First Class Bhangra @ Bruin Bhangra 2014

[rbansal4494]

Whats up BTF? Here is First Class Bhangra's video from Bruin Bhangra 2014!


A few shout outs from the weekend! First off, congratulations to FAUJ, Anakhiley-E-Gabroo, and Bhangra Knightz for placing - every team that came to Bruin over the weekend ripped it and the show was a lot of fun to watch. The Bruin committee, those who picked us up throughout the day on Thursday as we were all flying in, and our liaison Eva did a really good job and took care of us while in LA (also the hotel they put us in was baller). A very special shout out to Harjot and GTV for not only the video but also for introducing us right before we performed at the show. Finally thank you to all our friends that came out to support us/help us throughout the weekend - Swi, Bagmi, Amar, Roohi, JSK, Romy, Dholi Ram, Navi, Shreepal, and Rupa - and all the guys who were watching our practice videos and giving us critiques leading up to the show! The weekend and performance would not have been possible without you guys!


Video:
First Class Bhangra @ Bruin Bhangra 2014

Jodis:
Red - Ram Mahalingam, Sumeet Jindal
Ferozi - Sid Pandit, Shawn Gupta
Blue - Pankaj Aggarwal, Azie Dhingra
Black - Akash Bansal, Sujay Turakhia
Yellow - Harman Deol, Ravi Mehta
Purple - Rohan Bansal, Jigar Saraiya
Pink - Milan Patel, Ankur Toshniwal
Green - Sid Sethi, Shubhit Singh
Dholi - Tejas Rekhi
The Cheese - Reeda Saleem

 

[Harman]

That three rivers throwback doeeeeee

 

[babygoose]

i see you reeda

 

[DamanSingh]

haha, for a few seconds I thought Pankaj was rockin' a dhari, but then I realized Sid's jodi was someone else.

 

[Gabroo Tv]

That khunda drop doeeeeee. I'll never forget the reaction we all had during techtime when we tested and saw it worked, priceless memories.

-hh

 

[SGupta7]

haha, for a few seconds I thought Pankaj was rockin' a dhari, but then I realized Sid's jodi was someone else.

haha sorry to disappoint you Daman! I think everyone would have loved to see Pankaj with a dhari

 

[Saab]

So happy to be a part of this. Such a pleasure to work with so many talented dancers and individuals to make this happen.

 

[DamanSingh]

haha sorry to disappoint you Daman! I think everyone would have loved to see Pankaj with a dhari

hahaha. Burgh 2014. Make it happen, Pankaj 8)

Also, glad to see Harman back on stage!

 

[hsdeol]

haha sorry to disappoint you Daman! I think everyone would have loved to see Pankaj with a dhari

hahaha. Burgh 2014. Make it happen, Pankaj 8)

Also, glad to see Harman back on stage!

Thanks brotha! definitely felt amazing being up there again, though kicking it with you side stage at fever was pretty nice too!

 

[rajiv0224]

Shawn looks like the happiest person to ever set foot on a bhangra stage. Unbelievable nakhra.

 

[Saab]

If anyone has any thoughts, feedback, or critiques of the set please leave it here!

 

[Armaan Kapoor]

No falling off stage gimmick?

 

[ramv88]

If we had...you would have danced with us.


[SIZE=small]jk bro! [/SIZE]








- Dholi Ram

 

[The Honest Truth]

I'll be honest, I didn't really like this performance that much. I personally thought Bhangra in the Burgh you guys nailed it and deserved that 1st. The next 2 first places for me were very questionable after I watched the other sets of teams there and that going into Bruin I felt would be your guys's true test competing against the best. l I felt this performance had a very similar structure as your previous sets. I LOVED THE KHUNDAY DROP, you guys took a HUUGEEE risk and nailed it. I still think equality of dancers is the one thing that can elevate you guys to another level, it's just evident from the start some dancers are better then others. This is not to bag/roast on anyone of you guys and this is just my opinion so take it as that. You guys are a good team that takes risks and I applaud you for that.

 

[amnataraj]

WOW. I’m such a hardcore fan! 6:04 - 7:09 is just the dopest thing everrr.
But in all seriousness, this set was just teeming with originality and creativity. I have to say, being fairly new to the bhangra circuit, FCB has been a prime example for me in showcasing what it means to ‘bhangra' - I learn a little more every time I watch you perform! Energy is out of this world and I am blown away by every killer formation - very characteristic of this team’s own aesthetic blend. Transitions are also very well integrated into the flow of the routine. Looking forward to your next performance

 

[Sue Sylvester]

I had a bunch of thoughts regarding your performances at Burgh, Fever, Bell and Bruin. Here's the novella that resulted in postponing writing it up for so long:

First Class Bhangra has no doubt come a long way in the last year. Your team has improved in almost every way. Your dancers are stronger than before. They’re more precise and more controlled (less OD nakhra) and they have much better stage presence than years past. You’ve started to develop your own dancing style that is beginning to speak to a unique FCB dancing style.

I’ve watched your Bhangra At The Bell 2014 performance quite a many times. I personally may not agree with that placing, but it was a breakthrough performance for your team, no doubt. I did feel there was too much walking around/lazy execution at parts, but overall, there was a sense of team cohesion - it felt like you guys were dancing as a unit, even with some disparity in dancing level, and there were definitely some hype segments.

I think this performance at Bruin Bhangra 2014 is an extension of that personal milestone achieved at Bell. Going 16 was smart given your competition at Bruin and the new guys, despite the different team backgrounds, didn’t detract. The formations could have been better - take it from me, there’s a lot you can do with 16, and you guys need to think more bigger picture effects rather than having different people in different groups moving differently creating different effects. The jodi segment with Reeda was a segment where this was done well, but the rest of the formations, like the saap segment, could have been better. Big concepts and effects that include the entire team hit much harder and allow you to show off your creative muscles.

I think the greatest flaw in these sets and the biggest obstacle holding your team back at this point is the lack of creativity and originality in your x-factors. It’s what, in my opinion, sets FCB back from unanimously being considered a tier one team. Your basic choreography isn’t bad and decently entertaining, but any x-factor above that is derivative from something another team has already done. Throwing props, throwing up one side of the saaps, holding saaps in the middle, running on backs and jumping, jumping under/over khundey…etc are all things done by other teams before you guys. Even the saap formations before the lyrics hit felt super reminiscent of NYPD at Bell 2014 (same effects, same moves).

Not only are some of these ideas not completely original, but many of them are things you have been doing for a long time. The holding the 2 saaps at the end in a line has been your sets for the last 4 years since Big Apple Bhangra 2010. Either completely re-invent after a year or ditch it. It’s one thing if you have ideas in the set that are completely your own or at least feel like your own, but other than the khunda drop from the sky, which was creative and well-executed (and should be proof that you guys are capable of thinking of your own ideas), these recent performances, from a creativity point of view, fall very much short from performances from teams like BK, Vancity, SGPD, NJ, NYPD, ABC, AEG, FAUJ, JJ..etc who consistently come/came up with completely new ideas/x-factors/gimmicks year after year before any other team think of them. For you guys, it feels like you guys have been choreographing one set for the last 4 years that has pieces derived from the work of others.

In terms of the other big components of your performance. The 6 towers at Bell hit harder than the 4 you did here. When it comes to towers, the sheer number of them compared to the number of people on stage was what was impressive. Bringing out Reeda for your jodiya segment, while she killed it, felt like a cheap Bruin gimmick. It felt random and it didn’t feel like there was significance for her to be there dancing with your team (or at least the significance wasn’t obvious) other than her being a “girl gimmick”. (Another gimmick that kinda seemed reminiscent of NYPD’s recent performance) The khunda drop from the sky could have been better served near the climax of the khunda segment where you could have really capitalized on the surprise effect as oppose to losing it on beats waiting to start dancing and building up momentum again. The jugni segment felt too rushed. I thought the speed was building up to a sick “get slow, get low” culmination, but it felt like too much walking around. Finally, the lights behind the turle was interesting, but honestly, taking 8+ beats of standing around, catching your breath and showing how it’s done really hurt the impact of that gimmick. You’re forced to try to build up your momentum and hype again and since there’s no “presentation” to the gimmick, it’s an uphill battle. Especially since energy wasn’t explosive after your 8 beat break.

Overall, congratulations on a good season. Bell and Bruin were significant milestones in the First Class Bhangra journey. As I iterated above, you’ve made significant strides as a team. Placings are a result of good execution and good ideas and I have no doubt that you will continue to place on the merit of your execution, but in my opinion, I think FCB can benefit from truly innovating and setting themselves apart. Don’t just put a spin on something someone else has done already. As evident from the genius idea & execution that was the khundey drop from the sky, you are certainly capable of it.

 

[Saab]

Kinnell,




Thanks for the post. Honestly, I have been a big fan of your critiques since you first started critiquing us because I know, for a fact, you are generally truthful and honest with your opinions and don't sugar coat anything(I say generally because I am not you). I just want to extrapolate on some points you made and delve a little further into your feedback.


So, for bruin, we took a huge risk and went 16. As some people know, we haven't danced a single competition as a team with all of our dancers in town, (we never have a full team until the night before) so yes, bruin was pretty stressful dealing with a lack of team practices. We essentially, and some others have seen this, made a set that capitalized on a lot of what we did in the past. Things like saap jumps(Last year), khunde swings(All last year), the intro saap formations(our second bruin), jodiyaan(burgh, and I know people know this), and saap fence(bruin 2011) found its way back into the sets.


Are we the most creative...I can't say. I know we could be more dynamic with what we do, but we found a pretty happy medium this year managing the travel schedules of two to three out of town dancers while making the team look coherent, and more importantly, keep us competitive at competitions. What we did, while not extremely outside the box, was try to create memorable periods in the set which we thought the crowd could enjoy and a judge could respect.


Thank you for your constructive commentary, and to be sure we will take your critiques into consideration and definitely improve on future iterations in the sets to come. We have found a pretty good way of dealing with a lot of random variables(peoples jobs, lack of team practices) and issues with our sets through the critiques and thoughts of people like you, so please continue doing what your doing.

Thanks again.