Pao Bhangra XIII Feedback and Review

[Pao Bhangra]

Hello BTF!


Thank you so much to all the teams that came out to Pao Bhangra XIII and made last weekend an unforgettable one! The show was the best we’ve seen till date, with an immense turnout and amazing performances from all the teams. It was great to hang out with all the teams in such a relaxed and enjoyable environment.


We would specially like to thank Harjot from GTV for coming out to Pao this year! It was a great experience working with you, and we are proud to have hosted you on GTV's 10th year anniversary.


We gave out Olympic Awards at our Closing Ceremonies (the breakfast) on Sunday morning. Here is the list of winners:


Best Mix: New England Bhangra Club
Best Dhaari: Columbia Bhangra
Best Nakhra: Short Blue Girl on Columbia Bhangra
Best Jodi Chemistry: Yellow Purple Jodi on RU Bhangra
Best Dressed: RU Bhangra
Best Gimmick: First Class Bhangra
Lowest Jugni: Yellow Girl on New England Bhangra Club
Best Intro Video: First Class Bhangra


Congratulations to all the award winners! The videos of the performances will be out soon!


Finally, we would love to hear feedback and reviews about the weekend from all the teams who came to Pao, and anyone else who may have attended Pao Bhangra XIII. The feedback and reviews will help us make Pao an even better and more enjoyable experience next year!


Please share your feedback, reviews and thoughts below!


~Cornell Bhangra

 

[ramv88]

Hey Guys,


I wanted to give my quick review on Pao. I didn't get a chance to make it to make it to the mixer but from some of the vids that I saw, it was amazing. I still need to see that lassi pong being played! That sounded like really fun game!


Everything about that weekend was amazing. The committee made sure that everyone was taken care of. Food was great (indian). we had so much room to just chill/play bball/etc. It was a pleasure meeting all the teams and seeing some old faces.


Show opening: I thought it was pretty cool when Anik announced each team before the show started and each team ran out from the crowd onto the stage and that was sick that Cornell made each team's logo. Show ran smoothly. Sound system was good in my opinion


Highlights:
Columbia- Arc Reactor at the end goin ham. Shoutout to Rajkaran, Nida, Nikhil K and Harry


Rutgers- Kato segment was awesome! Really chill meeting and hanging with you all! Shout out to Harsh----you were great out there bro!


NEBC- All girls team to look out for next year. That was crazy how you guys were able to get all your gear right before the show started and still put on a great performance. One dancer stood out---kathryn wright----you were a BEAST on stage!


To my brothers on FCB- I loved every second of being on that stage with you guys. So much fun! The circuit is in for a treat with the vids that you guys have to show. Pankaj, Sahil, Amal, Rajesh, other fcb alumni who I have not mentioned---missed you guys.

Harjot Hundal receiving an award at the end---Well deserved. Congrats brother.
Afterparty was a lot of fun!


Next day bfast/awards ceremony- really nice of cornell committee to arrange all the food and the awards ceremony was done really well.

In conclusion I would like to commend the Pao committee on throwing a successful weekend. This was my first Pao ever. I have heard so many good things in the past and this visit was worth the hype. There was so much love and planning in this.

Brings back the question- what is bhangra to me? This weekend highlighted it. Everyone was excited to bring it without worrying about placings....committee knew how to take care of us... the crowd was great and it was so much fun to hang with everyone from each team!

Thank you Cornell Bhangra for a great weekend.



- Dholi Ram

 

[sangeensingh]

Good luck to you guys in the future!

 

[Anik915]

Thank you guys

 

[siddyp]

Idea: give teams a map with the route highlighted on how to get to the parking garage or wherever else we need to go. It isn't 100% necessary, but would be awesome.

Other than that, you guys are amazing. Pao is amazing.

 

[Rutgers Bhangra]

Pao was one of the best times we have had all year.

The entire weekend was really well organized and pretty much ran to perfection. Anik huge shout out to you for making all of this run so smoothly. The mixer games were fun and enjoyable and on top of that we had fun because we won like one or two for a change J The entire staff who ran the weekend were amazing. Thank you to our two liasons Nihar and Cinthana for actually getting us everything we asked for. The practice time and space we got after mixer was great and oh man those basketball games, probably one of the best parts of the weekend.

Quite surprisingly, everything seemed to be running on time the day of the show. Very rarely do you get to see a show that stays somewhat on schedule and there are no major delays and once again that's all credited to the entire staff. The entire Olympic theme where teams run through the crowd to the stage was a great idea. It was different and just a pleasure to be a part of.

The best part of the show was the crowd. They were easily one of the best crowds we have ever performed for. Following the climax of the show, a number of the audience members came up to us and complimented us on our performance and some of the comments they made our night. We felt right at home thanks to all these people.

The breakfast the next day was a great idea. Congrats to all the team on their respective awards. It was a great way to wrap up the weekend. Without a second thought we would easily go back next year Thank you Cornell for putting together a great weekend !

 

[Saab]

I can honestly say for the past two years I have come to pao bhangra under the false promises of various cornell bhangra members about the delectable and nutritious varieties of bread that pao would be showcasing, and I am aggrieved to say that I have been lied too. All aspects relating to running a bhangra competition were on point(seriously it was amazing and a boatload of fun), but I feel that the lack of "Pao" at pao put a damper on my spirits and those of fellow like minded individuals.

Thanks again for the wonderful bhangra experience, and it looks like I will again await another year for my bread.

 

[hardeep_singh]

oh man those basketball games, probably one of the best parts of the weekend.

simrat for mvp

Disclaimer: I don't actually know how to play basketball.

I can honestly say for the past two years I have come to pao bhangra under the false promises of various cornell bhangra members about the delectable and nutritious varieties of bread that pao would be showcasing, and I am aggrieved to say that I have been lied too. All aspects relating to running a bhangra competition were on point(seriously it was amazing and a boatload of fun), but I feel that the lack of "Pao" at pao put a damper on my spirits and those of fellow like minded individuals.

Thanks again for the wonderful bhangra experience, and it looks like I will again await another year for my bread.

i had requested focaccia bread myself, said focaccia bread was not received...

 

[SimratG]

oh man those basketball games, probably one of the best parts of the weekend.

simrat for mvp

Disclaimer: I don't actually know how to play basketball.

??? ??? ??? ???

 

[NewEnglandBhangraClub]

Hello!

Overall, Pao was the best bhangra event we have been to in the past year in terms of organization and hospitality. Despite the disappointing realization that there will in fact be no Pao at Pao Bhangra, we enjoyed the endless supply of That Indian Drink all weekend #notthatcinnamonflavortho

The mixer was super fun! The team flags and banners were so creative, and the make shift 'photo booth' with the Pao backdrop was a great way to make time pass before the mixer began (PS- sorry to Harjot for hip checking your camera multiple times...). Lassi pong was fun and original, however that last round could have been cut shorter to save us the embarrassment of not getting that last cup.

I really liked that all of the teams got ready in one location, and we were able to watch each others tech times. It made the entire day very relaxed and organized. The Olympic entrance was a sick idea, and it was a lot of fun to share the stage with the all of the teams! Shoutout to our new friends FCB for helping out with our flower gimmick :-* . If Sandeep's mucha wasn't so damn impressive, we would have won best jodi. Overall, the show ran very smoothly, being 20 minutes behind worked to our advantage so no complaints.

Having the after party start so late was a very smart idea, gave us ample time to pick up some Taco Bell and stuff our faces. Thank you to Chandra for the cookies the perfect pick me up before baby sitting an over turnt up Dholi Ram.

We did have a horrifying mishap the morning of the show, and we would like to take a moment to thank everyone who stepped up and helped us get ready. Shoutout to our amazing liaisons Priya and Ruju for staying with us until you had to run on stage to perform, as well as the organizers of the show who came to help too. (Armaan, Ashley, Spandan, Kadambari, and anyone else I forgot!). And lastly, thank you to Vick Sodhi and Daman Singh for bringing backups for us to use!

Let us now take a moment of silence to acknowledge all the wonderful gabroos and mutiyaaran who gave their time to said horrifying mishap.


















THANK YOU.

 

[nkrishnan]

Sorry this is so late, finals and stuff

PAO bhangra was the shit.

But really, in my 4 years of dancing this was one of my favorite bhangra weekends. From start to finish the Cornell committee was super welcoming and really made us feel special for being a part of the show. The weekend also had an entirely different vibe since teams were less concerned about winning and more concerned with just having a good time. Every team brought a performance that was fun to watch, and the gimmicks were incredibly hilarious. Loved the first class falling gimmick and the NEBC lowest jugni!

Mixer was a ton of fun! Favorite mixer so far. The lassi pong was fun to play, but might’ve been more fun if we did it round robin style? That way we could all play at the same time and then the team with the best record wins. That way when a team gets knocked out they can still play. But it was great to get to know the other teams, though I wished there was a bit more dancing (even if it wasn’t bhangra). DJ at the mixer was really good too.

The Olympic theme and run on for the teams was definitely refreshing and kept the audience engaged. I’ve never danced in front of an audience so large (though I must admit, I think because of the acoustics of the hall the reactions were not as loud as I would have expected). However, the speakers were pretty on point the stage was a bit bouncy which made it much easier to dance on. Having all the teams get ready in one room was also nice cause we could talk to each other, chill, and overall just interact more.

At the afterparty, obviously that whole fiasco happened and you can’t predict that. It was really nice of anik and co to open up their place for a postgame, and a house party was an entirely different vibe. One thing that might be improved is the wristband system. I know some people were kind of irritated that they bought a wristband when it never got used, but maybe a ticket system would be faster and easier to keep track of? It’s harder to mark and check someone’s wristband in the dark (assuming the wristband system was being stuck to).

All in all, PAO was awesome and I seriously encourage all teams to give it a shot in the future. It was a great, low-stress way to end the season and ended up being one of the most fun weekends we’ve had as a team. You get paid, everyone is there to have a good time, and you remember why you love the DANCING aspect of bhangra. And it’s clear that Cornell puts a ton of time and effort into making you feel welcome, and as a team it really made a difference.

Good luck to PAO in the future!

P.S. Having the captain’s groupme so far before the competition was a lot of fun. Do that again!