Teams That Revolutionized Bhangra

[Gugu]

YouTube. *mind-blown*. Discuss.

youtube completely changed bhangra especially with all the live vids.

I def think NJ changed bhangra, especially after the idols set.

Gabroo Shokeen, i gotta disagree with. At the moment, sure they did bring live bhangra onto the cali scene, but looking back at it, all their sets were straight from India vids. So i lose respect for them.

UBC girls and VIBE, brought the entertainment aspect.

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with the gabroo shokeen part here. Which sets are from india vids? I'm pretty sure you're referring to the TBP or Fresno set, which has a similar khunda segment to Punjab uni patiala's. The rest of even that set isn't the same. Other than that the nachda punjab, rooh, giant, nation sets were all original.

Btw not that it matters, but people on shokeen and patiala uni are related so there's some similarities in sets.

And this is just my opinion, but I feel if teams can execute and perform sets well, there is no issue if you use a few parts here n there from india vids. Rooh punjab dee always has similarities to Lyallpur, but they are a damn good team and have had a huge influence on bhangra in NA. Same goes for shokeen.

Anyways, back on topic... teams that revolutionized bhangra:

Khalsa Junction: just cuz they brought some real bhangra here and made it mainstream
Nachdi Jawani: been doin it traditional when very few did it
Gabroo Shokeen: brought live into the US
VCU/3D/Rutgers: brought traditional into co-ed
UBC girls: girls bhangra

 

[Gopi]

completely agree with u gugu..gabroo shokeen at DDA back in the day when no one was doing live in the us..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_wWyEAGWWs&feature=related

 

[gdholi7]

YouTube. *mind-blown*. Discuss.

youtube completely changed bhangra especially with all the live vids.

I def think NJ changed bhangra, especially after the idols set.

Gabroo Shokeen, i gotta disagree with. At the moment, sure they did bring live bhangra onto the cali scene, but looking back at it, all their sets were straight from India vids. So i lose respect for them.

UBC girls and VIBE, brought the entertainment aspect.

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with the gabroo shokeen part here. Which sets are from india vids? I'm pretty sure you're referring to the TBP or Fresno set, which has a similar khunda segment to Punjab uni patiala's. The rest of even that set isn't the same. Other than that the nachda punjab, rooh, giant, nation sets were all original.

Btw not that it matters, but people on shokeen and patiala uni are related so there's some similarities in sets.

And this is just my opinion, but I feel if teams can execute and perform sets well, there is no issue if you use a few parts here n there from india vids. Rooh punjab dee always has similarities to Lyallpur, but they are a damn good team and have had a huge influence on bhangra in NA. Same goes for shokeen.

Anyways, back on topic... teams that revolutionized bhangra:

Khalsa Junction: just cuz they brought some real bhangra here and made it mainstream
Nachdi Jawani: been doin it traditional when very few did it
Gabroo Shokeen: brought live into the US
VCU/3D/Rutgers: brought traditional into co-ed
UBC girls: girls bhangra

+2

 

[Kapil]

Sc11,

I have also been around the bhangra scene for a while, and many people have reduced this thread by referencing more recent updates to the bhangra scene (e.g. since 06).

This is how the scene has seemed to work: from the 1990-2002, it was relatively static. For example, MIT bhangra, started the bhangra scene in New England in the late 80s and early 90s, and continued post-2000 into the VIBE style of rumaalan, power bhangra, and stunts. That's how bhangra was back in the day.

What we see today is the byproduct of annual transformations of bhangra as of around 2003, as competitions started to gain popularity, arguably starting with KJ (a version of power bhangra). Bhangra gerw each year with the 'update' of a new bhangra phenomenon(s) such as "ridiculous stunts, "all guys", "all live", "traditionality", "absolute grace", "innovative formations", "hyper-fast bhangra", etc. So to attribute the transformation of the bhangra scene as a whole to one or two teams is not necessarily accurate.

I agree with those who quote the many teams who have brought paradigm shifts in the world of bhangra and continue to change it, and it is not enough to say two teams changed the face of bhangra today. The question remains, what will be the next shift in the competitive scene?

 

[Vijay]

The Bhangra Team - this has been discussed before on POL, but anyway, in my opinion, this team was the single factor that brought live bhangra to the mainstream. 2005 all live at bbc = mindblowing, after that maddd teams started bringing in live intros/half live segments, only after that is when more established academies like NJ and SIAC that had been dancing live forever became more popular.

As far as music/recorded teams go, NJ for obvious reasons (idols 06), KJ 03 till like 06 - blew up the scene radically.

vibe - just tore it up when they were in their prime, pretty much the bhangra empire of the late 90's, every team wanted to be them

sgpd with their crazy hyped up energetic, yet very synchronized performances set a trend that teams still strive for, and so followed the increased popularity of teams from tdot as well

 

[jvirk]

being on a co-ed team...i believe vcu bhangra has undisputedly changed co-ed/collegiate bhangra...they've brought a traditional style with very high energy and entertaining performances...i think that they're the model co-ed team...or any bhangra team...that many teams want to follow in terms of how to choreo/how to be creative/gimmicks/work ethic, etc...

i have to add my fav team nachdi jawani in here - all nj academy teams (warriors, toddlers, girls team) - these guys got the hat trick last year with masti, avap, and i think pfdf or something like that...theyre one of the most exciting and entertaining teams out there. the amount of talent on nj is absolutely phenomenal, and i, along with everyone else, reallyyyy wants to see them compete more this upcoming year. it was quite shocking for them not to even place at dda, with an absolutely amazing performance (my opinion)...id like ot see more this year

khalsa junction - i cant honestly say enough about these guys. theyre the team that everyone stopped for a moment, as their jaw dropped and they realized - wow, that's khalsa junction right there. i know many teams that went up against them for a small period of time fought for 2nd place only...b/c when kj came, it was already over...

--just my opinions

 

[kinnell]

SGPD and VCU for sure. Both these teams set a new bar for excellence and have become a standard of what it takes to be traditional but still have an entertaining routine.

The other teams mentioned here are legit and all, but these two teams need recognition as well. Both teams had fairly traditional sets, yet executed in their own creative ways. They redefined gimmicks from "stop, slightly funny clever audio clip, go" to something that is part of the dance. And they made that style of gimmick popular. People could be proud of those performances since they had traditional components but the general uneducated masses could still be entertained. Their entrance to the bhangra scene may not have been sudden and they may not have been hot shit immediately, but I feel that without them, bhangra these days would be drastically different.

Bhangra Empire did a lot of damage to the circuit and raped competitions, but they really didn't impact the bhangra scene in terms of what teams aspire to be these days and how the average bhangra team looks these days. The *average* collegiate team wants to look like VCU and the *average* 12-man independent team wants to look like SGPD. (Disclaimer: The word *average* is used) If that's not revolutionizing bhangra, I don't know what is.

 

[kinnell]

What we see today is the byproduct of annual transformations of bhangra as of around 2003, as competitions started to gain popularity, arguably starting with KJ (a version of power bhangra). Bhangra gerw each year with the 'update' of a new bhangra phenomenon(s) such as "ridiculous stunts, "all guys", "all live", "traditionality", "absolute grace", "innovative formations", "hyper-fast bhangra", etc. So to attribute the transformation of the bhangra scene as a whole to one or two teams is not necessarily accurate.

Sooo true! Excellent analysis of bhangra phases, especially pointing out the recent phase of "hyper-fast"!

 

[Meistro]

YouTube. *mind-blown*. Discuss.

youtube completely changed bhangra especially with all the live vids.

Gabroo Shokeen, i gotta disagree with. At the moment, sure they did bring live bhangra onto the cali scene, but looking back at it, all their sets were straight from India vids. So i lose respect for them.

Sorry, just had to add in my two cents here along with Gagan, Gugu and KhunKhun.

H.S. I gotta disagree with you on this. What I find kinda funny is that right before you, Saleem mentioned youtube. You also agreed that youtube changed bhangra. Awesome. This has been a huge learning platform for all of us in the traditional movement in North America. It has been a very effective tool for all of us. However, before youtube, Shokeen was doing live folk sets before anybody knew what folk was. KhunKhun posted a video of them at DDA 2004 (That set was made a few days before the competition btw). What I would like for you to do for me, is to back up your statement and show me that Shokeen did in fact "copy" sets.

Lets say hypothetically that shokeen does in fact copy sets from india. You're definitely entitled to not respect them by all means, but what about the other elite teams (won't name any names) that you so dearly admire? I just find your comment very contradicting. I know for a fact a lot of our elite teams do copy or have heavy influences from punjab team videos. Do you have a lack of respect for them too? Or is it just gonna get pushed under the rug because of biases?

Without shokeen, there would be no LBC, no heerey, BABC, VW, what have you. They set the stage for bhangra in Northern california. They they opened doors for teams, even Empire believe it or not. So I just wanted to put that out there.

Its all love though H.S.

 

[Basim]

Great topic sir! I'm an old timer in the bhangra scene, but I tried to break things down into two categories

Big impact (brought change):

SIAC
Gabroo Shokeen
Nachdi Jawani
Khalsa Junction
V.I.B.E.
UBC Girlz
THE Bhangra Team


Smaller impact (brought elements that were mimicked):

Three Rivers Bhangra
Cornell Bhangra
VCU Bhangra
Da Real Punjabiz
Bhangra Empire
Sonay Gabroo Punjab De
David Di Dynasty
Rutgers Bhangra
Lethal Bhangra Crew


~ Basim

P.S. - Sorry if I forgot anyone, it's late.

 

[H.S.]

i agree with everyone that shokeen did indeed help bring live traditional bhangra into cali and gave live teams a reason to pursue live over music. Steve and his jhummer had everyone's jaws hitting the floor. No doubt.

Shanjeet, next time ur in BC, u are more than welcome to come over and watch roughly 11 india bhangra team dvd's that we have sitting here that arent posted on youtube and we can discuss the sets and compare them to shokeens, while ironing btw, i have NO biases towards certain teams. I hate/love all of them equally. Doesn't matter what team it is (including PANJ), taking sections of india sets and incorporating them into your own sets just doesn't flow with me too well.

 

[Kala_J]

I guess people are forgetting an important team: Sher Foundation. Their mixing has changed how teams mix, in general. Almost every team has used their effects and style. (Props to Pavan). They also were the first team to do crazy sequences of choreo that caught on with teams. They don't care about placing but they sure brought a lot to the scene. For being a team that has been around for a while, wherever they go, the crowd loves them. Growing up watching how Sher took the stage was amazing (first comp that I have ever attended was Bruin 06 - they were sickk). Personally, being former Sher Jr. I learned and improved my skills as a dancer/performer from Sher Foundation, themselves.

Definitely be prepared for what they are going to bring at Boston.

- Joe

 

[californialove]

Some teams that come into my mind that revolutionized bhangra are

NJ
SGPD
VCU
APD
EMPIRE
DRP
GS
LBC
KJ

 

[kinnell]

Great topic sir! I'm an old timer in the bhangra scene, but I tried to break things down into two categories

Big impact (brought change):

SIAC
Gabroo Shokeen
Nachdi Jawani
Khalsa Junction
V.I.B.E.
UBC Girlz
THE Bhangra Team


Smaller impact (brought elements that were mimicked):

Three Rivers Bhangra
Cornell Bhangra
VCU Bhangra
Da Real Punjabiz
Bhangra Empire
Sonay Gabroo Punjab De
David Di Dynasty
Rutgers Bhangra


~ Basim

P.S. - Sorry if I forgot anyone, it's late.

With this list, you can't forget LBC (Bruin 2007) in the Smaller Impact section.

 

[faizan]

SIAC
TBT
KJ
Cornell
NJ

 

[Meistro]

while ironing

hahahahaha I am soooo down!

 

[Meistro]

I guess people are forgetting an important team: Sher Foundation.

Man, I remember watching these guys at DDA 2004 live and then getting the South beach 2005 dvd. I watched that set like 8668686389 times. They always had the most innovative choreography for the time and made it look so easy. I used to try imitating those 16 count moves and would be just shocked to realize how difficult they really are haha. Yeah, good call on these guys. Definitely had an impact on bhangra. oh and one more thing..............Sher over KJ any day

 

[yraparla]

Someone mentioned it before, but these discussions are always, always biased by age. I'm not saying that it makes the discussion pointless or not worthwhile (I think it's good to step back and reflect on how we got to where we are). But it's important to note we've only talked about post 04/05 teams primarily (I started watching Blowout in like 98 so even though I'm young too I've been following for a while). Bhangra has been in NA competitively for 20+ years.

When you start watching teams, you have a preconceived notion about what bhangra is. A team that breaks that notion and forces you to love or accept their version is a 'revolutionary' team. BUT it took a dominant team (or lack of one) to establish the status quo. It took 90s teams to establish bhangra, which allowed KJ to develop and become dominant for an NJ to step in with a new style and have an effect on people. It took a GS to experiment to allow HPD, BABC, LBC etc. It took college live teams like Rutgers to excite college-coed to do traditional. List goes on and on.

Point is that change is brought by distinction, and you need the obnoxious rumalaan bhangra to have the graceful traditional. If we started the other way around, we'd probably be going hardcore in the other direction too. I'm not saying NJ isn't sick for instance, but I'm saying someone somewhere probably tried something similar and failed because people weren't ready. NJ had the right amount of originality and execution at just the right time in the trending of NA bhangra. Keep it in perspective

not really an answer, but just some food for thought

 

[Saleem]

you need the obnoxious rumalaan bhangra to have the graceful traditional.

You addressed this in your previous paragraph, but really the bhangra scene has continued to grow and as some people have pointed out, 'power bhangra' was a growth from 'obnoxious rumaalan bhangra' lol, which in turn was a league ahead of some other teams when it brought more dancers, bigger formations, better synchronization.

 

[AnnayPaul]

Bucking Bronco Bhangra






ha ha ah jk.