"What happened to bhangra?"

[mithu]

Delete this thread.


People here arent mature enough to have a proper discussion anymore.

 

[hardeep_singh]

STAGE MARKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hardeep_singh]

PLASTIC SAAPS SHOULD BE BANNED!!!!

 

[hardeep_singh]

JANDU SINGHA = 3 DISTINCT TAPS PER EACH FOOT!!!!!

 

[Armaan]

Didnt want anyone who wanted to discuss this blow up BBC's thread on feedback.


Here' my input and has been for the past couple years.

• Stop making segments insanely fast.
• Stop running around the stage (Make formation actually mean something. Not lets run here for 2 sec then here, then here)
• Be graceful in every segment, even the hard hitting ones
• Watch live teams, and emulate the grace, the power, the everything but w/ music
• Pick songs that have meaning to the choreo
• Stop having mixes being so bad (There are a few mixer out there that do teams justice. I think there are total of maybe 4 mixer on circuit that dont make hype garbage. Teams are at fault as much as the mixers are).
• Be Unique. (90% of prop segments are the same. Lets just run around the stage ass fast as possible while using props.)
• Go back and watch LBC, APD, BMW, FCB (Pre-Fever 4), KJ, SPD, and see what set them apart. Even when they didnt place.

I agree with a bunch of points here but everyone is really good at pointing out what to change but no one ever addresses HOW to change it. It's not as easy as reading a list and saying, "Okay, do it!"

Once again, to reiterate on the point I was making on the BBC thread... How can we help educate dancers and teams (especially those with younger dancers) on the importance of fundamentals amongst other things? Do we aim create a committee with dancers of mixed experiences to work on this issue? Is there another solution? Or do we continue to make threads that we all know ultimately lead to no change and just a bunch of old dancers bitching about the new generation of bhangra.

 

[mithu]

Didnt want anyone who wanted to discuss this blow up BBC's thread on feedback.


Here' my input and has been for the past couple years.

• Stop making segments insanely fast.
• Stop running around the stage (Make formation actually mean something. Not lets run here for 2 sec then here, then here)
• Be graceful in every segment, even the hard hitting ones
• Watch live teams, and emulate the grace, the power, the everything but w/ music
• Pick songs that have meaning to the choreo
• Stop having mixes being so bad (There are a few mixer out there that do teams justice. I think there are total of maybe 4 mixer on circuit that dont make hype garbage. Teams are at fault as much as the mixers are).
• Be Unique. (90% of prop segments are the same. Lets just run around the stage ass fast as possible while using props.)
• Go back and watch LBC, APD, BMW, FCB (Pre-Fever 4), KJ, SPD, and see what set them apart. Even when they didnt place.

I agree with a bunch of points here but everyone is really good at pointing out what to change but no one ever addresses HOW to change it. It's not as easy as reading a list and saying, "Okay, do it!"

Once again, to reiterate on the point I was making on the BBC thread... How can we help educate dancers and teams (especially those with younger dancers) on the importance of fundamentals amongst other things? Do we aim create a committee with dancers of mixed experiences to work on this issue? Is there another solution? Or do we continue to make threads that we all know ultimately lead to no change and just a bunch of old dancers bitching about the new generation of bhangra.

I understand what your saying, but the point I've pointed out are the most simple points to fix.

How to slow down sets: Stop making garbage hype mixes. Mixes need to complement set. There are TONS of mixers who are open to helping mixers and team with that. But most mixers have this thing called egos, so many mixer have "x, y, and z have asked me to mix. You have done shit, so yeah stfu" attitude. It's the same with team captains. WHen teaching form TEACH extension vs "alright everyone just extend this much so it looks fast"


Stop running around the stage: Watch older teams, see how they did formations. Watch teams that dont run around the stage (SPD, SMD, etc).

The problem with circuit is that they see NJ, SGPD, or anyone win a year or so in row and they think thats only way to win. I dont think I've seen a set this past year where I can say "That was different." or "Oh i remember that".


Another problem is competitions only picking teams that are known. I mean all you see are a handful of teams OVER AND OVER AND OVER. The its usually the same sets over and over and over.

 

[swagma$terjatt]

I kind of want to change the direction of your question. Its not what happened to the bhangra circuit - it's why do we do bhangra. Why are we here? what is the purpose of this circuit? For anyone that has a genuine love for bhangra, makes an effort to know its roots, understand where it comes from and what it means. The bhangra circuit is about carrying on a history, a legacy, culture, and love for punjab. When you dance, are you dancing because you think its a cool dance style, because it happens to be the biggest circuit, or because its something that has true meaning to you? When you dance do you just do the moves and try to be technically correct, or are you trying to tell a story and send a message with the way you dance. Every team is going to have a different style. They might like incorporating hiphop, hfd, bnat in order to stand out (i don’t always agree with it- but thats a personal preference). There is no harm in a teams saap song being to fast or too slow, or having a lot of transitions and formations. The circuit has now incorporated a faster saap style, while in punjab is still relatively slower. Saap extension is very important now, while 10 years ago it wasn’t as big of a focus. You can’t be upset that the circuit is slowly changing, because everything evolves.You can’t hate one team for using gimmicks or another for being too traditional. Your dividing the circuit instead of bringing it together, focus on why we are here. Each team can still have individuality, creativity, and traditionally, its about mixing these things, and while still focusing on what bhangra is, what drives it, and the purpose it serves. But there is more to this than just significance and history- An older captain on the team I am on stressed the important of fundamentals and form, and others stressed the importance of respecting props and instruments. They stressed these because it is a part of what bhangra is, its a part of the punjabi culture that we are forgetting when we dance. We aren’t paying attention to the basic parts of what make bhangra, bhangra. When you are doing moves, they have to be clean, they should be distinct- make an effort in doing each move instead of just half assing them. When your doing punjab are you really moving from side to side as much as possible. When your doing jugni are you showing that power? When your dancing remember your carrying on a history and a legacy- you are carrying on a culture that sadly in punjab is slowly dying.I think when any person punjabi or not joins a bhangra team, they should be fully educated on what they are doing- what these things mean, why they are important otherwise your just moving around. I think that fire you want back in the circuit has to come from the dancers. They have to care about the moves, care about form, take the time to understand the lyrics, what context are they said in, care about how we use props, understand the significance of the props, respect the instruments- care about the culture that is bhangra. I feel that there are just too many dancers doing the moves and not passionate when they dance, its as if they are just there to place and get recognized. Just remember why you are here, remember why you're dancing- bring the passion back, thats how your going to change the circuit.

I hope I haven’t offended anyone, if I am completely wrong, I apologize.

 

[Howie Magz]

[SIZE=small]Circuit is evolving and changing. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse depending on your opinion. Good points made up there, but I just want get more people to dance Bhangra and for more
competitions to be hosted so the younger generation can participate in the dance that we all love. This argument of whether the circuit should be folk or modern is an argument of the past. People should dance
to the style they want and to whatever song they want. Sharing your views is fine, but trying to force your views and disrespecting others' point of view is wrong. Competition is healthy, but there isn't a need to
be ass about something. Stop bashing judges, dancers, and teams if you don't like how they operate or do a step. You don't like how a judge judges don't apply to the competition. You don't like a placing, learn to
dance to the rubric and improve your dancers. Pointing fingers at people is not going to get you anywhere. Let your dancing and the way you carry yourself do the talking. [/SIZE]

 

[hardeep_singh]

[SIZE=small]
People should dance to the style they want and to whatever song they want. Sharing your views is fine, but trying to force your views and disrespecting others' point of view is wrong. Competition is healthy, but there isn't a need to
be ass about something. [/SIZE]

:'( damn howie, that's some heavy stuff right there. i sincerely apologize for all my inflammatory rhetoric.




butttttt counterpoint is that the placidity of the circuit should be disrupted regularly by catalytic ideas. maybe what the circuit needs is more people to be assholes so that people become more comfortable with expressing how they really feel.

 

[sahab]

I kind of want to change the direction of your question. Its not what happened to the bhangra circuit - it's why do we do bhangra. Why are we here? what is the purpose of this circuit? For anyone that has a genuine love for bhangra, makes an effort to know its roots, understand where it comes from and what it means. The bhangra circuit is about carrying on a history, a legacy, culture, and love for punjab. When you dance, are you dancing because you think its a cool dance style, because it happens to be the biggest circuit, or because its something that has true meaning to you? When you dance do you just do the moves and try to be technically correct, or are you trying to tell a story and send a message with the way you dance. Every team is going to have a different style. They might like incorporating hiphop, hfd, bnat in order to stand out (i don’t always agree with it- but thats a personal preference). There is no harm in a teams saap song being to fast or too slow, or having a lot of transitions and formations. The circuit has now incorporated a faster saap style, while in punjab is still relatively slower. Saap extension is very important now, while 10 years ago it wasn’t as big of a focus. You can’t be upset that the circuit is slowly changing, because everything evolves.You can’t hate one team for using gimmicks or another for being too traditional. Your dividing the circuit instead of bringing it together, focus on why we are here. Each team can still have individuality, creativity, and traditionally, its about mixing these things, and while still focusing on what bhangra is, what drives it, and the purpose it serves. But there is more to this than just significance and history- An older captain on the team I am on stressed the important of fundamentals and form, and others stressed the importance of respecting props and instruments. They stressed these because it is a part of what bhangra is, its a part of the punjabi culture that we are forgetting when we dance. We aren’t paying attention to the basic parts of what make bhangra, bhangra. When you are doing moves, they have to be clean, they should be distinct- make an effort in doing each move instead of just half assing them. When your doing punjab are you really moving from side to side as much as possible. When your doing jugni are you showing that power? When your dancing remember your carrying on a history and a legacy- you are carrying on a culture that sadly in punjab is slowly dying.I think when any person punjabi or not joins a bhangra team, they should be fully educated on what they are doing- what these things mean, why they are important otherwise your just moving around. I think that fire you want back in the circuit has to come from the dancers. They have to care about the moves, care about form, take the time to understand the lyrics, what context are they said in, care about how we use props, understand the significance of the props, respect the instruments- care about the culture that is bhangra. I feel that there are just too many dancers doing the moves and not passionate when they dance, its as if they are just there to place and get recognized. Just remember why you are here, remember why you're dancing- bring the passion back, thats how your going to change the circuit.

I hope I haven’t offended anyone, if I am completely wrong, I apologize.

Most people who are "popular"/"well known"/have influence in the US bhangra community only care about placing their own teams. If you can do the move great, they don't give a damn if you know why you are doing it or where it came from. I will admit that I am guilty of doing this. Placing > Knowledge/tradition/history. Sad but true.

 

[H.S]

How do you guys like SPDs performance or NJWs burgh? NJW was basically raw bhangra with no gimmicks, and everything was pretty well executed. SPD brought back the folk-ness and made it very enjoyable to watch.

 

[KushK]

For the first time in a very long time, I got to see a competition from the audiences' perspective at BURGH and I can tell you this much, Bhangra is alive. Yes it isn't as glamorous as it was in 2010 with all the crazy gimmicks and innovative stuff. However, I could tell that most teams focused on fundamentals and danced good "folk" bhangra for the majority of their sets. The fire is definitely there. As a team pick your battles when you chose what comp you will compete at. I have been guilty of this myself in the past. Ask yourself and your team what direction they want to go in and don't look back. Folk or modern, stick to it. Let the haters hate, let trophies do the talking!

 

[Howie Magz]

Ankush you're my trophy

 

[Jaskirat Multani]

Why tell people how to choreograph their sets? What if they can't afford a mixer? What if they have non-panjabi dancers that have no idea what they're dancing to? Are you willing to coach them (if you're even qualified for that)? I personally believe that there needs to be weaker sets in order for there to be stronger sets. But then again I never thought Trump would win, so who really knows.


Instead of verbally telling others how their set should be, show them. Make a team and practice what you preach.


I'm blessed to be on a team where we have the resources to have a mix, have access to singers and a band etc. But even then it took months just to get together a group of guys that were all on the same wavelength. Either way I can say with confidence that we all enjoy the way we choose to portray Bhangra and wouldn't change it for any reason.


If you're mad with how judging is executed these days that's an entirely different issue in itself. Personally I wasn't too thrilled with BBC or Burghs placing sets, but I didn't watch the other sets so they might just be justified. But really who care?

What's the point of bashing ignorance if you have nothing of value to contribute to someones progression? Way too much hating and definitely not enough people practicing what they need to be doing is the real problem. Anyway Jatt is Jatt, Sears.

 

[Aditya Dewanjee]

@KarnSingh


The direction of the circuit might be upsetting to you, but no matter how much you complain and talk shit on btf, nobody is going to change how they do bhangra to make you happy. If you have such a specific idea of what bhangra should be, why dont you make a set that showcases your vision of bhangra and let the set do the talking? I've been fortunate enough to have never seen you perform live but a quick youtube search makes me happy that the current bhangra circuit isn't matching your personal vision for bhangra.

 

[Mr. Mankiran]

@KarnSingh


The direction of the circuit might be upsetting to you, but no matter how much you complain and talk shit on btf, nobody is going to change how they do bhangra to make you happy. If you have such a specific idea of what bhangra should be, why dont you make a set that showcases your vision of bhangra and let the set do the talking? I've been fortunate enough to have never seen you perform live but a quick youtube search makes me happy that the current bhangra circuit isn't matching your personal vision for bhangra.

Ouch

 

[sahab]

Yea I don't get what's wrong with the circuit. We all get to witness both spectrum super folk (SPD) to hella modern (DRP, Empire, etc). I feel like this post is kinda frivolous.

 

[preet585]

Anyway Jatt is Jatt, Sears.

lol what does that have to do with what's being discussed Lubana Saab?

 

[mithu]

The point of the thread was just to talk about how to spicy up the circuit and move away from the hype(mostly) sets we are seeing today...


Maybe that's the problem with the circuit. We can't even have discussion without people attacking and others feeling attacked.

 

[UmerQureshi96]

Moderators Note: Please refrain from directly attacking other members of the forum. If you want to discuss personal beef, please take it out of this topic.


First and foremost I don't really enjoy having this conversation repeated over and over again. The circuit is a living breathing thing that changes with local influences. We are not in Punjab, not all of us speak Punjabi, not all of us know everything there is to know about Punjabi culture. 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. You want to take a more traditional approach to your team? Go for it but don't constantly complain about other teams going in their own direction. We are surrounded by various different cultural influences here that Punjab is not as exposed to and thus we are going to have a product that is markedly different. Change isn't bad. Personally I can appreciate both spectrums. Watching SPD live at MCB last year was mind blowing. At the same time KPGDs very innovative approach to what is a Bhangra set is admirable and at many times insanely entertaining. Personally I may not love everything they do, but they take risks, they push the boundaries and make us look at Bhangra in a new light. If anything that should be applauded, not ripped apart for differentiating themselves in a circuit that seems to have stagnated lately. How are we going to create the next great team or set without exploring new and innovative ways to do Bhangra?