Underrated Bhangra Regions

[HarmanSingh]

We all know Cali, Toronto, Vancouver and the Virginia area get the majority of recognition within the bhangra community. What are some of the most underrated regions out there?


In my opinion, the state of Michigan is at the top of the list. Michigan is the only state to hold down the entire Midwest and historically has been one of the most dominant and most important regions in America.


What are some others?

 

[KushK]

NY

 

[HarmanSingh]

NY

From the outside looking in I think New York gets a lot of credit. Elite 8 has invited 2 teams from New York and I think SMD has gotten credit as one of the best all-girls teams out there too. Also, those of us who have followed bhangra for a while know the role Cornell played back in the day. I think it is true that when people think of East Coast Bhangra they think of the Virginia area but a close second is New York.

 

[siddyp]

nyc, boston, raleigh, pittsburgh (maybe not the dominance, but have had a presence)

 

[HarmanSingh]

nyc, boston, raleigh, pittsburgh (maybe not the dominance, but have had a presence)

Raleigh and Pittsburgh are up and coming regions, I think they will start to get credit as they develop. I may be wrong but I don't know if they have had a sustained presence in bhangra and historically had an impact.

From someone in the midwest the 3 places I think of for bhangra on the East Coast are New York, Boston and Virginia. I think the same could be said from a west coast bhangra fan- those are the 3 regions that get credit. I think Raleigh and Pittsburgh have been more under the radar.

 

[hsdeol]

NYC is a powerhouse. def not an underrated region, but not mentioned in your post.

Areas on the rise
- Boston- fauj is leading the way, but Northeastern is on the rise too.
-Florida-Guardians, PDAP, and Gator are boosting Floridas bhangra presence, and Bhangra Off Limits is sure to become a great team as their members get older
-Detroit- i love the diversity in detriot/michigan. FS is an amazing all guys team, Wolverine is a great co-ed more traditional team, MBT is a great co-ed more modern team, and ASD a great all girls team. I def see detroit continuing to hold a strong presence in the scene.
-Pittsburgh- this is a tad biased (perhaps self pump?), but CMU, Steel City, FCB, and FCB Jrs have been competing pretty heavily over the last few years, and BIB continues to be a great success year after year. Without a doubt TRB made bhangra a part of Pittsburgh culture and tradition as well


North carolina- UNC, ECU, NCState, KPGD, Duke,Gajjdi/natya, and a few very big comps. Historically NC has dominated the collegiate scene for a longggg time, and i KPGD is really bringing the area up in the independent world. Great area, great team, and most importantly great attitude. I love how bhangra is treated by the NC area and i hope the tradition stays strong

Im expecting Texas to rise up and start tearing up the circuit soon too. I know there are a few comps down there, a few great upcoming teams, and DBI.


-had to edit, forgot some things

 

[HarmanSingh]

NYC is a powerhouse. def not an underrated region, but not mentioned in your post.

Areas on the rise
- Boston- fauj is leading the way, but Northeastern is on the rise too.
-Florida- PDAP and Gator are boosting Floridas bhangra presence, and Bhangra Off Limits is sure to become a great team as their members get older
-Detroit- i love the diversity in detriot/michigan. FS is an amazing all guys team, Wolverine is a great co-ed more traditional team, MBT is a great co-ed more modern team, and ASD a great all girls team. I def see detroit continuing to hold a strong presence in the scene.
-Pittsburgh- this is a tad biased (perhaps self pump?), but CMU, Steel City, FCB, and FCB Jrs have been competing pretty heavily over the last few years, and BIB continues to be a great success year after year. Without a doubt TRB made bhangra a part of Pittsburgh culture and tradition as well

Im expecting Texas to rise up and start tearing up the circuit soon too. I know there are a few comps down there, a few great upcoming teams, and DBI.

True, I forgot about 3 Rivers. I guess Pittsburgh has had a presence for a while.

 

[KingGeorge]

I agree with Michigan... Wolverine is dirrrrtyy.


And Furteelay's BAB performance this past summer was also really sick.


Dancer quality from Michigan is very high.

 

[Deepi253]

HOUSTON TEXAS .... NISHANI BHANGRA EXPECT BIG THINGS VERY SOON

 

[HarmanSingh]

I agree with Michigan... Wolverine is dirrrrtyy.


And Furteelay's BAB performance this past summer was also really sick.


Dancer quality from Michigan is very high.

Not just now, but if you look at the growth of bhangra, Michigan has been one of the most important regions in America, arguably in the top 5. There is no midwest bhangra scene if Michigan teams didn't exist. But for some reason it seems like the state doesn't get much credit, possibly because we are a bit isolated from the east coast/west coast scenes.

 

[KingGeorge]

I agree with Michigan... Wolverine is dirrrrtyy.


And Furteelay's BAB performance this past summer was also really sick.


Dancer quality from Michigan is very high.

Not just now, but if you look at the growth of bhangra, Michigan has been one of the most important regions in America, arguably in the top 5. There is no midwest bhangra scene if Michigan teams didn't exist. But for some reason it seems like the state doesn't get much credit, possibly because we are a bit isolated from the east coast/west coast scenes.

Agreed... Michigan also needs to compete more frequently

 

[Ashveer]

I agree with Michigan... Wolverine is dirrrrtyy.


And Furteelay's BAB performance this past summer was also really sick.


Dancer quality from Michigan is very high.

Not just now, but if you look at the growth of bhangra, Michigan has been one of the most important regions in America, arguably in the top 5. There is no midwest bhangra scene if Michigan teams didn't exist. But for some reason it seems like the state doesn't get much credit, possibly because we are a bit isolated from the east coast/west coast scenes.

Especially with the disappearance of bhangra fusion, there are no comps there, so its sort of out of peoples' thoughts.

 

[karanmand]

Especially with the disappearance of bhangra fusion, there are no comps there, so its sort of out of peoples' thoughts.

+1

 

[Saab]

Australia. Watch the youtube videos from there. Of all the non-NA/India countries with videos up on youtube, I would say Australia has the closest in terms of form and style to the current styles of both music and live bhangra. Its especially poignant to see them throw competitions, as the only non-NA and India comp I have heard of is in England with colleges, and its only the one. Also, didnt a giddha team from there apply to a giddha competition(RPD?) in cali.

 

[dheerja]

Definitely agree with adding Michigan and Pittsburgh to the list. Pittsburgh is a little more up and coming since there was a hiatus between TRB and the resurgence w/ CMU, FCB, Burgh, etc. Michigan has been a powerhouse for a while, with competitive teams during every "era" of bhangra. I think the lack of recognition for Michigan has partially been because at any given time there weren't more than 1-2 active and dominant teams from that area. When you look at the DMV area over the past 5 years, there have always been at least 4 dominant teams constantly competing.

A note on NYC - it always surprises me that there aren't more teams in NYC/NJ. Considering the sheer number of Punjabi people in this area, the number of bhangra teams is seriously disproportionate. The NYC region is always recognized in bhangra because of the city itself, since everyone thinks NYC when they think east coast in general. But if you really look at the teams here there have never been more than 1-2 teams dominant at one time, and honestly more than 4-5 active total.

 

[Deepi253]

I am actually in the works of throwing a big legit comp with a buddy of mine very soon in the near future ;D possible 2012 Texas comp ( bhangra only ) other than R2B2 hopefully that will get texas rep up and bring in a bunch of new people

hehe southern hospitality ftw woop woop

 

[faizan]

Here's a history of Dominant Teams in NY/NJ area over the past 10 years:

2002-2006: RU/Cornell/NYU/Columbia
2006-2009: Virsa, AEG, NYU, RU, Columbia
2009-Present: SMD, Virsa, AEG

I am hoping for a resurgence for the collegiate teams in this area. Cornell, RU, NYU, Columbia have all fallen-off considerably as their core veterans are long-gone. But, I have seen major sings of life from NYU this season and hope that the collegiate revival can really kick into high gear.

Punjabis in the area just aren't inclined to dance bhangra on an organized level. The mere presence of punjabis is not enough. There was never an infrastructure for Punjabi dance in NY/NJ. Bhangra afterall was introduced to NY first by collegiate teams (that were 1. not technically sound, 2. modern, not withstanding RU). The generations of dancers in the 2006-Present period grew up watching collegiate teams. Hence, why there was never a real development of dancers/techinical prowess. Places like Cali, BC and Toronto have a very strong core group of academies and uncles/aunties to learn from. These days, in places like NY, the dancers learn from veterans on the circuit, who themselves were never given the proper training. That's why NY always has, and always will 1. lag behind the circuit, and 2. always have spotty coverage in terms of major/dominant teams. NY just isn't a core region like BC, Cali and T.O.

I am pretty ignorant about Mich. and Burgh, but I imagine they have had similar problems. (Mich. kids grew up on a steady diet of collegiate teams, as did Burgh. (PDDS and TRB notwithstanding).

 

[dheerja]

Here's a history of Dominant Teams in NY/NJ area over the past 10 years:

2002-2006: RU/Cornell/NYU/Columbia
2006-2009: Virsa, AEG, NYU, RU, Columbia
2009-Present: SMD, Virsa, AEG

I am hoping for a resurgence for the collegiate teams in this area. Cornell, RU, NYU, Columbia have all fallen-off considerably as their core veterans are long-gone. But, I have seen major sings of life from NYU this season and hope that the collegiate revival can really kick into high gear.

Punjabis in the area just aren't inclined to dance bhangra on an organized level. The mere presence of punjabis is not enough. There was never an infrastructure for Punjabi dance in NY/NJ. Bhangra afterall was introduced to NY first by collegiate teams (that were 1. not technically sound, 2. modern, not withstanding RU). The generations of dancers in the 2006-Present period grew up watching collegiate teams. Hence, why there was never a real development of dancers/techinical prowess. Places like Cali, BC and Toronto have a very strong core group of academies and uncles/aunties to learn from. These days, in places like NY, the dancers learn from veterans on the circuit, who themselves were never given the proper training. That's why NY always has, and always will 1. lag behind the circuit, and 2. always have spotty coverage in terms of major/dominant teams. NY just isn't a core region like BC, Cali and T.O.

I am pretty ignorant about Mich. and Burgh, but I imagine they have had similar problems. (Mich. kids grew up on a steady diet of collegiate teams, as did Burgh. (PDDS and TRB notwithstanding).

Great breakdown Faizan, I think the most interesting comparison here is NYC/NJ with the DMV area. Right around the time the NYC collegiate teams fell off the circuit a bit, in your 2009-present era, the DMV teams just exploded, both collegiate and independent. I totally agree that there isn't a Punjabi dance foundation in NYC like there is in Toronto or Vancouver, but if the DMV area has it why can't we? We have a much larger population, and areas like Edison and Jackson Heights where there's a high concentration of cultural activity. I guess I'm missing the reason why NYC/NJ has failed to build that sort of infrastructure when we have all the makings for it.

 

[faizan]

Someone needs to take the first step and formalize our infrastructure by creating a Punjab Cultural Dance Academy where bhangra activities can be centralized. Once this occurs, bhangra can be institutionalized formally...

 

[KingGeorge]

I think its safe to say that Toronto is currently the lead bhangrazoid breeding, trend setting, blindly worshiped bhangra region of North America... and its been that way for the last 3-4 seasons... and before Tdot was running the show, California had everyone's undivided attention.

I love Toronto teams... they're ridiculous at what they do... but I really wanna see a shift in the crowned region ASAP.

I honestly don't even think it's about "beating" the best per say- it's just about coming out with something so different that it automatically grabs attention and generates curiosity... people like change... especially change supplemented with talent.


Next top-dog team to leverage its talent to do something absolutely unexpected and 1,000 miles out of the box will be the team/region to set the scene for the next 3-4 years... guaranteed.