Nilum
Member
- Messages
- 37
I rarely post on BTF but this post is definitely BTF worthy 
For those who EVER have doubts about entering/competing at Jashan Bhangra in the future... please apply. This is one of the most amazing Bhangra competitions that I have ever been to (and I have attended a lot).
Our new all girls team was so impressed with the Jashan Bhangra planning and organization. Here is our weekend story:
Arrival: We arrive in Calgary, by flight, throughout the day on Friday (because a lot of us had to work). Some members flew in the morning, afternoon and evening (even during the mixer). The Jashan committee was SO accomodating and picked each and every member up. We were greeted by the friendly Jashan committee members and promptly driven to the hotels.
Mixer: What a terrific mixer. We actually were forced to MIX with other teams which I loved. Usually teams clique together at separate tables and spend the entire evening speaking to their own team members. I met so many cool people and all of us had our individual Bhangra stories! (Yay table 18). The only suggestion I would have is to open the dance floor to the teams after. Our team wore converse sneakers with our Indian suits because we wanted to dance! (haha)
Accomodation: Usually, (especially when accomodations are provided), we are at a Holiday Inn or Best Western. Jashan put us up at, the Westinn Calgary which is a gorgeous hotel. They also made sure we only had 4 girls per room (unlike previous competitions, where trying to save money, we have about 6 occupants per room). At the last minute, they made sure the hotel gave us a cot, for a member of our management. We entered the rooms to a huge gift basket full of vitamin water, water, granola bars, chips, team teeshirts, a first aid kit, Jashan 2011 water bottles amongst other juices and snacks! What a welcome!
Transportation in Calgary: We were driven to and from the theatre for the dress rehearsal and the show. The mixer and after party was within walking distance (literally next door and across the street) which was awesome!
Team Liason: Although I am 100% sure that we had the best liason (shoutout to Nadine Sihota), I am sure all of the liasons were wonderful. Our liason was available to us 24 hours, checked on us numerous times, and stayed with our team the entire competition day and after party!
Competition: The competition ran smoothly, on time. Nothing went wrong with our music/lighting! We were also given an ENTIRE dressing room for our team! (The team was pretty excited about that). We had a blast performing and the audience was very appreciative of some of our special gimmicks.
After party: An event truly put on to celebrate the competition! It was only for team members and volunteers...needless to say, we had a blast. The Duniya Girls stayed on the dance floor the entire night. I don't remember the last time myself and my team danced that much at an after party.
Jashan Committee: The committee members were SO nice and even though I am sure they were stressed (after all they were putting on a huge competition), they never once showed it, and were so positive towards our team!
The only suggestions I have: A lot of teams were surprised at the huge discrepancy between scores of the different judges (for example we had a difference of over 25 points between 2 judges on the panel that night). I loved that we were able to discuss this with the judges immediately after the competition, and the committee members were also there, to hear our suggestions. I suggested that Jashan split up their rubric, between the different judges, so that the judges can concentrate on different areas. BUT even if Jashan does not change their judging rubric, the Duniya Allstars would go back next year, just because of the organization of the competition!
Most amazing part about the competition: Having an inspirational speaker such as Fauja Singh attend the competition. I am all for doing positive things for our youth, and having an awesome Sikh mentor and elder, such as Fauja Singh on stage at the competition, brought tears to my entire teams' eyes. We did not get to watch any of the competition, because we were performing so late in the show, but our liason made sure she took us up to see Fauja Singh speak. Seeing what he has accomplished, and being able to hear him speak on stage and be educated by him that night, should be truly what we go to these competitions for.
The only complaint I have was some of the teams attitudes towards other teams, picking fights during the weekend or attitudes towards not placing etc etc. It is not something myself or my team was directly involved in but was pretty obvious during the competition weekend. But this is no fault of Jashan Bhangra, and this is a topic that I do not want to get in to, as I am sure it is constantly addressed on this forum. Rest assured, Duniya Allstars competes for the passion of Bhangra, making amazing life long friends, and performing (and that is what we have been doing since 2001). We had a blast... thank you Jashan for putting on an amazing competition. Special shoutouts from our team to BMW (for being super cool), Bhangra Republic (you guys made our Vancouver team feel at home... I hope we can return the favor one day when you come to Vancouver...BHANGRA IDOLS plug here!), Jason Kataria (PCBCA) and Johnny Hundal (AVA) for helping last minute with our chadre (as Raju couldn't make it), Bhinda (from Shane E) for offering his help, Raj Sangha (Bhangra Idols) for coming all the way to Calgary to support BC Bhangra, the SFBC guys for being so friendly and awesome, Nadine our liason, Harjot Hundal (gtv), Tania Johal & Atinder Cloty (for their helpful judges input) Tony Dhaliwal and the entire organizing committee at Jashan plus the numerous other teams who were so nice to our team! Oh and the deejay at the afterparty who played Nachna Pasand (Raju Johal) for the Duniya Allstars as the last song of the evening. (I am sure I missed a few thank yous and I am sorry). Congratulations to Shane E Punjab. Your down to earth, positive and friendly team is going to help you a lot at future competitions. You guys are going to be huge
Can't wait until Jashan 2012.
For those who EVER have doubts about entering/competing at Jashan Bhangra in the future... please apply. This is one of the most amazing Bhangra competitions that I have ever been to (and I have attended a lot).
Our new all girls team was so impressed with the Jashan Bhangra planning and organization. Here is our weekend story:
Arrival: We arrive in Calgary, by flight, throughout the day on Friday (because a lot of us had to work). Some members flew in the morning, afternoon and evening (even during the mixer). The Jashan committee was SO accomodating and picked each and every member up. We were greeted by the friendly Jashan committee members and promptly driven to the hotels.
Mixer: What a terrific mixer. We actually were forced to MIX with other teams which I loved. Usually teams clique together at separate tables and spend the entire evening speaking to their own team members. I met so many cool people and all of us had our individual Bhangra stories! (Yay table 18). The only suggestion I would have is to open the dance floor to the teams after. Our team wore converse sneakers with our Indian suits because we wanted to dance! (haha)
Accomodation: Usually, (especially when accomodations are provided), we are at a Holiday Inn or Best Western. Jashan put us up at, the Westinn Calgary which is a gorgeous hotel. They also made sure we only had 4 girls per room (unlike previous competitions, where trying to save money, we have about 6 occupants per room). At the last minute, they made sure the hotel gave us a cot, for a member of our management. We entered the rooms to a huge gift basket full of vitamin water, water, granola bars, chips, team teeshirts, a first aid kit, Jashan 2011 water bottles amongst other juices and snacks! What a welcome!
Transportation in Calgary: We were driven to and from the theatre for the dress rehearsal and the show. The mixer and after party was within walking distance (literally next door and across the street) which was awesome!
Team Liason: Although I am 100% sure that we had the best liason (shoutout to Nadine Sihota), I am sure all of the liasons were wonderful. Our liason was available to us 24 hours, checked on us numerous times, and stayed with our team the entire competition day and after party!
Competition: The competition ran smoothly, on time. Nothing went wrong with our music/lighting! We were also given an ENTIRE dressing room for our team! (The team was pretty excited about that). We had a blast performing and the audience was very appreciative of some of our special gimmicks.
After party: An event truly put on to celebrate the competition! It was only for team members and volunteers...needless to say, we had a blast. The Duniya Girls stayed on the dance floor the entire night. I don't remember the last time myself and my team danced that much at an after party.
Jashan Committee: The committee members were SO nice and even though I am sure they were stressed (after all they were putting on a huge competition), they never once showed it, and were so positive towards our team!
The only suggestions I have: A lot of teams were surprised at the huge discrepancy between scores of the different judges (for example we had a difference of over 25 points between 2 judges on the panel that night). I loved that we were able to discuss this with the judges immediately after the competition, and the committee members were also there, to hear our suggestions. I suggested that Jashan split up their rubric, between the different judges, so that the judges can concentrate on different areas. BUT even if Jashan does not change their judging rubric, the Duniya Allstars would go back next year, just because of the organization of the competition!
Most amazing part about the competition: Having an inspirational speaker such as Fauja Singh attend the competition. I am all for doing positive things for our youth, and having an awesome Sikh mentor and elder, such as Fauja Singh on stage at the competition, brought tears to my entire teams' eyes. We did not get to watch any of the competition, because we were performing so late in the show, but our liason made sure she took us up to see Fauja Singh speak. Seeing what he has accomplished, and being able to hear him speak on stage and be educated by him that night, should be truly what we go to these competitions for.
The only complaint I have was some of the teams attitudes towards other teams, picking fights during the weekend or attitudes towards not placing etc etc. It is not something myself or my team was directly involved in but was pretty obvious during the competition weekend. But this is no fault of Jashan Bhangra, and this is a topic that I do not want to get in to, as I am sure it is constantly addressed on this forum. Rest assured, Duniya Allstars competes for the passion of Bhangra, making amazing life long friends, and performing (and that is what we have been doing since 2001). We had a blast... thank you Jashan for putting on an amazing competition. Special shoutouts from our team to BMW (for being super cool), Bhangra Republic (you guys made our Vancouver team feel at home... I hope we can return the favor one day when you come to Vancouver...BHANGRA IDOLS plug here!), Jason Kataria (PCBCA) and Johnny Hundal (AVA) for helping last minute with our chadre (as Raju couldn't make it), Bhinda (from Shane E) for offering his help, Raj Sangha (Bhangra Idols) for coming all the way to Calgary to support BC Bhangra, the SFBC guys for being so friendly and awesome, Nadine our liason, Harjot Hundal (gtv), Tania Johal & Atinder Cloty (for their helpful judges input) Tony Dhaliwal and the entire organizing committee at Jashan plus the numerous other teams who were so nice to our team! Oh and the deejay at the afterparty who played Nachna Pasand (Raju Johal) for the Duniya Allstars as the last song of the evening. (I am sure I missed a few thank yous and I am sorry). Congratulations to Shane E Punjab. Your down to earth, positive and friendly team is going to help you a lot at future competitions. You guys are going to be huge
Can't wait until Jashan 2012.
