The
Kinnell Shah aka K Review of Elite 8 hehe
Preface: Previously on this thread, I mentioned that I did not believe Elite 8 lived up to the hype as a competition. I still stand behind that opinion, but the statement is a bit misleading. EMDO did an excellent job organizing and running Elite 8 and it was the BEST first year competition I have attended. The event did a lot of things right that many well-established competitions still miss out on. Elite 8 generated a lot of hype in the bhangra community. Probably the most hype a bhangra event has ever generated. The initial PR was genius. While most competitions have an audience filled with college kids and families, members of various bhangra teams filled the seats of Lisner Auditorium. A lot of the hype was generated by this BTF community and there was some high expectations for this first year competition. The extra hype of this competition being the biggest thing to happen in bhangra was not generated by Emdo but it did result in some unmet expectations. Elite 8 was still a tier-one competition, but there are still things that can dramatically be improved on before it ascends to the top.
My reviews tend to be quite verbose, so hopefully my new format can make things easier to read.
Pre-Competition: Elite 8 raised expectations for itself when they paid for rooms at the official hotel in addition to paying for dinner the night before the competition. It truly felt like the competition cared for the teams. There were a few things Elite 8 tried to do with teams introducing themselves on videos, but I think I heard that this was scraped because not all teams submitted it on time. As I stated before on BTF, the final promo video for Elite 8 with all 8 teams could have been improved. Just a few suggestions and I know EMDO is dedicated to doing the best job they can.
+1 Elite 8 paid for teams hotels. NICE.
+1 Liaisons took teams to restaurant of choice for dinner before mixer and paid for the entire meal. This was awesome.
Mixer: There was much to be desired at the mixer. We were told that there was a mandatory semi-formal attire code, yet we were dismayed to find out that teams arrived in tshirts, hoodies and track-jackets. Pick one dress code and stick with it. In addition, there was not much structure at the event. I am a huge advocate of competitions that mix up teams in different groups at mixers to allow people to meet everyone. We were also told that only the core dancers could be at the mixer, no singers or dholis or extras, but it was later revealed that they could have come. It was convenient that the mixer was at the hotel, but there was very little space to dance and sit. However, seeing teams send a member to do a boliyan really showed the variety of talents from all these great teams. (Let's all go live next year! hahah) The mixer can drastically be improved on next year.
+1 Mixer located at official hotel
Rehearsal: Emdo offered rides to the venue and to my knowledge, everything ran smoothly. One disadvantage was the location of all the green rooms that we got shuffled through while waiting for our turn on stage.
+1 Competition offered transportation to venue
+1 Rehearsal ran smoothly
Venue: I know that Emdo tried to get Constitution Hall, but had to use Lisner Auditorium instead. The stage itself was small and the venue lacking a sense of grandeur. As I said before, this event was very hyped up and teams/audience expected the very best. I realize that Emdo had no choice but to book Lisner and had to settle for whatever that venue had to offer. The stage lighting had very little to offer. The green rooms, while accommodating for most teams, were difficult to access (a lot of steep stairs to climb). On a positive note, the auditorium was nearly filled.
+1 Auditorium nearly filled.
Competition: The actual competition ran really smoothly. The MCs were short to the point but entertaining. The exhibition acts were all varied but maintained a level of good quality. The actual show ran through pretty quickly and the performances hit hard. I really wish the competition allowed intro videos or at least had video intros to each team. A simple video saying "Right here, Right now... Representing Argentina East.... Boom" would have hyped up each performance. The trophy ceremony could have been a bit more clearer. It was not clearly evident what had happened when VCU's name was announced. I still truly believe that even though you can have a cash prize for just one team, you should announce the top 3 placings. Not mentioning the actual judging results, the judging system needs work. And the Elite 8 trophy was puny!

+1 Well-run show
+1 MCs were brief but entertaining
+1 Exhibition acts were also entertaining
Afterparty: The shuttle ran 40 minutes late. The shuttle was mad fun though - drunk Canadians are hilarious! The line for the afterparty was ridiculous and the venue was, as a few people pointed out in this thread, small and weird. There was little bhangra music actually played. The only reason why the afterparty was fun was because of the people in attendance. It was great seeing everyone and talking to everyone. Hell, there were some cute girls here and there!

And I apologize if I bought you a 151 shot but told you it was something more manageable.
Conclusion: First and foremost, I would like to say that our liaison was phenomenal. (We did hear that some other teams had MIA liaisons, but we were blessed) I know we gave her a lot of shit

, but Supreet was a boss. She handled all our requests and was with the team the entire time. She went out of her way to make sure we were happy - definitely a role model for other liaisons at all competitions. Next, Elite 8 did what most competitions dream of doing. They brought together a badass line-up and brought half the bhangra community to its auditorium seats. People drove, flew and walked to a competition to see not only what teams would bring, but what the competition would offer them. After attending, competing and having some time to ponder while sipping margaritas at BWI airport, I will say that Elite 8 this year was a normal tier-one competition. Definitely a good competition and a great first year competition, but with a few improvements, they are not far from being the best. The BTF community generated a lot of buzz regarding this competition which lead to some disappointment. Regarding the performances, some teams really brought it and other teams could have worked harder. Nonetheless, all the teams were fun to watch and there were too many cool people at this competition.
Elite 2011 is gonna be bigger and badder. I know that Waleed and his Emdo team are dedicated to take Elite 8 to new levels and I have faith that it will live up to its insane hype in the coming years.
+1 Awesome Liaison.
+1 Badass Line-Up.
+1 Responsive Emdo Board.
Shoutouts: None.
