How do you step it up? (New Teams/lesser-known teams)

[Sparsh]

I came to BTF to find some advice for NN rubrics and judging, tbh but then I got distracted and was inspired by the "fire dying on the circuit" topic Howie started. I completely agree with everything that was said on the discussion thread - I remember the hype behind bhangra and the names of these teams/rivalries even though I was only in high school. It's been established, newer teams and members need to step it up and bring the fire back.


But as the captain of a newish team/lesser known team, I am seriously struggling with a conflict that I can't seem to resolve: We want to step it up and do crazy and creative things but how do we overcome the following issues:


1. New member training. Our team has been about 20 members and every year we spend a good amount of time teaching bhangra basics to the newbies and lose time that could be spent learning choreo/formations. Less time = we lost ideas that seemed really cool because we needed to have more choreo done (for comps/on campus performances). How do you train members effectively? @big collegiate teams


2. Practice time. Our team's identity comes from our members: they're really involved with other things on campus and do well academically. In other words, we can't increase our practice time without asking too much of our members. I have friends who say their teams practice 12+ hours a week. We do 5.5 hours a week. How do you be more efficient with time? Any tips and tricks?


3. Team Size. A possible solution to the following issues would be to increase team size and have A, B, C etc teams. Lower "tier" teams could train/perform at small gigs while A team honed formations, etc. Creativity could be implemented with people who didn't need to be taught bhangra basics and brought to the circuit. But, it goes back to the identity of the team. We are a family in that everyone personally knows everyone else. We rent out a cabin and go there every fall. We don't want to lose that by becoming a bigger team.


Basically, I'm struggling with keeping our identity while pushing the boundaries of what we can accomplish. Maybe we'll have to change who we are to step it up, and then it's a matter of priorities.

[/size]If anyone has ideas/advice, please let me know. If you feel what I'm talking about, also let me know. If I'm crazy and these aren't real problems/I'm looking at it wrong, also let me know, lol. Maybe I just need to re-evaluate.[SIZE=78%]

[/SIZE]Sorry if this seems disjointed - it was the most structure I could put together from my frustration-fueled writing.[size=78%]

 

[s14]

Boost! I'm in the exact same position, captain of a newly formed, pretty unknown team, and we're having the same exact issues, especially with what you're saying about new member training. And it's difficult to break into the circuit as a new team, especially because the circuit's pretty hard to figure out without having connections to others in other teams.


Anyone on bigger collegiate teams with advice?

 

[sunnyd48]

I came to BTF to find some advice for NN rubrics and judging, tbh but then I got distracted and was inspired by the "fire dying on the circuit" topic Howie started. I completely agree with everything that was said on the discussion thread - I remember the hype behind bhangra and the names of these teams/rivalries even though I was only in high school. It's been established, newer teams and members need to step it up and bring the fire back.


But as the captain of a newish team/lesser known team, I am seriously struggling with a conflict that I can't seem to resolve: We want to step it up and do crazy and creative things but how do we overcome the following issues:


1. New member training. Our team has been about 20 members and every year we spend a good amount of time teaching bhangra basics to the newbies and lose time that could be spent learning choreo/formations. Less time = we lost ideas that seemed really cool because we needed to have more choreo done (for comps/on campus performances). How do you train members effectively? @big collegiate teams


2. Practice time. Our team's identity comes from our members: they're really involved with other things on campus and do well academically. In other words, we can't increase our practice time without asking too much of our members. I have friends who say their teams practice 12+ hours a week. We do 5.5 hours a week. How do you be more efficient with time? Any tips and tricks?


3. Team Size. A possible solution to the following issues would be to increase team size and have A, B, C etc teams. Lower "tier" teams could train/perform at small gigs while A team honed formations, etc. Creativity could be implemented with people who didn't need to be taught bhangra basics and brought to the circuit. But, it goes back to the identity of the team. We are a family in that everyone personally knows everyone else. We rent out a cabin and go there every fall. We don't want to lose that by becoming a bigger team.


Basically, I'm struggling with keeping our identity while pushing the boundaries of what we can accomplish. Maybe we'll have to change who we are to step it up, and then it's a matter of priorities.

[/size]If anyone has ideas/advice, please let me know. If you feel what I'm talking about, also let me know. If I'm crazy and these aren't real problems/I'm looking at it wrong, also let me know, lol. Maybe I just need to re-evaluate.[SIZE=78%]

[/SIZE]Sorry if this seems disjointed - it was the most structure I could put together from my frustration-fueled writing.[size=78%]

1. I've never been on a collegiate team, but 20 people seems like a lot to be attending every practice. If you want to focus more on creating the set, you only need your best 12/16 dancers (depending on how many are dancing) to attend each practice. This helps cut down on the chaos and it allows you to focus on your stronger dancers.

2. The only way to get better is to practice more. That also includes having to sacrifice on other extracurriculars/campus life. If you are serious about getting better, and your teammates are also serious about getting better, then the only way to make that happen is to cut time out of somewhere else. I understand that many people want to join clubs and student orgs, so it all depends where Bhangra lands on each person's priority list.

The amount of time spent practicing varies from team to team. But one thing every powerhouse team has in common is that when they come into practice, they have the end goal in mind. Everyone should be coming to practice on time, ready to go. The best way to be more efficient is to know whats going to happen before you walk in the door and make sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of end goal.

3. It all depends on what you want to do with your team. If your goal is to become stronger and compete, then you might want to do fewer gigs (depending on the number of gigs you do currently). Like I said in my response to your first question, 20 people attending every practice seems like a lot. Stick to 12 or 16 dancers that you know will commit for the entire season. That does cut down on opportunities for others, but focusing on your best dancers will help the entire team become stronger.

 

[Nimit]

Not that we have been super successful by any means, but I think the main issue with a lot of new teams is that there is no one to teach the dance properly. I know when I was on a high school team, realistically we all sucked and so our improvement was very slow and completely self motivated. I'm not saying anyone sucks, I'm just saying that there is no issue in reaching out to successful dancers for tips on how to do certain basic steps and footwork properly. Don't want to speak for other teams, but BASS got so much better from WBBC to BDU and it was clear that someone from Canada helped them a lot with form and execution. You will get a lot better a lot faster if your captains learn to dance like first tier dancers. Not an easy task and definitely something we are still doing right now.


Practice efficiency is dependent on you. If you come with a good plan and a team that's willing to listen, 5.5 hours should definitely work!

 

[Howie Magz]

Practice Times:Being one of the captain of MBT, we have two 3 hour practices a week normally . During competition weeks we have practice almost every single night for 2 hours leading up to the competition. We personally do not think it is that huge of a commitment and gives the dancers the liberty to pursue their own interests and agendas.


New Dancer Training:
In terms of training new dancers this was how I approached it. When I took over the team a year and a half ago, we had lost 8 dancers and had to take 8 people who have never danced bhangra before. We taught them the set and formations the first semester of college and began competing in the Winter/Spring semester. I personally think that teaching all of the dancers a bhangra set you are able to cover all of the essential bhangra moves. Cleaning the dancers along the way teaches them the proper way to execute the moves and look as one cohesive unit.


My Opinion on your Large Team Issue:
I personally believe that you should cut down your 20 dancers to 12 and take them on stage. I would select your best 12 and have one chimta player. If you have a co-captains, alternate between you two or three train those who are not a part of your competitive squad. You never know someone may get hurt and you will need to switch in a dancer or two for certain competitions. Have those that are not dancing learn the same choreography as the competitive team to keep them motivated and on their feet.

 

[psingh]

I am the captain of a new/lesser known team and we have grown over the past few years but we do still face some of the same issues. Here is some stuff that has helped us while balancing double majors/jobs/internships/other dance teams and bhangra.


1. We set up a buddy system. So when doing formations we kind of have bigs-returning members and littles-new members together. This way the new members can watch the older more experienced dancers and the older members can help teach the younger ones when the captains are not around. This also helps the newer dancers feel more welcome.


2. Practice time is a huge issue we still face especially since a lot of our dancers are on other teams. Honestly 5 or 6 am practices work great. Everyone complains but they are very productive. We usually have 2 night practices and 1 morning.


3.We tried the larger team thing this year (going from 12-->16 dancers) and honestly it was really hard and didn't work out. We had to let some dancers go who weren't putting in the time and effort. We are at an awkward number right now,but are making it work cause everyone is dedicated and passionate.


4. Identity is a huge issue we face as well,trying to maintain that family community bond while trying to compete. Being captain I want our team to step it up but I also don't want it to reach the point where they see bhangra as a chore versus a hobby and decide to quit. To balance this a lot of it is doing small activities and events outside of practice. Some days we end practice early and have a dance off or something.


Hope this helps. Thank you for posting your questions,its glad to know that there are other teams in the same boat.

 

[mafzal]

2. Practice time. Our team's identity comes from our members: they're really involved with other things on campus and do well academically. In other words, we can't increase our practice time without asking too much of our members. I have friends who say their teams practice 12+ hours a week. We do 5.5 hours a week. How do you be more efficient with time? Any tips and tricks?

I see some really great ideas and advice from everyone who has posted so far. Here are my suggestions:
- Set a "warm up" routine. It may be 2 laps of jogging, followed by a team stretch. It might be doing a light run thru, it might be doing a few sets of basic moves. Whatever it is, make it so that when everyone comes to practice they get started right away, and get in the zone both physically and mentally before you begin.
- Have a plan for each practice. Captain should know exactly what needs to be accomplished that day, with minimum and maximum goals.
- Post videos of choreography in advance for dancers to watch. Even if they don't have time to learn it, seeing it a few times and knowing what to expect will increase efficiency in teaching.
- Assign new or weak dancers with a more experienced "practice buddy" to help them.
- Utilize facebook groups and team chats for discussions as much as possible, so you can minimize talking time and maximize dancing time at practice. To schedule practices, "Doodle" (doodle.com) free scheduling tool is fantastic.

Best of luck!

 

[Mr Sandhu]

Honestly, if everyone on your college team is having fun just being there and chilling with one another, and if they all feel they bring something of value to the team - be it a formation, a dance move, or a song clip - then things start falling in place. Once the vibe is right, then you can decide on a goal to work towards. Once you have a goal like a competition, then you can cut down on the number of people allowed at practices pretty easily and the competitors will start to practice on their own outside of practice (the ones who fell short will take pride in working harder to get a place on the varsity team). Your members will have a reason to show up prepared and on time and will a feel a level of comfort to be themselves. The whole part about having an identity is that you dont have to try to have one, you just have an identity - focus on letting the identity establish itself among your members. Given, this way is much slower and will take weeks to build towards, but the atmosphere you establish will last through your college career and even onward. Set the anchor right, and all your teammates will center around that.

 

[fanbindrakhiyeda]

I would sit them down and talk to them how the circuit was a few years ago, and what missing now. I would educate them about the old rivalries, and how they forced the teams to produce better sets, be more creative. I would drill that mentality into their heads and make them more competitive. Show them how the dancers back in the day were so competitive, and as a result, they produced some of the best sets this circuit has ever seen.Show them those sets, and tell them thats your goal with your team as a captain. Then ask them to get serious about it, be regular at practices and dedicate more time here than elsewhere. They need to start watching bhangra videos, paying attention to form and dancing, and not just coming to pracs like robots and doing what they're told to do. For a team to be successful and well known, every dancer on it must have that attitude , otherwise you'll end up being just another mediocre, sucky team and there are plentyyyyy of them in this circuit currently.

 

[Shyam]

3.We tried the larger team thing this year (going from 12-->16 dancers) and honestly it was really hard and didn't work out. We had to let some dancers go who weren't putting in the time and effort. We are at an awkward number right now,but are making it work cause everyone is dedicated and passionate.

In regards to this, I think it would be to your benefit to have more than 12 dancers on the team even if you're only going 12 on stage! You want to be able to have competition within your own team for spots on lineup, similar to players on the bench in sports. If dancers aren't putting in the time and effort then they simply won't be on lineup. And to keep everyone happy and passionate, let those dancers not currently on lineup get a chance to perform and improve at school shows and gigs

 

[Sparsh]

Finally coming back to this - thanks y'all for all of the suggestions, ideas and support. We've already made some changes and are definitely going to implement some things going into next year. Will definitely be back here when things work/don't work!