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"What happened to bhangra?"

mithu

Active Member
Messages
793
Mods can we delete this thread?
Seems like people cant have a open discussion about bhangra anymore without people being butt hurt about everything.


Previous post is a direct attack on Karan.
 

siddyp

Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Messages
1,270
Love the discussion! Wanted to ask some questions and offer my thoughts:


Mithu:


- What's wrong with the hype/speed? I get the UK style mixing where it sounds like the same thing/same pitch for 8 mins, but it is a bhangra comp and not a mixtape. Don't get me wrong I enjoy listening to very well done mixes, but you've made your opinion very well known that you're not a fan of the hype/pitched up stuff. But I think its hard to take away the fact that it's much easier for a dancer to get amped up and perform with more vigor when something is super hype.


- Agree with the running around stage lol. I used to be a culprit of bad formation planning.


- A few of your other points are pretty arbitrary. I'd elaborate on some of your points with some specific examples of what you mean so we all can truly know what you're trying to say and discuss it. (being graceful in every seg, being unique esp in regards to prop segs, song selection)


- The teams you mention, i'm not sure what SPD or FCB Pre-fever 4 have in common with the other teams you're mentioning. Completely different styles of bhangra. (maybe that's what you meant?) I'm proud of FCB's progression, and I'm proud of the performances at fever 4 and before. But we never placed. We had interesting routines, but never truly danced as a unit across the board UNTIL fever 4. In my own opinion, what to learn from FCB Fever 4 and before? Go ahead and watch our videos:


We didn't dance as a unit. We lacked true impact moments that hit hard and were memorable because we wouldn't fully execute them as a team. That's all on me and fellow captains. Not training the dancers the right way, focusing maybe on the wrong things, and maybe not designing the set so that our cool choreography was truly memorable and hit as hard as it could have. I say maybe because even if we changed or did it differently, idk if it would have been better. It's all a game of coulda shoulda woulda.
Comments we used to get from judges: You guys need to standardize how you dance as a unit. Talent doesn't matter if you aren't dancing as a team, and/or make too many mistakes. Your choreography is good and interesting, I remember you did something cool with Sial Koti, but I can't replay it in my head, partially because of dancers being off or maybe the presentation of the idea. << all things that relate back to what I said we did wrong.


You've mentioned in the past that you liked what we did pre-fever 4. I'd love to hear what it was that you liked.

- In another post you mentioned people watch winning teams and try to emulate them... Success does leave clues. It's why people like to say the NFL or NHL is a copycat league. Gotta do what the successful teams do well so that you can compete and beat them... So what's wrong with that? << I would get it if every team looked like NJ or SGPD, but does every team really look like that?

Also, not trying to bash any opinion. I love this discussion. It's what taught me so much in the past when I was a newbie. Wish more of this happened on BTF.
 

siddyp

Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Messages
1,270
swagma$terjatt:


Really nice points. Agree with pretty much everything. Especially when it comes to how your older captains teach the significance of the dancing/props.


When we started emphasizing and teaching the history of different steps and what they represent, it gave everything so much more meaning, and I could see the difference it made in our dancers in practice, on stage, and beyond.


All of our dancers know what Faslan is and how it represents grain moving in the wind. And then to watch SPD do it the way they did it at MCB was amazing. Our team talked about that specifically when we first discussed their performance. And for me it was cool to watch the team talk about it the way they did, because of us as captains teaching what Falsan represents.


I'd highly encourage captains to do that. Giving every step/motion meaning will make everyone execute better and enjoy doing it more.
 

ramv88

www.dholiram.com
Messages
198
I think that this circuit is fine. Constructive criticism is always needed to improve for the music teams to improve their ideas/execution/form/stage presence. We just need more live comps!

Bhangra has improved since the old days.....cool ideas are out there, academies are starting to come up, all girls teams are comin' up and reppin well, and people from different backgrounds are into bhangra. It's still cool how people are able to find time to do this and lead their own lives via school or work.

Calm down and just enjoy the ride. If you still have a problem with this then go ahead and show how it's done. #allboutdatactionboss


- Dholi Ram
 

Basim

♥ BTF ♥
Staff member
Messages
1,459
Note to all: Please keep your posts on the topic at hand and refrain from attacking individuals directly. This is a good, healthy discussion we have going that should be about the circuit (as a whole), not a specific person or team.

While everyone is free to speak their mind, let's keep BTF's guidelines in mind when posting.

Thank you.

On behalf of the moderators.
 

siddyp

Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Messages
1,270
Basim said:
Note to all: Please keep your posts on the topic at hand and refrain from attacking individuals directly. This is a good, healthy discussion we have going that should be about the circuit (as a whole), not a specific person or team.

While everyone is free to speak their mind, let's keep BTF's guidelines in mind when posting.

Thank you.

On behalf of the moderators.
BRING BACK THE BANHAMMER!
 

Jaskirat Multani

New Member
Messages
13
preet585 said:
Jaskirat Multani said:
Anyway Jatt is Jatt, Sears.
lol what does that have to do with what's being discussed Lubana Saab?

Hahaha, that was actually pretty funny.


To answer your question, it was meant to be pretty meaningless. You know...just like this thread.
 

swagma$terjatt

New Member
Messages
2
@UmerQureshi96 I do understand and agree with A LOT of what you said. But when you say "It's unfair to harangue teams for not using songs that match or not understanding the "correct" way to do Bhangra if they don't have that background. In the states we have taken Bhangra and made it a thing of our own. You wanna go back to the roots? Go dance live." I think theres a an important thing your missing. Im not sure if you read my post earlier on in the thread- but the bhangra circuit to some degree is about continuing roots. Yes a lot of times teams incorporate gimmicks or western style which is great, but when you mention song choices or not knowing the complete background- then your just dancing with minimal understanding. To some degree it is an art form. When your picking songs I personally feel it is important to know what they are saying and what they are referring too. Some songs are dharmik (religious) and some discuss the riots indirectly, and some paint women in a very negative light- and to dance to songs like these is really disrespectful. For example, we have made sure dancers understand the importance of a pagh or turla, and if it falls what should happen, and I think the same applies to music, props, etc. No one has to know everything about punjabi history, but a certain effort should be made- because this is where the dance originated from. Yes the circuit is changing and that is great- but its still important to remember where it came from, because thats what gives bhangra its significance.
 
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