Posted:
*What would I be if someone as mercurial as me didn't post up a disclaimer?*
☢️
Disclaimer:
- The topic of this thread is inspiration, but one who is reading might just find that the initial half of this post is mostly very much uninspiring. Please hang on, to get to the good part. ^^"
- I don't do ratings, reason being the fact that I don't know enough to comment on technicalities, much less rate them. I'm an enjoyer, I enjoy (or not) & talk about the aesthetics. :)
Unfortunately, in that aspect, I was right. *just hate being right sometimes*
Dance after dance, the contestants were told how awesome they were, how moving their pieces had been & all I could think about was "Yeah, so get onto the bad parts already." Much to my chagrin, they never did. So much for Farah & Vaibhavi being the evil witches on this side of JD. They jumped to their feet, applauding with fervour while I, on the hand, kept feeling manipulated by the minute. So they want me, a person completely uneducated in terms of dance to watch trained dancers perform badly & still believe they did good because the trained judges said so? *sigh*
Of course, I (or any other member of the audience) am incapable of voting my favourite's way to 'Ultimate Dancer' victory so it's a minuscule manipulation in play anyway. *Which, if I may say so, again is a point I was perhaps disappointed with. Perhaps. The pro part of this argument is that no one worthy will be voted out by the audience. WHICH may seem ironic because the voting off of KSP seems to be the most argued-about topic by far here on the JD forum.*
Fixture or not, Karan Singh Pangali is out. There's nothing we can do about it. Though I do have a sneaking suspicion, he might just be brought back. Who knows?
& it's not like we can say he was the best of all the contestants. Or that there's no one here who could come up to his standards. I think that would be doing a great injustice to this lot because they seemed pretty amazing to me tonight.
Which brings me back to my original point. So I've been feeling some hesitance at posting again for the last episodes have been (for a majority of the time) zzz-inducers. As much as I love Ankan, I had been tired of seeing him do hip-hop (& variations of it) again & again, Karan Pangali with Kathak, Meher Malik with belly-dancing. *I'm sure you can see my train of thoughts here*
& for another thing, I think the lack of a general theme every week is bugging me. How can a real comparison be made when everyone's doing something different? Even today, an episode that I liked, the only common link was that everyone was doing a different style. How similar could things be now, eh?
Either way, the fact of the matter is, despite all my apprehensiveness & trepidation, & in spite of all the above shortcomings, today was definitely a GOOD DAY for JD! 😆 Wooot!
& now, I shall get on to the good bits, as promised. ^_^
Firstly, I'm in utter relief - the choreographers are pursuing a different course of method. I think the participants have suffered enough at the hands of bad choreography mashed up with good concept. But, thankfully it seems like the correct balance has been found now. *relief*
Surjeet: He has come a long, long way. I've been unsure about him, whether he could come upto par with the others though I love his personality & person but he's cleared all doubts. *& I've noticed that whatever the prop, the utilisation is just remarkable. In all cases today, be it for Surjeet, Karan Khanna or Swarali, the use of props was so smooth that to the person watching, it may as well be a part of their bodies* Extremely appealing to the eye, seemingly effortless, excellent stuff! & on top of that, the man maintained a smile on his face all throughout! Simply amazing.
Karan Khanna: Or should I say, underplayed underdog cum gymnastic wonder? 'Nuff said!
*Incidentally, while watching him perform to Ram Narayan Baaja Bajaataa, I was missing Irfan Sheikh very much. His Govinda tribute was a sight to watch as well. But Karan Khanna is nobody's fool either, as he showed today.*
Ankan: Oh thank heaven for this!! Dear Ankan, my favourite *hence the extreme bias* finally did something other than hip-hop after all these weeks. 17 / 18 he may be, but his forte is not a dance style, it's emotion. He thrives on emotional matter & I'm glad he showed a glimpse of why all us Ankan fans started to love him from the very beginning.
Also, he & his choreographers are a match made in technical heaven. I've said this time & again, I don't like aerial acts, but I can appreciate all the hard work put into it.
Oh & I'm not embarrassed to admit this, but I haven't been much of his fan these past few days. Today's performance was such a boon to say the least. Everybody had tears in their eyes, Soumita, Farah, Meher, Vaibhavi... & all I can say is, they weren't the only ones.
Meher: WHY DOES SHE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, NOT DO THIS MORE OFTEN?! Uff, that attitude! O_O It could make anyone go cross-eyed. This here, this exactly is what versatility is all about. That complete transformation, from body language to moves to attitude. Kudos to Meher! I kept wishing the performance didn't end. & this was a much much much ironed-out attempt at a style she isn't fluid in.
But oh, Meher has played her rustic roots to the max! From sultry belly-shaker to gun-wielding gangster, she sure didn't disappoint. 👏
Rajit: I love Rajit, his personality is nothing short of amazing, his smile is infectious, he's charming, BUT I was wanting for more today. I understood what Farah was saying about how he makes it look so simple when it's not. *duh, it's not, you can actually see it, effortless or not!* But where's the novelty in this? He is one of the better performers left but that doesn't mean he shouldn't experiment more. There wasn't anything new to his performance, both technically or concept-wise, I was left slightly deflated with disappointment. =/
Abhash: Jaw-droppingly cool! & so so darn cool! I don't remember Abhash making me laugh like this EVER. Sure, his Dappankooth could have been more refined, but was it cool or not?!
I swear, I cannot say the word enough. Cool. That's what it was. & the dancing was impeccable for the most part. Shabaash Abhash!
Swarali: This girl has been a lovely packet of surprise as well. Her peppy dancing could make anyone want to jump out of their seats & start bouncing (or just stay there & do it for that matter). Lovely girl, slick moves. I was blown away, weirdly, by how her skirt twirled & stopped at the right moments with the beats. Eye-candy with some real risque stuff. O_O
In the last stunt with the chair though, she seemed to have stumbled / fumbled a bit. I'm surprised no one mentioned it & so comes this whole problem I have with the judges. It's not like saying she slipped is going to make her performance any less than what it was. Just my opinion.
Soumita: Hugely mixed feelings about this piece. Again, nothing new, nothing spectacular. Yes, she was very energetic but in a group of very talented people, she just didn't stand out today. I'll be darned if they weren't making grounds to eliminate her tomorrow. Let's see.
All in all, the top 4 deserve their spots. *even though I didn't think Rajit did enough to make a mark, he was among the best dancers technically* It's sad that the people who dared to experiment are at the bottom, but they got great feedback nonetheless. & unlike a lot of nights previously, this night was full-blast dhamaka.😆
& need it even be said? Govinda is an excellent customer to cater to! Wish more guests like him dropped by, he's rib-ticklingly funny without being crass or over-the-top. 😆
I think, at this very moment, I don't know who's the best which is saying a lot. A competition is going great only when you really don't know who's going to win.
Till tomorrow night then!
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