‘So You Think’ redux
The remaining contestants on So You Think You Can Dance did the title track to Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Bollyrecruiters can skip over the gori backpackers at Churchgate for now — this is a great job for a week’s work. But enough with the precision and the modern dance-style spins. Once again, but looser.
(thanks, Pratima)
on Saturday, July 19th, 2008, 12:26 am in Dance, TV, Video clips › 
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Hoarding
I don’t understand your use of the word “precise.” Both bharatnatyam and kathak (styles in which I have extensive training and both of which have “spins”) are extremely precise.
I am not trying to be difficult; I just don’t get your criticism.
actually this one I get what Manish is saying. they danced like robots in this second dance. The first one with katee dancing last week as a part of competition to om shanti om song was very good. But not this group dance..some of the group dancers were pretty bad.
I have this big cultural event in Indianapolis that is coming up in october and I have to make indians and americans dance together..I have the same dilemma now..Iam trying hard to choreograph dance steps and movements that wont be hard for my american friends and which will still look fluid and graceful..
any suggestions anyone on which movie song and dance routine would be good for both? I thought of choreographing to colonial cousins song krishna which has unique lyrics like “come back as jesus , come back as rama”. I also thought all the girls can easily dance to devdas movie first aiswaryas song with diya or bombay movie song kehna hi kya or lamhe song morini bagama with chuidiyan..any suggestions anyone?
Pooja I learnt Bharatnatyam too, I do agree that there is some amount of precision in steps but the body movements in both indian dances are fluid, face expressions etc., are also fluid..both dances give a special grace to a dancer and every dancer can have a unique style and her own signature in each of these dances.
this so u think u can dance piece was not fluid at all though it had all the steps and precision , it had no grace.. the first so u think u can dance nakuls piece with just two dancers had precision and grace..
One of the challenges with planning the choreography of such an act is that, unlike desi movies, no one person/couple can be highlighted as the focus of attention. The backup dancers provide more than color. They are the backdrop whose very blandness sets apart the protagonist, soaks her in attar, makes the average person into a Star. This would be so difficult in the current context, with ten(?) individual dancers. Hence, the whole event has to be managed to the step. There would be very little room for improvization, because that would reek of showboating.
Anyhow, on to the armchair dance-criticism - from a guy whose pelvis has about as much flexibility as a dugong. The song is supposed to be fun - hence the ‘jhoom’. There could have been a little more joie, but for an act so tightly choreographed, that would be very difficult if not impossible. The women were enjoying it much more than the guys and that made it so much better. And the guys were wearing a rather odd tapered pajama. very odd.
At the end of the hand motions the dancers stop abruptly instead of following through. The spins here are done with modern dance-style arms and spotting.
Agreed- I’ll even say the ladies did a better job overall as far as syncing and coordinated effort goes. THe dudes seemed either taxed or like they were trying to add a little extra (thus, drawing attention to themselves…an unfortunate hallmark of this show).