in a new mix? Or will you let them turn in the mix and have them become the last team to pick their spot? Imagine doing that with rosters, lighting cues, etc. Just becomes a dumb mess that has nothing to do with anything, yet has such a big impact on show order.

The testing of the sound, mixes, lighting, etc happens the DAY OF THE SHOW. Nothing ever gets done outside of 24 hours before the show. Don't try to BS your way to get teams to rush and turn stuff in by saying "oh the tech crew needs your mix to test it." The venue might have a completely different set up for a show the night before. Even if there isn't, are you as a competition going to pay for the tech crew to show up earlier in the week to set up and do testing as long as there isn't anything else going on at the venue leading up to the show? the venue itself sure won't, that's money loss for them. They know it all can get done the day of the show. They're paying their staff to be there from 7am til mid night already.

In conclusion, make show order completely random. Double, triple, quadruple, or octuple blind like E8 did. This allows it to be completely up to chance, and not some extra game or competition within the competition. Reduce stress on teams, reduce stress on the committee trying to manage all that, and there will be no grudges/complaining that ensues. If teams are going to be dumb/put the committee in a tough situation by not turning in the mix/lighting cues by the mixer, then dock points from them. No team wants to lose points for reasons that have nothing to do with the performance. You'll get your materials no worries.

 

[SGupta7]

yup ^^^^

 

[Basim]

Great points Sid. I actually agree with your stance.

I like having mixes & lighting cues turned in a day before the competition.. so basically by the mixer. If a team doesn't have the organizational skills to get these two things turned in on time, I can't even imagine how their performance is going to turn out, so deduct as many points as you want A team's formations being all whack due to practicing within a stage's size & not do certain gimmicks would be just excuses since it's a team's jobs to run these by the committee beforehand and get the proper information that they need.

Maybe to incentive teams to get their applications in earlier and within the deadline, instead of the ability to pick show order, giving some type of bonus like: X more minutes of tech time (on stage) might be a better idea.

I am definitely against mixer games deciding show order, since this time should used to chill out with members of your own team, serve as a meet/greet the entire committee, meet other teams, etc.

~ Basim

 

[Saab]

So, to address your points




[list type=decimal]
[*]Closer to the venue, with good transportation provided to the after-party. The hardest part about going to any after party is that there is some period of ridiculousness post competition when you are counting phuman, hanging up vardiyaan, showering, etc - you just want that whole situation to be as easy as possible. Logistics issues as it relates to travel will only complicate the matter.
[*]I am assuming your first point was around day of the show, but teams should be given the following accommodations as it relates to dancing -> time to practice for a half-hour on friday, time to practice for 20 minutes before being on stage saturday, 20 minutes on stage saturday, 20 minutes after stage in a room to have extra practice/watch their tech time video, which should be taken by the competition and have a set-up(tv,laptop, projector) for the teams to watch. Also, rigging should not take more than 30 minutes in the morning, and if so, should dock/tie into tech time. I don't care if you are cirque de soleil, but please be cognizant of other teams trying to dance.
[*]From a pure weekend standpoint, don't prioritize getting alcohol/goofy shit if that takes away from whats actually useful. Safety pins(at least two-three boxes of big and little pins), hair pins, heat packs, knee pads/ankle braces, snacks(not gummies, but KIND bars or granola), advil/tylenol, and red bull/energy drink are probably the most needed things for a bhangra dancer to compete on stage. Also, please hand this shit out immediately including all shirts at the mixer. Any delays in getting this out just creates extra hassle for the weekend.
[/list]


Couple of other things:


1. Identify all of the things you need from teams based on a logical format of time(if your brochure pamphlet needs 14 days to be printed with team info, ask that all teams give it to you 15 days in advance and tell them why). Most annoying thing is that you have arbitrary deadlines with little to no reason given as to why you need them. Recommended would be either the number of days out each thing is needed(xx days for item yy), or if thats too hectic, put them in bands of 20 days out, 10 days out, and day of the show kinda deal.


2. Figure out your goddamn logistics the moment you book the hotel, afterparty, and show venue. Doesn't really matter if teams are coming or not, but some comps run dress rehearsals of the logistics of Friday/Saturday and is great way to avoid potential fuck ups or dumb situations. There are often times people at competitions who literally have no function in life as it relates to helping teams or being even in a position of helping a team, so understanding where things are, how long things will take, transit times, and point people for certain events/emergencies well in advance, in an actual simulation or discussion setting, is amazing and makes things smooth. Again, teams don't care if you have a stick in your ass as long as you stick to a schedule and deliver a smooth and consistent performance.


3. Make the above mandatory for liaisons, and don't just make people liaisons. Good liaisons really should be valuing happiness of their team and getting things done. Don't need to hang out with teams 24/7, but really should be available to help teams on saturday through the tech-time, show, and after party process and give them all the items you need for a team to be successful. Couple of other things on this - preferably teams should have two liaisons, one should have a car thats available friday/saturday(if not both), and lastly, liaisons should want to know teams/be cool with different types of teams


I could probably go on, but Ill wait to see what others says and further updates from the committee. This is incredibly encouraging, but please, I would also say be as transparent as possible throughout this process. This does not happen enough and is one of the #1 competitions end up not fulfilling promise. Otherwise, you are off to a great start.

 

[Circle City Bhangra]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! All of these suggestions will be implemented as we continue progressing forward in this competition.

Just to recap and provide some of our input regarding the suggestions:

Hotel Proximity
We definitely agree with the hotels being closer to the venue. There is a lot of transportation involved between the hotel and auditorium venue, therefore reducing this as much as possible will benefit the teams along with the committee. If it’s not within walking distance, we will be sure to make the drive as minimal as possible; and of course transportation will be provided via the CCB committee.

On Stage/Off Stage rehearsals
It will be our objective to give teams as much practice time as possible. This would include Friday night practice space, along with 1 offstage and 1 onstage rehearsal on Saturday. I know one comment suggested providing extra practice time for the team that turned in their material the earliest. We are considering various perks and the methods to which a team will receive those perks. Again, our priority will still be to give teams as much practice time as possible!

Goodie Bags
Seems like the majority agrees that food is a big plus! We’ll put a lot of emphasis on this along with a few of the normal goodies. We will also be sure to include a schedule of events for each person, so there isn’t just 1 handed out at the captain’s meeting.

Show Order
Random x Random x Random. Enough said : )

Liaisons
Along with going through an interview process for our liaisons, we will be sure to stress the importance of the passion required to be a liaison and to provide the assistance necessary. We will make it a point that our liaisons have all the necessary information regarding the competition and its details!

Logistics
Our committee puts a great emphasis on the accuracy of our scheduling and making sure teams do not experience any delays. We are comprised of members who have put on bhangra competitions in the past and hope that our experiences are reflected in the success and precision of this competition.

Please keep the feedback coming! We really want to stress that your suggestions and opinions will help drive this competition and make it one everyone will not forget!

Amrit & Navdeep Singh
Co-Directors
Circle City Bhangra Committee