|ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
» February 2009
NAACH NAACH REVOLUTION
POST-EVENT UPDATE:
» WANTED ASHIQZ - NNR 2009 Undisputed Champion / NNR 2009 Viewer's Choice Award » ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY RAAZ - NNR 2009 Directorial Award » VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY JHOOM - NNR 2009 Best Wardrobe Award |
Any college student or recent graduate knows that the trend of Desi Intercollegiate Dance Competitions has grown to the extent that it has become difficult to even keep track any more. There is so much talent within the South Asian community and it is only natural that event organizers would want to provide supply to the demand. Over the years, the country has seen a surge in intercollegiate Bollywood dance competitions, Fusion dance competitions, Bhangra competitions, and Raas & Garba competitions. Each one promises something new and different - either a special performance by a renowned artist or simply something larger and louder than what has already been done before. For the first time, however, dance competition enthusiasts are jumping in anticipation of the upcoming phenomenon known as Naach Naach Revolution. Rather than switching up the acts, the mastermind behind this event has decided to completely change the basic format of the dance competition. He has dared to produce something that has never been done within the South Asian intercollegiate community before.
He has truly started a revolution: The Naach Naach Revolution.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Uneeq Khan and I am the coordinator one of the most anticipated charity dance competition on the East coast, Naach Naach Revolution 2009 held at Tribeca Performing Arts Center in NYC on February 21st, 2009. I am also the co-owner of the very popular website, DesiDanceTeams.com. I do civil engineering as an occupation, so being involved in dance competitions and the dance community is just a passion. I am very excited to be organizing Naach Naach Revolution and I plan to present one of the most memorable shows ever.
What exactly is your title and role in the competition?
I am the Director of Operations. I came up with the idea of Naach Naach Revolution, including the name and format for the show, and the structure of management. Being that this idea and format is so unique, I had to take more of a hands on approach. Luckily my team and the brothers of Iota Nu Delta were a great asset in making this go smoothly. Without them I would just be a funny looking kid with a great idea and no means to accomplish it.
"This competition isn’t about any bid, cash prize or trophy. This is about the challenge, the respect and the title."
Which teams are competing?
We have 8 extraordinary teams with a total of 18 performances. Our lineup is pretty diverse by style and location. We have a fusion team coming out of Berkeley, California, called Mandala. This is their first performance on the East coast, and probably first ever. We have a versatile team coming from Michigan called Taal. A team from Virginia, which always has great character in their performance, called VCU Jhoom. One of the strongest all-guys team from the East coast that has been dominating the competition recently, from NYC, we have the independent team Wanted Ashiqz. Also from NYC, whose great talent is not a secret, we have St. John's Raaz. A very creative team from New England, Boston University Chankaar. Bringing the fire of Philadelphia, Temple University’s all-girl team, Temple Agni. From Binghamton University, a team that delivers that great Bollywood flavor, Binghamton Masti. Seven out of eight of these teams have placed 1st or 2nd, once or twice consecutively in 2008. Only one team hasn’t, and that’s because they are a fresh team. So you can imagine the competitiveness behind this challenge.
Why New York City?
It was either New Jersey or New York City. NYC has this great feel to it. More people are attracted to NYC than NJ. NYC is very easy to travel to even in bad weather, thanks to public transportation, so it’s easier for attendees to come to the show. Teams hate empty venues. Tribeca Performing Arts Center is a marvelous venue with almost 1,000 seating capacity.
Competitions such as these are so prevalent these days. What sets NNR apart from others?
This is exactly why I created NNR. I wanted to bring a new, more difficult challenge to these teams. I stepped outside the box and away from these mundane formats. NNR is a tournament where teams will be facing off against one other opponent at a time. Each face off has an assigned Bollywood song title that was given to teams three months in advance. Because teams are faced off against only one team at a time, it’s much easier for the judges to compare, causing no disadvantages to any team due to their placement in the show. The champion will be performing 3 performances that night and will be well deserving to receive the title of the best fusion team of the year! This competition isn’t about any bid, cash prize or trophy. This is about the challenge, the respect and the title. We’re also more liberal with the censorship. We want teams to have the freedom they need to make a memorable performance. All are welcome, but we’re directing the show to the college students. Teams prefer it that way. Everything we have done with this show and everything we have planned is different from the normal ones. Even our prizes are different.
"We’ve gotten emails from other organizers ... Some have even said they believe we are trying to put them out of business or steal their spotlight, which is ridiculous."
How did you narrow down your search for teams - what were you looking for?
NNR is different from every other competition which will select any fusion dance teams. We look at teams and their potential in becoming the greatest. Skill and talent play a huge role, but things that are usually overlooked are personality and creativity. Yes, you have to win over the judges, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about entertaining the crowd. Our registration committee had a strict style and format in choosing teams. We cannot reveal our procedures as we like to keep it within NNR in order to continue producing the best lineup for NNR.
Is there a specific genre of dance that this competition incorporates?
We need teams to be versatile as they have to perform at least 2 rounds of filmi-fusion performances. Most competitions have fusion teams, or filmi (Bollywood) teams, but never the blend of two. In this lineup, the teams are filmi-fusion. Not only that, but teams must be able to perform both Old School Bollywood tracks (Round 1) and New Age Bollywood tracks (Round 2). It’s a whole new ball game. The third round is the Team’s Mix round, which is each team's own mix. This is general fusion. Basically, anything goes. This is why we need teams to be versatile. This competition will condition teams into becoming greater than they ever imagined.
"If teams evolve year after year, why shouldn’t competitions? We’ve just initiated the evolution."
Why is dance so important?
Dance is more important that you think. I believe by creating dance competitions, you give people a chance to attend and participate in cultural activities. Not only will they learn more about the culture, but this steers them away from being involved in negative activities such as drugs, violence, or mindless drinking and excessive partying. Believe it or not, dance competitions do enrich our generation. This is why I believe there should be more shows like this and people should support them by attending or sponsoring. This show isn’t sponsored by mommy and daddy’s company like some other shows; we invested our hard earned money into it because we believe in this. We want to bring this into the community.
Give us a little insight into who is judging the competition.
We screen judges like we screen our teams. We cannot release the judges’ names in order to prevent collusion. Last thing I want is for a team to have the impression of rigging.
You are the co-owner of DesiDanceTeams.com - how does your association with DDT affect this competition?
Both good and bad. We learned a lot through DDT about what teams like and hate, so we used that information in developing this show. We’ve also gotten emails from organizers who said it’s unfair for us to create a competition given our resources. Some have even said they believe we are trying to put them out of business or steal their spotlight, which is ridiculous. All we are trying to do is raise the bar. We’re hoping this will cause a reaction where other competitions will soon begin to step outside the box and raise the bar higher than us. We are not trying to step on any toes. We want all shows to succeed, excel, and bloom. We felt that we had to be the first one to take the risk in trying something new. Hopefully after NNR, more organizers will take risks and explore new options to come up with something more creative than NNR, and challenge the teams like we have. If teams evolve year after year, why shouldn’t competitions? We’ve just initiated the evolution. I’m looking to work with more organizers on new ideas. Teams have emailed us and said, “It’s about time you guys did a show of your own.” They’ve been waiting for this.
One reason why everyone should attend?
If you love creative and entertaining dance performances, this is the place to be! This is the show that will be talked about, and you can experience it live! With old school Bollywood and new age Bollywood performances, you really can't go wrong. Plus, we do have some surprises in store for both the viewers and the performing teams. You'll just have to come to find out.
Also, most importantly, proceeds will be going to the OI Foundation. It's a great cause and we have already spread awareness about the charity. In fact, even those who are not able to attend our competition have begun promoting it on their Facebook status for the purpose of helping us raise money for this cause. There are very few competitions that give a large portion of their proceeds to charity. Now that is a trend we would love to start. Dancing is about heart, and if you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart problem! More information on OI can be found at www.oif.org.
For more information, visit: www.NaachNaachRevolution.com and don't forget to check back with BILLO for all the post-event coverage.
- Ruchika Bhalla
very very hot article. pretty girls too!
Posted by: mega | February 07, 2009 at 01:59 AM
so you used ur desidance team forum to collect and gather data? and then from that data u tried to give them what they want.. thats great.. but what about the fact that will ddt be impartial to other competitions? or how about the fact that since ddt wasn't associated with any dance competitions and now that it is, it might become impartial?
just a thought
Posted by: jay | February 19, 2009 at 11:24 AM
well he did mention that they arent trying to compete or put anyone out of business, they are just trying to raise the bar
Posted by: L | February 20, 2009 at 06:23 PM