DANCE CRITIQUE CORNER *not a gushing thread* - Page 12

Costumes

I just finished watching the episode and I gotta say it was pretty blah other than Darsheel-Avneet. They should have gotten the colourful jodi of the week and a higher score. If someone had given them a 10 I would not have objected. They were pretty flawless, Darsheel's stage presence is fantastic, his movements are clean and he has the best chemistry with his partner out of all the contestants (not to say I approve of KJo's obsession with a certain set of words and insinuations). Anyway to break it down:

Darsheel - Stupendous performance! I pretty much said everything above, about what made them so fabulous. Avni is wonderful because she is a superb dancer but never hogs the limelight, even inadvertently, though that is partly due to Darshee's electric stage presence and his amazing confidence. I just cannot say how much I loved this performance because it had a dash of everything. The only disadvantage was that everything that came after was a disappointment.

Jayati - *Deep breath* Ok. As a classical dancer, I have never been able to reconcile myself with the way that the entertainment industry mercilessly butchers multiple classical art forms in one fell blow and gets away with it. This piece was no different. First of all, the assignment to Divakar and Jayatiji was a total anomaly because TANDAV is not a dance form, unlike Salsa, Rumba, Tango, Lavani etc. it is a theme, handled differently in different forms. Tandav in khatak will be different from Tandava in Bharatanatyam. So what am I supposed to say about this performance? It is not Jayatiji or even Divakar's fault, but I just can't bring myself to comment on this performance because it is insulting that nobody on the show has a clue!

Pratyusha - I loved the song choice, the choreography and the costumes. Pratyusha was graceful and the song suited her baby doll looks and expressions to a tee. I am with Remo on this one though, she was not technically very sharp and her extensions needed to be better. Modern is more about communicating with your body rather than your face and the lack of energy she had in her body language was a drawback. It is a myth that graceful dancing does not require energy, in fact it requires more because you have to be so in control.

Isha - Meh. I know the judges were all over her and the act was technically flawless no doubt, as well as being really cool in terms of all the stunts, but am I being harsh if I say I expect that from her as a minimum and expect to see something above and beyond technical perfection in her performances? I continue to search for that something that touches my heart in her performances and I have not found it. Her expressions today were strange and I didn't love the song choice for that choreography either. I know I am being harsh on her, but with her background I think someone has to!

Sannath - Good to see some of the scores entering the same zip code as making sense.

Ravi - He was okay but he looked more comedic than anything and certainly did not deserve that 27. Good lord.

Omg I just loved Darsheel nd Avneet today, there performance was too cute!!!! Nd I have no words to describe the expressions Darsheel gives especially the 'maza baas ekh look pe hain' and Munni hai yah shelia hai'. They are just adorable together nd I hope they win. My best wishes with them throughout their journey together.

This was a better dance attack than the previous one!

I totally loved Isha and Salman's performance. It was exhilarating to watch after so many miserable performances. And this was the kind of drive that was missing in many pairs. Though, Isha's expression as she vanquishes the matador at the end seemed a bit weird.

Darsheel was totally upstaged by the little pataka - Avneet. His moves seemed loose and not as crisp and clean. It might not have shown if he were dancing by himself, but with Avneet beside him...But I like this pair better than many others.

I have never seen taandav with lifts. This was some sort of fusion dance. If we ignore the label, I'd say Jayati was not all that bad.

Pratyusha performance was nice and flowy, but not great! I agreed with the judges' evaluation. She seems like a delicate flower.

And I nearly fainted when they gave 2 6s to Sanath. For the first time, the judges put a stop to their love-fest and scored as they should. But, I should have known better. One ought to never lose faith in the judges so quickly. They never fail to use one of the Bias Meters I posted about in the earlier pages. Ravi Kissan got 3 9s. He got 9s for being a non-dancer? If that doesn't make you go cross-eyed...

And Ragini was so trying with her mind-numbing introduction about 'Deepak'. What the heck was that?

OK. Now I am sure that JDJ is trying to cover the flaws of celebrities. Both Sat and Sun the show was full of close up shots of celebrities while the act. This prevented from seeing most of the footwork or the coordination of the dancers. You dont need close up of the face to see the expressions. Its like they are trying to cover the flaws and trying to get more votes.

This Season Salman & Isha are the perfect pair, Salman is the real creative artist, they were mindblowing last night... 👏👏
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Darsheel & Avneet performed really well, they were amazing they deserved 27,

Bharti is complete entertainer

GC improved alot, Ravi Kishan getting 27 for that Tango.. was Unfair.. He deserves 24

Shibani & punit were good too 👍🏼

I get a feeling that they leave the better performances till the Sunday and show all the learners on Saturday...

From all the dancers on Saturday, I only liked Bharti's because it was genuinely done well. The rest were all ok... Susheel K needs to concentrate on his dancing more than comedy. I'm sorry but I know he does it all naively and what not but I really think he goes overboard. I'm actually glad Remo said that he can't say anything technically because Susheel is not dancer however, I think even 20 was a bit too much...

Sunday

Darsheel was too good. His partner Avneet (?) was amazing though! When they dance it doesn't even look like their kids! Im quite surprised that Darsheel is 16! He looks way too small to be that old...

Jayati - I agree that tandav is not a dance form but she was really good. It gets a little hard to judge cos all we have a conception or misconception of what the dance is like... I've been told Shivji also used to do tandav when he was extremely happy! So I fail to understand why anger is connected to tandav? Again, there's no true answer as dance is not one that can be compared nor is it a text book dance. But yes the performance was great.

Pratyusha - I maybe in the minority but because of her crying last week I'm put off her. I don't know if it was genuine or a sympathy appeal. Honestly, I just ffwded through her performance.

Sanathh - I think the judges were completely right, he had pretty basic stuff to do, he needs to do more... But he really can't dance lol and unlike Susheel I actually find his innocence convincing and not OTT. But at the end of the day, this show is all about dance.

Isha was good but then she's basically got the best choreographer (I do believe Salman is simply awesome). Isha has done Bollywood so she's familiar with dance/grace and everything related. Their performance was good but I don't like the song choice.

Ravi - he's so down to earth it's amazing and he has improved so much! Well deserved marks! Although I strongly believe he'll really be good when they do the fast beat Bollywood songs!

There's no better dancer than Madhuri and there never will be, she's puuurrrfect!

@Samana, I didn't know that the tandava differed according to the form of dancing. Thanks for the info...shouldn't the judges have been aware of it? At least Remo.😆And madhuri, if we think about it..as she's a classical dancer.

And yes, black or red should have been the color for the dance since it's a rudra roopam. jayanti did try very hard...I like her determination and her genuine responses.

I liked the dances on sunday more than those on saturday. Like someone here said...they seem to be saving the best for last.

I liked Isha and salman's dance..the costumes were great and the moves were beautiful...but are all those leg stretches...lovely though they were ...part of the pasa double? I like the charging bull moments though they were few...I was hoping for Salman to pull out that red cloth and wave it in her face...he was the matador, after all.

Isha looks cold most of the time..maybe that's why many here say that they can't seem to connect with her... and sometimes even unmoved when the judges comment on her.

Also the end was sudden...I didn't realise the bull had kiiled the matador till she carried him on her shoulders...which by the way, was quite stunning to see.

Love Avneet..she has the cutest smile and loveliest of moves...I have to confess that I hardly look at Darsheel...is he really 16? He looks like 13 to me...it took me quite a while to recall where I had seen Avneet before..she had a show on Like OK not long ago..she was much plumper then.

Sanath, Susheel...ok I won't go there...but both make me laugh...in a nice way.

Ravi's costume made me reach for my sunglasses but he was better than expected..liked what he said about being back in school...that guy can talk yet not sound like a bol bachan.

I like Prathyusha...she really is a delicate darling but not in an annoying way..though I wished she hadn't cried that day...it's going to hang over head like a cloud...at least Manish isn't going let her forget it that easily.

I must be one of the few who like Ragini's hosting...read somewhere that she relies heavily on the teleprompter...and why not..she's new to this unlike the seasoned Manish...who does go overboard...(hats off to Bharathi for putting up with his fat jokes)..really didn't like the watermelon reference...

Ragini does bring varying intonations to her voice...though her"hero worship' is getting a little stale, I liked the way she handed the rose to GC and the way he sprinkled the petals over her...that was sweet.

I loved loved love Isha-Salman Paso Doble~..