North American Bhangra vs. India Bhangra

[ban3rg]

Is bhangra still fun in India? Haha, it sounds laughable, but really, doesn't this sound hypercompetitive?

If your teammates "hate on you" or "beat up on you" (not sure if that means physically beat you or just verbally give you a hard time) for making a mistake on stage, is that a good situation to be in?

Would anyone here want to be on a team like that? Of course people make mistakes on NA teams, but afterwards, do they get any shit for it, or is it kind of a norm to be nice about it? I'm curious about this one, what do you guys think? Culture of camaraderie or culture of competitiveness?

 

[Kanvar]

i think it would be a rare case where a team can be hyper-competitive and not be angered when someone makes a mistake on the stage. we all talk about perfection at practice and how seemingly unattainable it is. when you look at aspects of traditional bhangra, i think its in the very nature of the dance that if someone makes a mistake it could be deemed unacceptable. for me, i characterize traditional bhangra as formulaic, in that at any one moment a dancer's hands and feet need to be in certain positions. if it wasn't for this fact, then making small mistakes here and there wouldn't really matter that much. but when you're at a competition when every team has a mela, saap, khunda, kato, jhoomer, jugni, dhamaal, sammi segment it doesn't seem that far-fetched that if a dancer messes up that he should be replaced; that mistake costs the team a placing. personally, if i had the fear of being replaced i would take any means necessary to make sure i wouldn't mess up.

 

[Kanvar]

o and its always fun when you win.

 

[mafzal]

We don't have the means here to be as technically up to par with India and I don't see how we ever will. Simply because look like you said almost all India teams are school teams, right? Their teams are like Punjab equivalent of Big 10 football probably. They have paid coaches, managers, are given places to practice, I doubt they have to have bake sales to buy vardi, etc lol. How much school and community support do they get? A LOT, I'm sure right. My friend said when he was in secondary school those kids going to competition were given permission to skip class by the principal to practice extra. It a big deal in India!! Realistically, it not sh*t in America, lol.

We're all just doing this for fun... Think about American teams especially. We gotta find somewhere to get props from, pay for everything, find places to practice, find resources, and most of us work regular jobs and attend school full time as well. And most the people around us on a day to day basis do not understand bhangra whatsoever or understand how much we have to put in it.

 

[Manjot]

yeh what mariam said...if you are on the team the principle/dean of the college/uni will let you skip all of your classes if you have practice or not just because ur on the team! its serious business there.

 

[- Raja -]

if u can skip skool for bhangra..AND not got in shit..god bless that skool/principal..thats a fuckin neeed not a want LOL

 

[JSahota]

in india, if you are a really top of the line dancer and you are about to start uni/college, the coach of a team can get you admitted into the university/college they coach for based on your bhangra skills, your school grades dont mean shit

 

[Waleed]

in india, if you are a really top of the line dancer and you are about to start uni/college, the coach of a team can get you admitted into the university/college they coach for based on your bhangra skills, your school grades dont mean shit

The arts should definitely be encouraged as a major component of the education system, especially in a region like punjab which is overflowing with culture and artistic traditions. However, unless the college has 'bhangra' as a part of the curriculum or has a bhangra program (similar to college sports), accepting students purely based on bhangra skills is excessive and unfair to the other hard working students.

 

[sorethighs]

Exactly, that'd be like someone getting accepted to a university in the U.S. specifically to play on the football or basketball team

 

[Saleem]

Benjamin I heart you.

 

[Vick]

So just to clarify, it comes down to practice, not skill...