UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX [Third Place]

[nehabatra]

Hey BTF!


Below are the links to UNC Bhangra Elite's performance from Bhangra in the Burgh this year. My co-captains and I could not be more proud of our dancers and the progress that they've made in the months leading up to this competition. We can't wait to see how everyone continues to progress as the season goes on!


A few quick shoutouts to the people who helped make this performance possible:


-Kanwar Johal for working tirelessly on our amazing mix
-All of our friends and mentors who provided us with valuable input while our set was still under construction (including but not limited to: Ram, Tejas, Sumeet, and Yeshel)
-The BIBX committee and our liaisons, Shreya, Sreya, and Bhoomi for their hard work and for being so kindhearted and accommodating all weekend


Critiques are more than welcome and highly encouraged! A major part of our decision to release this video was to receive constructive feedback from a diverse audience of older and newer dancers, so please don't hold back. We would love to hear any and all feedback so that we can continue to grow as a team and as dancers. Thanks in advance and enjoy!


Performers:
Yellow--Sahil Dadoo, Nitika Arora, Drew Harrelson, Ruchi Desai
Red--Abhay Qureshi, Kesha Acharya, Karan Ravi, Neha Batra
Blue--Naishal Patel, Tejasee Phatak, Ace Motas, Anita Simha
Chimta--Meghana Kodali
Dholi--Anish Thakkar


Balcony view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXLzsAe9xac
Front view: [SIZE=medium]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7CUetsrS8o[/SIZE]

 

[sahrawat]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

So glad you guys released this video - they had us backstage during your performance so I didn't get to see it live, but we could hear everyone going nuts, so was definitely waiting to see what you guys brought. I thought the formations were really well done; everyone moved around a good amount so everyone got their time at the front, and you also made good use of your color scheme in what I thought were creative ways. Your dancing stayed clean and everyone was at a relatively comparable energy level throughout, which is impressive considering how hard some of your dancers were going start to finish, but your guys did seem to leave the girls behind a little during the last few segments. Favorite segments were your jhummar and your ending (refreshing take on rumaals/waving fabric around), but the jugni segment didn't really hold my attention.

Congrats on placing! Very impressed with the set and looking forward to seeing what changes you bring to it

 

[ericsingh3]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

Congratulations on you're guys placing once again, this shit was so hot. I loved the energy you guys brought to each segment and the choreo was fresh and creative but most importantly really hit hard when it should. The cleanliness 1-12 was amazing to see, too. Some small critiques I have are maybe trying to showcase the girls a little more in the formations cause they were killin it the whole performance and at some points this was only apparent in he balcony view. And also closer to the end making sure you keep a good stance/posture rather than dancing upright. Anyways, mad props once again, I'm sure we'll see you guys around.

 

[UmerQureshi96]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX




First of all holy shit this set overall was sooooooooooo hotttttt. God damnnn. Y’all murdered this set. I’m just gonna point out anything I saw. Timestamps are from the balcony view.


Saaps
Love that opening verse in the mix haha. Those first line movements guy on the left and blue guy in the back on the right weren’t always keeping the lines. 0:53 during that first saap open just a nit picky thing but focus on being completely flat and parallel to the ground, it’ll come off as much cleaner. Red guys at the front don’t have their looks synced during the stomps up at 0:55. HoLY shit that drop at 1:11 was fireee.


Phum
Yellow girls at 1:47 gotta kill the dhammal transition more, bounce shoulders, knees higher. 1:57 lines on the sides need a little work, might be the angle the view is taken from, but doesn’t look right at 1:57. 1:59 red and blue girl in the middle should sync the nakhra in the middle just a bit more. 2:04 that salute thing was cool. 2:33 I love a good chicken drop, the front red and blue jodi in the middle are killin it some people in the back could get a little more energy in it. 2:35 I’m gonna call you out on that jaddo singha thigh slap that NJ did from Burgh last year.


Jhoomer
Transition into this was really well done and choreod. 2:55 I don’t see much shoulder movement and with those giant ass phuman it’s really easy to tell if you’re not moving them at all. 3:15 this shoulder movement thing into the next formation was super slick.


Dhammal
4:18 that first double dhammal coming out of the spin looks kinda rushed and forced. 4:21 don’t half ass chickens. 4:30 arms after that makhni gunshot thing look kinda weak with bent arms everywhere, a little focus during practice can clean that up.


Khunda
Oh hot damn that khunda pick up. 4:55 this build up is hype but then the rows after are kind of a let down. Not that the move isn’t hype but you all didn’t really go buck and get into the step. 5:14 front red guy seems to take a break during the punjabs make sure you’re still moving your shoulders and getting your knees up.


Jugni
5:44 these lines after the side taari need to be worked on. 5:54 the girls doing standing lariyaan can be a bit more synced, the red girl on the right is getting really into it but everyone else is a bit more chill about it.


End
7:00 yes the front can’t see you because the blinds are up but there are side balconies and people that aren’t directly in front of you, we can see when you completely chill on those punching dhamakas.
7:13 gotta love those terrible towels.


Overall
Holy shit this is one of the best collegiate sets I’ve seen in a long time. Just gotta tighten up some looks, lines, and execution and you’re gonna be a threat wherever you compete.

 

[Ashley]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

Phenomenal set! It looks like Burgh was where it was at this weekend! This performance looks like one you'd see at the end of the season, after the team have had ample time to build up stamina and make needed adjustments. I can't wait to see what y'all look like further down the line. UNC is coming in stronggggg.

 

[Bajwa99]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX


[SIZE=small]So proud of the Tarheels for putting up this amazing set! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Shoutout to the captains this year for taking a 180 degree turn in the way UNC's sets are made. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=small]Definitely a team to watch out for this season![/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]If y'all want critiques definitely never hesitate to ask [/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Shoutout to my boy Karan Ravi for ripping this set, glad to see you back on stage homie(;[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Much love[/SIZE]

[SIZE=small]Baaj[/SIZE]

 

[Aka$h]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

love the Sukhwinder Panchhi song for jhoomer

 

[Nimit]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

Hey guys,

So to start, you guys simply outdanced everyone at this comp. Very little can be said about your execution level and energy other than "damn" so really great job there.

That being said I think you guys did a great job choreoing drops and buildups but the rest of each segment lacked complexity for me. You have strong fundamentals and it is good to showcase that but in the end I think if you hit us with some better choreo variations interspersed throughout the segment, I would stay engaged the whole time as opposed to waiting or anticipating the drop which is what I started doing while watching your set live. You guys outdanced your set and so I think you could benefit from matching your set difficulty up to your dancer quality.

Last thing I want to say is that I REALLY enjoyed your transitions. They were seemless throughout and you did a great job keeping the energy up in and out of each portion. It looked like one continuous dance as opposed to a mashup of segments. If you guys change things or take out segments, make sure that this set flow doesn't go away. It was a big reason why you guys were fun to watch. Great job representing the collegiate circuit! Looking forward to getting another shot at you guys later in the year

 

[Howie Magz]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

I would first like to congratulate you guys on a placing at burgh and I am very happy to say that you guys have definitely stepped it up for this year. Abhay, Sahil, Naishal, and Neha you guys definitely demonstrated leadership and have surprised everyone who watched you guys at Tashan and Burgh. MBT people that were there at burgh to watch all came up to me after and said "damn.....that was good." All the collegiate bhangra teams and independent bhangra teams should watch out because both y'all and Buckeye from what I saw have definitely brought fire at burgh. Huge improvements from last year and you guys demonstrated that you were there to take home the trophy. I will not get into the positives of this performance because everyone has spoken to those earlier so I will only point out the negatives in this review and I think fixing those are an essential must to take you guys from a placing team to a first place team.


I will have to disagree with some of the points made earlier in this post regarding energy. The energy was phenomenal, but it was not clean. Throughout the set, you guys will have these random bursts of energy, but it was not controlled whatsoever. Whether it be in shikke or khunday it did not work in y'all favor. Even in the beginning of jhoomer you guys tried to put in mad energy for a segment that doesn't require it. You guys need to not sacrifice dancing form for energy because at that point you are going buck wild dead center while the rest of the team behind you are not playing it off in the same manner. Also it really doesn't look the greatest. This makes not only you as a individual, but the team look just as bad. A team is a unit and you are only as strong or as weak as your last dancer.


I would suggest that in terms of dancing form almost all of your dancers need to dance wider and lower to the ground while picking your legs up especially doing taps/downs. I understand this may sound confusing, but you guys know what I am talking about. The set overall is very entertaining to watch, but I would recommend some changes to certain segments. Khunday can be way more exciting. It looks like any khunday segment I would expect majority co-ed teams to perform. I get it that the effects are cool and jumps make it exciting, but what this segment really lacks is formations guys. Also the ending was not that much fun for me to watch. Like I said break away from a typical ending in terms of formations and choreography. Your first and last segment of any bhangra set are the most important. Those impressions are what the judges and the audience will remember and probably judge you the most one because we only get to see it once.


Overall impression i definitely thought you guys would place after watching it live and I was impressed. I think you all need to rework the formations because they are beginning to all look the same from segment to segment. I understand that with vardiyan of the same color for four jodis make it difficult to make formations, but make formations based on two dancers instead of four and it would sell this set a lot better. Congrats again on the placing and also huge ups to all of UNC once again. I'm sure Yeshel and Kuntal are very proud of all the progress you have all made this year. I hope to see y'all soon

 

[Yesh]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

I'm sure Yeshel and Kuntal are very proud of all the progress you have all made this year.

You know we are <3

 

[Armaan Kapoor]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

Watching this performance straight up took me back to the memory of watching UNC destroy the burgh stage back in 2011. I haven't seen you guys kill it like that since this performance. Great choreo, formations are mostly there (few places where lines weren't clean), and great dancing. Sahil and Abhay, SICK performances. Couple notes:


1. Chadaars...saap squat hit was sick but was totally taken away by seeing shorts, knee braces, etc. Wasn't just here but a few times in the set.
2. Get bigger with your saaps (especially the girls)
3. 2:30 - sick drop and choreo, loved it
4. Jhummar - big let down for me because over half of your dancers weren't doing shoulders. I thought generally speaking shoulders were ok throughout the performance (could definitely improve), but I think jhummar was actually the weakest part of your performance because of this factor.
5. I've always appreciated how you guys transition and pick up/drop props, keep it up
6. I thought the gimmick at the end was executed extremely well done. Props for making this clean, effective, and hype.


Keep up the good work, I think you and Buckeye are the top collegiate teams right now, and I'm excited to see you guys match up for the rest of the year (yes, I'm trying to start a rivalry and bring some fire back to the circuit)






Also, hi Yeshel.

 

[Gurinder]

Hey,
Love the set, by any chance is the mix going to be released ?

 

[SGupta7]

I won't touch on all of the great things about your set because many people have posted what I would have in previous comments. As mentioned above there was a pretty high level of energy displayed throughout the entire set with bursts of super high energy here and there BUT there was very little grace in your set. Your jhoomar segment is a perfect example of a segment where you could have slowed everything down and shown your versatility, rather than just hitting drop after drop. There wasn't really any part of your set where you displayed flow and your drops were mainly predicated on some sort of hop-hop-drop sequence, which diluted their impact in my opinion. Contrast this set with unc elite 2012 which was all grace and no speed and I think you can find a happy medium that showcases your obviously strong team-wide dancing ability.

That being said congrats on the placing and special shoutout to Sahil for killin it as always!

 

[nehabatra]

Thanks to everyone for all the valuable feedback! Please keep it coming.


We're definitely going to work towards implementing many of these suggestions so we can continue moving forward next semester.

 

[Nimit]

Re: UNC Bhangra Elite @ BIBX

Keep up the good work, I think you and Buckeye are the top collegiate teams right now, and I'm excited to see you guys match up for the rest of the year (yes, I'm trying to start a rivalry and bring some fire back to the circuit)

This rivalry is alive and well 8)