After Maksim left Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, I decided to do a little bit of healthy stalking on Youtube(completely healthy) which led me to some of Maksim's performance videos in DWTS. Most of the top rated ones were with a lady called Meryl Davis. After checking out their performances (more like watching each performance 10 times on Youtube and then downloading it, I reached an epiphany. A realization of sorts. That the international dancers do NOTHING extraordinary. Yes you heard me right. Nothing extraordinary.
Okay that sounded a tad bit too dramatic. But honestly every time we look at an international performance or look at international dancers we go "Ah they are a different breed. There is no way Indian dancers could match that standard." But since we are talking of JDJ here. I will speak in context of couple work. So when we see a couple dancing on DWTS, we go "Oh that is something else. No way can a dance like that be done on JDJ." What a load of bull. After watching all performances of Maksim and Meryl who were probably one of the highest rated contestants of DWTS of all times, I can definitely tell you that they don't do any abnormal out of this world dance. No their dance is very much normal. The spins, the lifts and the falls, none of them are as hard as we make them out to be. Every dancer and even non dancer with a little effort can do it. I have watched Shakti since her DID days and I know that Shakti can do each one of those spins and lifts with ease.
So then what goes wrong? Why despite everything, none of the performances on JDJ leaves an impression as deep? What goes wrong?
Well the DTWS choreographers have got their priorities straight and their formulas right. They stick to a single dance form! There have been some topics on the forum on how Indian dance form is not properly appreciated or showcased on the JDJ platform. How they are always mixed with something or the other and how they are never in their pure proper form. Agreed. But come to think of it, are Indian dance forms the only ones that are corrupted? Nope. Trust me, most times the dance forms that are presented to us as waltz, rumba, contemporary, tango, etc are anything but. Since I don't want to point out the faults of other celebs, I will point it out in a favorite of mine. The contestant I am supporting, shakti mohan. Her performance Kamli was visually appealing. But was it tango? Sadly I would have to answer that with a no. I have seen plenty of tangos being done in various forms. But I have never seen a tango done like that and I am pretty sure it is not supposed to be done like that. Tangos do not have that many lifts or as KJo said, showstopper moments. No tango is a slow buildup, an intense sensual dance form that is ALL ABOUT FOOTWORK. And not the tap dance kind but simple couple coordinated footwork. This is a tango for future reference. Watch it and you would know why I am ranting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSUmp-wq2IY
(I hope I am allowed to use this as an example as I saw someone else on the forum also giving examples)
Well, to come to the point. Why fusion? Why are they always opting for fusion in dance forms? They are mixing dance forms that are not supposed to go together. And resulting in a mess. Fusion one week is good but why always? Hell in the previous seasons, I have seen contemporary moves on a waltz and a rumba. And that too when the theme was not fusion. Basically, the choreographers don't want to get too involved into the technicalities of a dance form. So when it is a rumba, they put some rumba signature moves here and there, throw in some ridiculous lifts and postures that have nothing to do with that particular dance form and the rest comes out of their own head. Bam! You have a JDJ top standard performance. It might also have something to do with the horrible choice of music. Because it is almost mandatory that you have to dance to bollywood songs. Waltz have a special kind of music. So does foxtrot. And other dances. You don't try to cram waltz into a bollywood song. It results in deviation from its original techniques. Why not dance to instrumental music for a change? Or atleast modify the songs so it would somewhat fit the dance form. Song selection is essential but it is sadly ignored in JDJ. The latest hit songs are picked up and then people go on to ruin the song with a mismatched mess of a performance.
And how are the contestants benefitting from this khichdi?? Atleast if the choreographers stick to a single dance form, study it properly and then go on to teach the basic techniques of that dance form to a contestant and make them nail it. For example, foxtrot have some basics. When they pick it up as a dance form the choregrapher explains the basics of a foxtrot to the contestant and help them get it right, atleast it contributes to their learning curve. They now know what a foxtrot is and how to do it, albeit in a simple form. No one wants them to be an expert but atleast they will learn. Kritika recently left JDJ but I ask what did she learn in her three weeks? Did she get to learn any exclusive new dance form or its basics? I refuse to believe it. JDJ did not contribute in the least to her skills. Hell she was not even taught how to do a proper garba. It is not her fault.
Don't even get me started on connection between the couples. Shakti has been getting the most flak on this front but she is not the only one goofing up here. In a couple performance you are supposed to forget the fact that it is infact a performance. A couple dance for each other and not for the audience. When dancing in a couple, you are supposed to forget that an audience exists. And treat the whole dance floor like a ball room. Most of the performances I have seen till now treat the dance floor as a stage. Yes, you can completely see that they are dancing for the audience, the judges , everybody but themselves. They are dancing to entertain us. That is not the way it should be. They should dance and we should be the ones privileged enough to see them sharing that moment. The man leads, the woman follows. as old fashioned as that sounds, that is how couples are supposed to dance. Even if the focus is on the lady, the man leads. Here I see the girls dancing and using the men at times like pillars of support . Ah, well.
I guess the contestants and choreographers are not really to be blamed. I mean, the judges are supposed to be the driving forces. When the judges gush on performances that have less dance and more lifts and give it perfect scores, what will the choreos do? They know that it works on the stage and benefits them so they stick to it. And keep getting perfect scores on mediocre performances. JDJ is honestly the only wonderful show that rates mediocrity so high. Some judges here don't know their samba from their rumba, and their swing from their jive and they are supposed to judge the contestants. How is this logical?
JDJ has no dearth of potential. Everything any other internationally rated show is, JDJ can be with a little effort. But I guess mediocrity is what you get when you have mediocre judges(No hope there), mediocre contestants ( who can be extraordinary but they are not pushed enough) and mediocre standards. Only if one could have mediocre expectations.
P.S- You can agree or disagree but I would appreciate it if you present your opinions in a respectful manner.
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