DID Season 2 - My Recap - Page 3

Remember my friend the DDR champion. Another funny aspect is that when my friend plays DDR, it is nowhere close to dancing. In fact my friend has a stoic concentrated expression. It is almost as if someone right out of military boot camp is marching rigidly on the floor mat, with precision control military maneuvers. The funny thing about that is – the score is always perfect. For the lay observer its just baffling how someone can get perfect dancing points for the stiffest (albeit randomly fast and jarred) march past in history.

(Fun Fact: Now don't be assuming that just because it is an army it has to be boring militaristic and rigid. In fact folk dance and music is an intrinsic part of Red Army culture. It was a team building experience for the army to share culture in this way. Many dance anthropologists believe that street dancing as we know it today is most likely inspired by traditional Ukranian and Cossack folk dancing. The squats, the tricks, the b-boying stunts – were all moves rocked by the folk dancers in the red army way before they became a modern fad. The Alexandrov Ensemble is a prestigious male song and dance ensemble belonging to the Red Army. A century old tradition, Russians take great pride in their Alexandrov Ensemble. It is no wonder that when the Eurovision came to Moscow, the Red Army choir and Marching band performed with Russia's top pop artists – making everyone think Don't cha wish your army was hip like us)

Wild Card:

For some reason the wild card rounds in reality contests gets a lot of attention. Everyone seems to think that the wild card round is some sort of saving grace round. Sometimes some incredibly talented dancers get shockingly eliminated in earlier rounds. Hot favorites fade away inexplicably. So the wild card round appears to come up as some magical institution that will resurrect these fallen but deserving dancers. We expect some miracle of fates so that good deserving people get a second chance, a second shot to make their mark.

Get real. This is a reality show. Such things don't even happen in real life let alone reality show. A Wild Card as defined by the dictionary is a random unknown and unpredictable factor. In poker that means a joker can be laughing all the way to the bank as a king. The joker is still a joker, but that's the power of the wild card factor – it makes jokers into aces, kings and queens. That's why the real straight shooting hold em players frown upon wild cards.

The closest thing to how a wild card functions in a reality show is like a deadly game of Russian Roulette. They (the junta) hold a gun (wild card) to your head (the lowly viewer) and shoot (vote). If you are lucky you get saved (a good dancer is voted in) but if you are unlucky you are dead (WTF, who voted for them). The best thing about the reality show roulette is that there are five bullets and only one empty slot. You do the math for survival.

Now I have to admit, even I am nave and idealistic for some reason. I actually was really counting on Parvez and Vandana to return through the wild card round. Farina and Amrita were my other favorites too. So at the end of it all, the only one I was honestly and seriously excited to have back was Amrita. Teena should have never been picked over her.

What I liked about the Wild Card round was the master's pick as well as grandmasters pick. Surprisingly, I thought Mithun da's picks were much better. I really don't like the idea of all eliminated contestants having another shot. Oh well. Either way if the junta is voting anyway, why make masters pick the top performers. Why not make all of them dance off and let junta weed out and pick top 4. But no matter what we will amazingly have three teams of four each in the end, no matter how disparate the teams were going into it. Which makes me wonder, do we really need the round? I'm sure the producers can easily even out the teams. In fact why have dancers, let's use play doh and fill the gaps.

Most importantly, can we rename the Wild Card Round to the Russian Roulette Death Wish round. The latter name is more apt and realistic.

….to be continued

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Ladies and gentlemen and hooligans of the forum. Let me introduce myself, I'm Return To Hades and the Dark Overlord of Debate Mansion. I have not been around much as you can see from my signature I am expanding my Jedi mind powers to build my empire.

Anyway, we are down to the wire and I could not resist keeping away till after the Grand Finale. (This is where I wave my light saber angrily at Mithun da for not extending this further with his veto/recall powers). In the meantime so much time has passed. So many topics and pages, so many contestants eliminated and oh so much drama on here as usual. 😛 I've kept up with the show on television and some of the topics as a silent reader. That leaves me with so much on my mind to say. So instead of randomly spamming topics with interspersion of an epiphany I had weeks ago or reviving dead ghosts that some of you may want to leave exorcised, I thought I would create a topic to lay out my recap of the season. Likes, dislikes, pet peeves, what I want to see in the future, changes etc and all that jazz.

Before I proceed, a few words of caution. I usually have a lot on my mind, unfortunately the dancers don't leave me speechless like Mithunda (Although Terence actually does that, he also makes me drool like a hound dog and have my heart beat faster than a ticking time bomb). Point is I type way too much that if my posts were made into words, Amrita would be put to shame. Secondly as my sweets Ajnu says, I am full of sarcasm (with a surprising touch of compassion). Which means you may read me say something like Contestant (x-t) dances like an electrocuted monkey. So don' take it literally. Don't take it figuratively either. Please know that I mean no offense to electrocution or the monkey 😉😆

What is a Reality Show?

Lets begin with Genesis. So what are these reality shows and televised contest all about. A reality show is genius money minting scheme cooked up by television producers. Out of work soap script writers are hired to write cheesy oneliners and melodrama while the producers craftily write a script leading to the most money minting winner. Then the winner hits you like a yellow school bus even when you knew it was coming all along, c'est la vie, c'est reality TV.

So you might argue if it is all scripted, why do we watch and why do we vote. Its the same principle as watching 300, you know tall Spartans (good contestants) will die (get eliminated) in the end, but you get to see buff hot shirtless men (some good performances and loads of Terence). If you had a chance you would vote for King Leonidas (your favorite) even though he will die (get eliminated) , because after all he is King Leonidas and who would not vote for King Leonidas.

Let me interject here that I am above it all. I merely observe and report like Herodotus (if he was as cool as me). Although, I am not averse to waging a war (battle of the greater masters) for the kicks of it. 😆

PS: Terence is awesome like Leonidas.


......to be continued.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Kya likhte ho boss ! Are you a professional writer or something !

I kept making several DDR references throughout my posts so far. Some of you may have already figured answers, some of you may have looked things up. However, if you are still left wondering what was up with all that DDR ' here goes.

DDR explained:

There are two ways players approach DDR. One mode is called Perfect Attack. The scoring is based entirely on the percentage of perfect steps. Combo moves and style is irrelevant. The more perfect steps you have, the higher you are ranked. Actual dance skill is not important here. What is more important is the hand eye co-ordination and the ability to catch the beat. Perfect attack players practice with a focus on memorizing beat patterns and corresponding movements, their forte is catching the beat and moving right to it. American players tend to prefer perfect attack.

The second style of playing is called freestyle. The purpose of this style is to create a performance routine to entertain. Style, performing the combo moves fluidly is relevant. You actually need to be a good dancer with a sense of rhythm and choreographic movement for this. Sometimes the routine is preset, but a lot of time dancers improvise. Of course as the gameplay requires the dancer has to move their feet to the beat as illustrated on screen. However, instead of getting perfects the dancer focuses on actually dancing and creating a dance routine. Japanese and Europeans feel that freestyle is the real way to play DDR.

Typically, with practice free style players eventually increase their perfect percentage. However, the converse is not true. Not all perfect attack players are able to incorporate good free style dancing in their routine. The reason is that rhythm and musicality is a key feature in dancing. When referring to a good dancer one says they have 'rhythm' not 'beat'. Of course beats and BPM is not something that can be ignored in dance. A dancer who is not aware of BPM changes or when the percussion beats are is pretty much worthless.

My friend is a perfect attack player. My friend may not be a good dancer, but stepping in sync is easy. Similarly band guitarists like Herman Li never really focus on perfecting entire songs when they perform. Live performance is often very spontaneous and they will mistimed or even miss certain frets altogether. A machine programmed to recognize frets will catch it, but unless you are an audiophile ' you will never know the difference.

That is the difference between perfect attack and freestyle. Think about it when you play DDR, dance or watch dance. It's an interesting aspect to observe.

......to be continued

So far we have completed a holy journey through the history and meaning of reality shows. Hopefully, everyone has developed a refined understanding of reality shows and how the malfunction. We have delved into all the stages of this quest to find the greatest dancing star. We now enter the final stage. The top twelve and the rounds of voting. This is a massive stage. A behemoth in comparison to the rest. One that deserves a look ahead as well as a look back. So the final stage running down to the grand finale will be assessed as a comprehensive whole. Each segment delving into a different aspect.

Haute Couture:

In French haute coutoure refers to high fashion or exclusive custom made clothing. Loosely it can be referred to trend setting fashion. So here are a few very carefully chosen items that I declare as the haute couture of DID Season 2.

1) Talk the talk and walk the spiderwalk. Ah the Spiderwalk. One of the most legendary and iconic walks in cinematic history. The gutsiest and boldest of em all. Even the moonwalk pales in comparison. The last known execution of the Spiderwalk was done by one little girl Linda Blair (albeit aided by CGI) who gave people nightmares and had grown people retching in theater aisles.

Geeta's Veera Binny attempted a shorter and slower rendition of the spiderwalk in Pyar Tune Kya Kiya. Well the interwebs is full of failed and successful attempts at the iconic spiderwalk.

Binny may never go viral or be iconic or cause uncontrolled nightmares or retching. But thats so haute couture.

2) You can't touch this - You can't touch this pant. There is an unwritten law of the universe. A law which if broken is sacrilegious.

The Law: "If you wear MC Hammer Pants. You must perform the MC Hammer Slide".

The violator: Punit Pathak.

He donned the ever so infamous MC Hammer pants for his hip hop routine. But OMFG! Where was the slide? How could he miss the MC Hammer Slide? Blasphemy! Sacrilege! This is not done.

After having incurred the curse of the MC Hammer, Punit has only himself and mayhap Remo to blame if MC Hammer steals away the sunheri taqdeer ke topi going 'You Can't Touch This'

He will never get lucky with her either. A true haute couture faux pas.



3. Rah Rah ah ah ah, Roma romama ga ga ooh lala. You got the glasses! With chain mail sunglasses or cigarettes stacked on the eye. Coke cans piled on the head, and bras with pyrotechnics. If there is anyone haute couture in modern pop then its Lady Gaga with all the eccentricities.

Amrita your opaque sunglasses and outrageous outfit and moves for Ankhiya Na maar was absolutely gagaesque. I've been wanting Gaga all season and no one delivered it.

Unfortunately, though I think only Gaga can rock it being gaga. You were supposed to rock the caution tape not make me wrap it around my eyes.

That means - no more telephone calls for you. Its not that I don't like you (cos I really do) It's just that its a hot couture party.

.... to be continued

When it comes to the entire season of DID 2, there are several things that seriously irk me to no end. While some might be minuscule nitpicking, some of it almost drives me to the point of going postal on the entire franchise.

Pet Peeves:

1) Who knighted him? The Queen of Sheba?

Seriously, what is up with calling Dharmesh 'Sir'. Am I the only one unaware of the recognition conferred upon him. Alright, I get that he teaches dance and in that respect is a 'sir'. But why is everyone calling him 'sir'? Unless of course Mithun, the masters, the hosts and countless people here and there and everywhere are actually his students.

I get its a respect thing, but things like this tip the scale. See this is a contest. And for a contest to be fair everyone starts off on a level playing field. As a contestant you are just that, a contestant, nothing more, nothing less. You could have hundreds of international dance off championships under your belt or you could have just woken up and said, I think I'll dance today - when you enroll yourself as a contestant - you are no different from the rest. Nothing else should matter.

By calling Dharmesh 'Sir', everyone involved in doing so has unfairly tipped the scale in his favor. He has been elevated on a pedestal, where he should not be until the competition is done. The title 'sir' sticks out that he is different than the rest. The constant reminder of 'sir' falsely creates an aura that he has something others do not.

This is worse in a country like India where being a teacher or sir automatically elevates someone to an infallible position. We are ingrained to revere teachers and accept them as superior or knowledgeable. Critiquing them, finding flaws, evaluating them like ordinary people is unheard of. The average western student will have no second thoughts arguing with a teacher if they think the teacher is wrong. But in India even when absolutely positive one is right, questioning a teacher reigns heavy as an act of insubordination. This aura of superiority built around teachers in India, unfairly promotes Dharmesh as less fallible and superior to others and makes people second guess themselves to question him. If not outright, it is a subliminal psychological factor that plays part.

In all honestly, anyone who believes in level playing fields and eliminating unfair advantages will know that Dharmesh is Dharmesh, a contestant. No 'sir', no nothing, no one else.

2) Oh Boy, b-boy!

This is another misconception that seriously irks the bejesus out of me. First and foremost, Boeing is an aircraft manufacturer and boing boing is popular website. The correct term is b-boying. It may seem a minor glitch, but its very relevant.

Secondly, I've heard people ask why don't girls do more b-boying. The simple answer is that they cannot. Now before people get all up in arms against me for that misogynist statement, let me state that I am a girl and that girls cannot perform b-boying is perfectly politically correct and no feminist can argue against that.

Why? That is because b-boying is not a dance 'genre'. It is a dance 'term'. Male street dancers are break-dancing boys. It became break-boy or b-boy in its shortest. When he dances it is b-boying. So unless a girl is actually a boy, she really cannot be a boy or b-boy can she? A break dancing girl is called a fly girl.

The gender neutral correct usage for this genre of dance is break dancing or breaking. Unfortunately, due to the large number of male performers compounded with the lack of proper understanding and classification of street dancing and street culture b-boying a 'term' became a colloquial word to refer to a genre.

Similarly hip-hop is not a single 'genre'. Breaking, locking and popping, and other funk and street styles are all part of African American and Latino influenced music and dance genre called hip hop.

3) Whats with all the hip hop?

This is somewhat related to the above, but goes on a different tangent. Honestly though, what is with hip hop. It seems like every other Indian is smitten with this hip hop bug. Hip hop is the latest cool fad. All of a sudden it is the in thing to dress like a gangsta and bust a move.

Let me tell you up front, I cannot stand hip hop. It is one of the most ridiculous and degrading of all dance and music genres. Whats up with all the whining and bumping and grinding? What is up with all that singing about ghetto booties and shimmy and shaking that thang? What is up with loops of the n-word and f-word set to a beat? What is up with lyrics like superman that ho set to the kindergarten tune of inie meenie miny mo? The music industry is gift wrapping this garbage and selling it to the world and it is through this pathetically degrading hip hop that youth are getting into the trend of hip hop culture.

Why do I hate hip hop so much? Because modern hip hop music and dance culture that is being sold to the youth of the world is nothing like authentic culture. Many original hip hop artistes from the hey day, as well as many modern youth lament the sell out of ethnic artistes to the music industry and ruining hip hop culture.

Hip-hop started as a culture in the Bronx. It was a movement of self expression. At its inception it was to be a channel and means for gang members and youth from underprivileged families to channel their frustrations positively. It was to be a means to revisit and reinterpret their culture and heritage through music and dance. It started as an African American movement, but over time Latinos, Asians and other minorities joined in shaping and influencing the culture.

Graffiti was not meant to be vandalism. It was created to express political opinions and social messages through street art. Rapping originates in spoken word poetry or poetry slam, where youth penned down their feelings, their frustrations, their world views, their opinions and narrated it rhythmically. Hip Hop culture gave it beats and created rap music. Breaking and all related styles were means to channel rage and social competitiveness.

Unfortunately, hip hop gained popularity even with the white majority of the population. The industry took notice and commercialized it and ruined an entire culture to degradation.

If you got mesmerized with modern hip hop or got taken in by the trend thats sweeping everywhere - so be it. Although, take the time to know truly where it started and how it came to be. The fact is before it was a trend, it was a culture. Respect it at that level. Try to stop following the sell out artists and enjoying hip hop as it was socially, historically and culturally meant to be.

For starters watch this documentary on B-boying history.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

When it comes to the entire season of DID 2, there are several things that seriously irk me to no end. While some might be minuscule nitpicking, some of it almost drives me to the point of going postal on the entire franchise.

Pet Peeves:

1) Who knighted him? The Queen of Sheba?

Seriously, what is up with calling Dharmesh 'Sir'. Am I the only one unaware of the recognition conferred upon him. Alright, I get that he teaches dance and in that respect is a 'sir'. But why is everyone calling him 'sir'? Unless of course Mithun, the masters, the hosts and countless people here and there and everywhere are actually his students.

I get its a respect thing, but things like this tip the scale. See this is a contest. And for a contest to be fair everyone starts off on a level playing field. As a contestant you are just that, a contestant, nothing more, nothing less. You could have hundreds of international dance off championships under your belt or you could have just woken up and said, I think I'll dance today - when you enroll yourself as a contestant - you are no different from the rest. Nothing else should matter.

By calling Dharmesh 'Sir', everyone involved in doing so has unfairly tipped the scale in his favor. He has been elevated on a pedestal, where he should not be until the competition is done. The title 'sir' sticks out that he is different than the rest. The constant reminder of 'sir' falsely creates an aura that he has something others do not.

This is worse in a country like India where being a teacher or sir automatically elevates someone to an infallible position. We are ingrained to revere teachers and accept them as superior or knowledgeable. Critiquing them, finding flaws, evaluating them like ordinary people is unheard of. The average western student will have no second thoughts arguing with a teacher if they think the teacher is wrong. But in India even when absolutely positive one is right, questioning a teacher reigns heavy as an act of insubordination. This aura of superiority built around teachers in India, unfairly promotes Dharmesh as less fallible and superior to others and makes people second guess themselves to question him. If not outright, it is a subliminal psychological factor that plays part.

In all honestly, anyone who believes in level playing fields and eliminating unfair advantages will know that Dharmesh is Dharmesh, a contestant. No 'sir', no nothing, no one else.

2) Oh Boy, b-boy!

This is another misconception that seriously irks the bejesus out of me. First and foremost, Boeing is an aircraft manufacturer and boing boing is popular website. The correct term is b-boying. It may seem a minor glitch, but its very relevant.

Secondly, I've heard people ask why don't girls do more b-boying. The simple answer is that they cannot. Now before people get all up in arms against me for that misogynist statement, let me state that I am a girl and that girls cannot perform b-boying is perfectly politically correct and no feminist can argue against that.

Why? That is because b-boying is not a dance 'genre'. It is a dance 'term'. Male street dancers are break-dancing boys. It became break-boy or b-boy in its shortest. When he dances it is b-boying. So unless a girl is actually a boy, she really cannot be a boy or b-boy can she? A break dancing girl is called a fly girl.

The gender neutral correct usage for this genre of dance is break dancing or breaking. Unfortunately, due to the large number of male performers compounded with the lack of proper understanding and classification of street dancing and street culture b-boying a 'term' became a colloquial word to refer to a genre.

Similarly hip-hop is not a single 'genre'. Breaking, locking and popping, and other funk and street styles are all part of African American and Latino influenced music and dance genre called hip hop.

3) Whats with all the hip hop?

This is somewhat related to the above, but goes on a different tangent. Honestly though, what is with hip hop. It seems like every other Indian is smitten with this hip hop bug. Hip hop is the latest cool fad. All of a sudden it is the in thing to dress like a gangsta and bust a move.

Let me tell you up front, I cannot stand hip hop. It is one of the most ridiculous and degrading of all dance and music genres. Whats up with all the whining and bumping and grinding? What is up with all that singing about ghetto booties and shimmy and shaking that thang? What is up with loops of the n-word and f-word set to a beat? What is up with lyrics like superman that ho set to the kindergarten tune of inie meenie miny mo? The music industry is gift wrapping this garbage and selling it to the world and it is through this pathetically degrading hip hop that youth are getting into the trend of hip hop culture.

Why do I hate hip hop so much? Because modern hip hop music and dance culture that is being sold to the youth of the world is nothing like authentic culture. Many original hip hop artistes from the hey day, as well as many modern youth lament the sell out of ethnic artistes to the music industry and ruining hip hop culture.

Hip-hop started as a culture in the Bronx. It was a movement of self expression. At its inception it was to be a channel and means for gang members and youth from underprivileged families to channel their frustrations positively. It was to be a means to revisit and reinterpret their culture and heritage through music and dance. It started as an African American movement, but over time Latinos, Asians and other minorities joined in shaping and influencing the culture.

Graffiti was not meant to be vandalism. It was created to express political opinions and social messages through street art. Rapping originates in spoken word poetry or poetry slam, where youth penned down their feelings, their frustrations, their world views, their opinions and narrated it rhythmically. Hip Hop culture gave it beats and created rap music. Breaking and all related styles were means to channel rage and social competitiveness.

Unfortunately, hip hop gained popularity even with the white majority of the population. The industry took notice and commercialized it and ruined an entire culture to degradation.

If you got mesmerized with modern hip hop or got taken in by the trend thats sweeping everywhere - so be it. Although, take the time to know truly where it started and how it came to be. The fact is before it was a trend, it was a culture. Respect it at that level. Try to stop following the sell out artists and enjoying hip hop as it was socially, historically and culturally meant to be.

For starters watch this documentary on B-boying history.

You seriously did not think I would be done with merely three pet peeves did you. As a hypercritical person there is a lot more that annoys me, especially with reality shows. So here goes nothing

Pet Peeves 2:

4) Feet off the ground, feet off the ground, looking like fools with their feet off the ground.

Now unlike some people, I am not against aerial acts. I do not feel that aerial acts and stunts are intended only for a circus. Dance is the rhythmic movement of body. There is figure skating, and when you add musicality it becomes ice dancing. There is gymnastics and when you add musicality it becomes floor routines or cheerleading. Similarly, there are circus acrobatics but with musicality added it becomes dance routines.

As a matter of fact the ability to do aerial acts is a mark of a good dancer. One of the primary skill taught in dancing is 'balance' and 'posture'. If you learned classical dances like Bharatnatyam, ballet or even classical ballroom ' the basics involve how to hold your body, being aware of your center of gravity, correctly distributing weight for perfect posture. Even street dancers and other forms focus on balance so that they can do tricks and stuff without falling over. It also prevents them from hurting themselves and breaking body parts. Some dancers will actually practice on balance bars or parallel bars to perfect posture and balance.

This makes aerial acts a perfect test for an advanced dancers skill set in balance and posture. The best dancers can confidently dance at heights, hanging from things because they know how to balance their body and maintain posture. They do it with ease and flow.

However, there are some things that literally make you go WTF! What were you thinking. One stick out act that made me feel that way was GKG's Black act. It was nothing but three petrified people hanging in the air, being forced to move. Their faces were nervous wrecks and they were cautiously moving scared stiff lest they fall or miss something. There was absolutely no dancing since movement itself was a frightful chore. Clearly all three were being pushed well beyond their natural abilities simply to create a wow factor ' but ended up looking like utter fools.

5) What dance is this?

Continuing on from my pet peeve above, another major irritant is the lack of genre and dance clarity.

Firstly wow factors are unfair advantages ' because the thing is some people think dangling in the sky or standing on your hand is pretty amazing even if there is no dance whatsoever. Secondly, you have to compare apples to apples. Many dance forms do not incorporate lifts or stunts. Also people tend to have some undue penchant for funk styles like breaking, locking popping or nautch styles in comparison to classical or some ballroom styles.

Not only are we failing to compare apples to apples, we end up comparing meat vs fruit vs candy vs beverage most episodes. IF DID wants to promote dance, they have to move away from gimmicks and focus on genre and clarity.

Incorporate some stringent yet simple rules:

Feet on the ground at all times. No aerial acts, no stunts or tricks. There will be special episodes for people to show case their ability to do so. Lifts are a common part of ballroom and duets and will be allowed. However, there will be episodes where no lifts will be allowed in duets either.

Episodes will be genre centric. Instead of stupid themes or going nuts about celebrity guests, focus on dance. Each episode will have a genre theme such as Indian classical, Western Classical, Indian Folk, Western Folk, Hip Hop/Street styles, Latin, Ballroom, New Age/Contemporary, Club/House and so on. This way no one dancer will be unfairly accused of playing to their strength, nor will any dancer get to create unfair awe due to their styles popularity.

6) Use the stage not the stadium

A major irritant this season was dancing that was all over the place. There is a stage, and it is a pretty big stage. It has stairs, it has slides, it has bars, it has trampoline, it has open space, it has narrow space, it has everything you need to dance. The stage is meant for dancing and that's where you will dance. I don't care a damn if there is backstage areas or places amidst the audience or outside the stage arena. In fact it pisses me off majorly when you dance everywhere but the stage. That's not dancing, but very nauseatingly annoying gimmicks. We have three talented and creative masters, why are they utilizing this crap instead of the stage.

No! No! No! It must stop right away. Otherwise I will have Len Goodman come and spank some sense into all you three.

7) What's the score?

I am not sure why they stopped the scoring system. A scoring system is by no means perfect. However, scores are the best available objective quantifier. A judge takes their subjective critique and quantifies it into a number. This number lets the contestant and the junta know where that contestant stands.

The problem is that judges are being unfairly ambiguous. They leave a contestant confused and wondering if they did well or not. Well attempted, you did good, best of luck, I would like you to stay etc have no freaking meaning to a contestant. They want to know exactly how they did. It is not fair to leave them stranded wondering what exactly you thought and what liked or did not like. So if it sucked go ahead give them a 4 or a 5. Let the contestant know they have to work at it. If you liked it, give them a 8 or a 9 or a 10. Let them know they actually nailed it.

Scores also force judges to be more precise in feedback instead of just wishy washy comments that make no sense. A judge who gives a low score has to express what was lacking and why the cut points. A judge giving a high score has to express what they liked and why it is scoring so high. They cannot hide behind ambiguous comments. It puts out a really constructive analysis for contestants and they gain better awareness of strengths and weaknesses.

8) The difference between slutty and sexy

Audiences and sometimes the masters tend to lack the understanding of the fine lines between slutty and sexy. Sometimes people will be ridiculously old fashioned, while sometimes people go explicitly over the top. Where is the balance?

There is nothing wrong in being sexy or sensual. There is nothing wrong in flaunting or revealing it a little. Human body and sexuality has its own raw aesthetic appeal. There is artistry involved in sensual dances like rumba and other intimate couples dances. Even dances for provocative entertainment like a pole dance or a strip tease can be done tastefully.

The key operative is it being tasteful. Think about people you know in real life or see. There are women who wear short skirts, show a bit of cleavage, men who like to leave their shirts unbuttoned or show off their built. Some of them are turn offs as too pretentious, showy or downright slutty. Yet amidst them there are those who stick out as attractive, beautiful, classy and elegant. It all goes down whether it is tastefully executed. Dance works in similar ways, when done right by a good choreographer it can be extremely sexy and provocative, yet maintain the classy elegance ' at other times it is just gagworthy.

Considering Little Masters is around the corner - when it comes to kids it is more challenging. Unfortunately, due to the world we live in young kids are also exposed to certain things that they should not be. Sometimes kids imitate what they see. However, even in their inappropriate imitation ' children often maintain their innocence. The girl on screen pulled of her jacket and threw it off and now your little boy or girl does it the same way. Most likely the child does not understand the concept of 'stripping' or trying to 'seduce'. Up to a certain stage it just a game of imitation. It looks fun so they do it. By getting all heated up over it, making them stop or throwing a fuss over it can invade their innocence. You are trying to get them to understand social norms and rules that they don't understand and ending their childhood ignorant bliss too soon.

But innocent imitation is one thing. By no means should a child be objectified or trained to dance or behave in a provocative manner. If a parent is intentionally teaching a child to act sexy and objectifying themselves ' they definitely need to be severely reprimanded. However, it is of utmost importance for judges, parents and viewers to know the difference between innocent imitation and trained provocation.

9) Save the last dance?

It is touching and sentimental to have a contestant comeback for a last dance. At the same time it is extremely awkward and does not make sense. It just seems odd for a contestant to come back for one last dance. Most contestants have been graceful and have comeback with the nothing to lose attitude and executing it with perfection. At the same time I am sure it is extremely emotionally overwhelming and they deserve space to come to terms with it. A person has the right to a clean break if they need it. So do like how it usually is done ' group/couple dance on Friday. Solos and elimination on Saturday. When eliminated contestant has a choice to perform a last dance of their accord that day or just leave it at that.

10) Is the train leaving?

This season started normally, but became bizarrely rushed as time went by. Seriously what was the rush. The top twelve fizzled away like blur till we hit the final four. Nothing really stood out, nothing created awe or excitement, nothing has really sunk in and registered. Even the special episodes were lack luster and did not have the same excitement as last year. What happened to a recall or veto? Maybe for viewers it was another week more, but for some deserving dancers like Kruti it could have been a fair second chance.

Should there not be a prelude to the grand finale that builds up excitement. Let the top four dance of and show off a bit more. Last years kadmon ki boli episode was memorable. I can still recollect Jai's tap dance and Alisha's Flamenco. I don't think I will remember anyone from this year. Not Shakti, not Dharmesh.

To be honest, I think Little Masters has been poorly timed and conceived. The process has been rushed so that producers can mint more money out of interest in dancing children. Masters have had to balance current show with the Little Masters auditions. The result is that precious time that masters have to work with this years contestants was stolen and wasted on something that could have waited. Because of that contestants have been deprived of a chance to do something memorable and extraordinary with a little more time and effort from masters.

Please do not rush through contests Take it slow and easy. Give the contestants room to dance, grow and flourish to the best of their abilities. But who am I kidding, this is just a money minting and TRP screen deviously hidden in a contest that pretends to actually care about dance.

.....to be continued

RTH Bravo and very well written...Where is the smiley for Bowing down girl....This is what I was missing for last several weeks you were gone...Unbiased straight up candid comments...

Alright, after a few days of break, I am continuing on with my view of this second season. Now the next few installments are going to deal with criticism. Criticism, constructive or not for some reason tends to be some sort of 'dirty' word on these reality show forums. We tend to live in some sort of alternate reality where criticism has nothing to do with growth opportunities and learning, but is all about bashing. Moreover bizarrely criticism of ones favorite is always blasphemy, but the same of ones least favorites is the will of god.

First let us learn what criticism is. Criticism is a critical analysis. That is an in depth analysis of flaws and merits. Criticism is good. It is an artists dream come true. Criticism in its neutral form is a means for someone to know where they stand. It is a means to know quality of work and achievement. A benchmark to identify areas for improvement.

We are human however and criticism comes in two forms - constructive and destructive. The former is meant to encourage and push into better things. The other is meant to discourage and smother someone down. Thats why you listen to Lincoln who said, if half the people think you have done too much and half the people think you have done too little, you have done just about right. It all balances out.

Criticism is even more challenging when it comes to the arts. Art is subjective. There are methods and techniques - but there are no hard and fast rules. It all is a matter of personal preference. Even personal preference is so varied.

I often cite the example of my Harry Potter opening night movie group. A hodge podge of people from all over who come together due to their love for JKR, Harry Potter and spend an entire day out waiting for a movie - even if it means losing some digits to mother nature. There is a small subgroup amidst us who love Twilight, but the rest abhor the thought of it. Me and a few others form another counter group who is into the Russian series Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. Even though we have one common literary passion - outside of it our tastes are disparate. And even though I rate Night Watch much higher than Harry Potter - I've read Harry Potter a gazillion more times. Perhaps proving a point that sometimes it is just entertainment that matters.

So without much further ado

Master Class:

Remo D'souza

Remo was my least favorite mentor in season one. I never had a problem with his choreography, but I found him lacking in a healthy competitive spirit. He completely over did Prince and his locking and popping, conveniently creating and riding on a trend wave through the season. He kept shielding flaws in his team especially Prince and Salman, as if in a bid to make his team look better. Even early on in this season he irked me significantly by not being fair in his bottom two choices. Moreover, his team seemed to lack the team spirit and sportsmanship and did not seem to gel well as other teams did.

Nevertheless he grew on this season and a completely different side of him emerged. Perhaps last season was the raw season as a reality show newb and he grew into himself and flowered this season. Perhaps the uncanny hype around Dharmesh gave him a humbling lesson on what it feels to be on the other side of a freak trend wave.

When it comes to the hip-hop styles Remo is one of the best that there is in India. I think he has done a commendable job of bringing together the various styles of hip-hop culture and presenting it to Indian audiences. He may be a task master but he has proven that despite that he is a pretty jovial and supportive mentor. One of his impressive skills is to break people out of their traditional molds and get them to do something more up beat and different.

This season Remo's Waterloo has been the inability to bring together creativity and execution. On the whole he has had some really creative concepts that could have been mesmerizing if executed well from the Gopeshwar act, to the lyrical hp hop, to the day he had Dharmesh, to many of Punits acts throughout - the concept was there - but the execution faltered making it unappealing. When he does execute it, he executes it brilliantly - last season no matter how repetitive Prince had been or how nauseating Salman and his smiley face had become - no one can deny that when they performed what was given to them - they executed it with master class. Prince's locking and popping had the finish and finesse to it that I have to say Dharmesh lacked on several occasions. But the problem was there was no creativity or variety to Prince.

Remo has the creative mind as well as the dance talent to pull it off. What he needs to work on is the marriage of creativity and execution. Here's hoping that in season 3 Remo gets the equation right and finally gives us something memorable, something Remo.

Geeta Kapoor

Oh Geeta, Geet, Geeta, she definitely is the doting mother of the show. Someone who is not just a master but nurtures and nourishes her dancers like they were her children. Despite how much she is adored, the fact remains that Geeta is the weakest link amidst the masters. The sad thing is that she does not need to be. She truly has a lot of potential within her, and I feel he is doing far less than she actually can. I think she is a classic case of insecurities smothering potential. I think she has let her insecurities bog her down and prevent her from reaching all that potential within her.

Geeta, why so insecure? You have under your belt Indian classical as well as Bollywood. Two forms that I would call the pillars of dance in India. Indian classical is our history, our culture, our tradition. Not only are these forms rich in history, but are so aesthetically pleasing and display such exquisite techniques. Then Bollywood, it maybe like a red headed stepchild at times - but in introspect it is a melting pot of various Indian cultures, other influences that can be a delicious concoction in itself.

Perhaps the fear is that today's youth have no appreciation for traditional old school Indian dance. It is too vanilla for them. The only way to expose them to classical dance is to wrap it in some flashy modern package that is cool and hip. Maybe Bollywood is too cheesy and childish for Indians who want slick stuff.

Don't let that get to you. The fact that Kruti's Bharatnatyam won best solo and mesmerized thousands of people proves that there is still hope for classical dance. So all you have to do is put your head down and do what you do best. If it means a pure classical routine then so be it. The problem with reality shows is that everyone is so heated up with whats popular, whats in, what will win that no one does what they do best. No one looks the other way and says I'll do it my way. That leads to insecurity about what others think and takes people away from their own strengths.

Finally don't be so hard on those who attempt classical. Remember that many are trying it for the first time. If we want Indian classical dance to grow again, we have to encourage everyone to try and try more. That does not mean discredit the mistakes, of course point it out stringently - but show a little more love for their attempts and make it such that they want to try and try again till they nail it.

Here's hoping that in Season 3 Geeta can get over herself, fully reach her own potential and find the confidence to shine on her own with some great Indian dancing.

Terence Lewis

Ah my favorite finally and perhaps the favorite of hundreds and thousands more. Terence is by no means a perfect or complete dancer, but what makes him great is that he is a complete master. Passionate about dance, passionate about perfection, passionate about breaking new ground and always instilling that passion with whomever he works.

He is definitely the most constructive of all masters. His good points and bad points, the laughing stock for many is actually what sets him apart. When it comes to dance he does not believe in short changing anyone, everything has its merits and weaknesses and he will spell it out so that the only way to go is up. Any student, sportsman or artist will concur that we need more masters like this who give real useful feedback and not empty encouragement/discouragement.

Speaking of which I was very bummed that we did not get to see much of his critiques this season. Terence if you are holding back because of all the jokes thrown your way, don't. If you are worried that the junta cannot truly understand criticism, don't. Just speak your mind and lay out your complete critique. It is for the best.

Terence too has his weaknesses though. I feel his weakness is being trapped in his comfort zone. As a contemporary dancer he has a lot more creativity and confidence in contemporary. He is also best equipped to train the contemporary techniques. He tends to let himself get into the contemporary zone. Even when he tries something new, he keeps it close to his comfort zone. It makes sense to take small steps into something new, but I think Terence is a far more accomplished dancer to have to take baby steps. Moreover, I've seen a finesse for ballroom styles in Terence's choreography. He creates chemistry that you have two dancers moving together as one. His Paso Doble and Bhojpuri Salsa were creative and well executed. To break out of his comfort zone he should attempt various styles of ballroom and Latin couple dances. Not only will he provide great entertainment but he will avoid being accused of excessive contemporary.

Heres looking forward to Terence introducing us to new styles of world dances in Season 3.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

When it comes to the entire season of DID 2, there are several things that seriously irk me to no end. While some might be minuscule nitpicking, some of it almost drives me to the point of going postal on the entire franchise.

Pet Peeves:

1) Who knighted him? The Queen of Sheba?.

2) Oh Boy, b-boy!



3) Whats with all the hip hop?

This is somewhat related to the above, but goes on a different tangent. Honestly though, what is with hip hop. It seems like every other Indian is smitten with this hip hop bug. Hip hop is the latest cool fad. All of a sudden it is the in thing to dress like a gangsta and bust a move.

Let me tell you up front, I cannot stand hip hop. It is one of the most ridiculous and degrading of all dance and music genres. Whats up with all the whining and bumping and grinding? What is up with all that singing about ghetto booties and shimmy and shaking that thang? What is up with loops of the n-word and f-word set to a beat? What is up with lyrics like superman that ho set to the kindergarten tune of inie meenie miny mo? The music industry is gift wrapping this garbage and selling it to the world and it is through this pathetically degrading hip hop that youth are getting into the trend of hip hop culture.

Why do I hate hip hop so much? Because modern hip hop music and dance culture that is being sold to the youth of the world is nothing like authentic culture. Many original hip hop artistes from the hey day, as well as many modern youth lament the sell out of ethnic artistes to the music industry and ruining hip hop culture.

Hip-hop started as a culture in the Bronx. It was a movement of self expression. At its inception it was to be a channel and means for gang members and youth from underprivileged families to channel their frustrations positively. It was to be a means to revisit and reinterpret their culture and heritage through music and dance. It started as an African American movement, but over time Latinos, Asians and other minorities joined in shaping and influencing the culture.

Graffiti was not meant to be vandalism. It was created to express political opinions and social messages through street art. Rapping originates in spoken word poetry or poetry slam, where youth penned down their feelings, their frustrations, their world views, their opinions and narrated it rhythmically. Hip Hop culture gave it beats and created rap music. Breaking and all related styles were means to channel rage and social competitiveness.

Unfortunately, hip hop gained popularity even with the white majority of the population. The industry took notice and commercialized it and ruined an entire culture to degradation.

If you got mesmerized with modern hip hop or got taken in by the trend thats sweeping everywhere - so be it. Although, take the time to know truly where it started and how it came to be. The fact is before it was a trend, it was a culture. Respect it at that level. Try to stop following the sell out artists and enjoying hip hop as it was socially, historically and culturally meant to be.

For starters watch this documentary on B-boying history.

Boy...you do write a lot! In general....I think your views are interesting and many I would agree with but... I disagree with your view on Hiphop. You don't like it...that is fine. The words are garbage in some songs..., and not fit for kids, I agree. But Hip Hop is not about words (not to me)...it is a form of expression...., and it is a dance form, and shaking booties is not a bad thing. All dance forms lead to humans shaking and moving parts of their bodies in creative ways. All variations of Hip Hop are also interesting ..variations give an artist a way to get creative...put their own interpretation to the dance form. Sure Hip Hop has an origin....a history...but no harm in enjoying the dance for dance nothing else.