DID Season 2 - My Recap - Page 4

Originally posted by: MsUniverse

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.

Yes,I always failed miserably when it came to answer in brief at school. Essays were easier though. 😆

I don't think you completely got the gist of what I tried to say with hip hip. I don't dislike hip-hop per say. I dislike what it is made to be in conventional pop. My problem is not with shaking of anything. My problem is with hip hop and rap genres that have degraded to nothing but objectifying women and singing about them in a derogatory manner.

I'm not even against variations. In fact I think people don't get that hip-hop is a culture that has many variations. And of course nothing like dancing for the joy of it. To me knowing more about a dance form/music increases my enjoyment. For others it does not matter much. But more importantly I want to clarify the origins of hip-hop for other people out there. Some who may just want to know - and also to clarify for some who look down on the form for the way pop presents it.

And yeah it does break my heart that the degraded form of hip-hop is what makes it so popular. But hey it does not stop me from breaking out into a good round of Sir-Mix-A-Lot with sprinklings of David Guetta.

You don't have to agree with me, I only wanted to clarify that I don't actually 'hate' hip-hop.

Oh Mithun Duh!

Ah! Our dear Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell deserves a story of her own. Where else can we find a lost little Disney Princess braving a vapid and vicious vampire world. A very bizarre vampire world nonetheless. Thankfully, there are no sparkling vampires. But we do have one very sparkling sunheri taqdeer ke topi and a vicious war to achieve it.

(Actually, I have just decided that I'm going to confer the title of Volturi on the DID crew. Aro, Caius and Marcus are the three mentors. Terence as Aro, the freakish leader with great intuition. Remo is Marcus, the one who senses relationships. Geeta is Caius, whose powers are yet unknown. Jai and Sowmyaa are Jane and Alec. Just like Jane causes pain, Jai does so by opening his mouth.)

So what is Tinkerbell doing amidst the Volturi and why does he have such command over Jane and the rest of them. Even the Volturi wonder what twisted warped mind has penned a fantasy that puts the fate of even the entire Volturi clan in the hands of one Tinkerbell. Such is the power of scripted reality that could put even the Meyeresque oddities to shame. (Makes me wonder, do fans imprint on their favorite dancer).

Now our Tinkerbell here is quite special actually. It was not Elvis but Mithun duh who discovered the pelvis and introduced it to the nation. He not only discovered the pelvis, but thrust and gyrated taking it to rhythms no pelvis has gone before. In his time Mithun was a great dancing star. Films like Disco Dancer created a new trend of dance cinema and became hit sensation. While the quality of the film is questionable it has reached the status of cult classic. The kind of film which is so bad that it is so good - kind of like the Army of Darkness and Evil Dead Series. (Wait did I just compare Disco Dancer to Zombie flicks?)

Either way thats the past. The truth is that beyond the cult sensation of Disco dancing, Mithun has not achieved much in the realm of dancing. One wonders amidst so many cinematic stars who have gained acclaim as accomplished dancers - why does the show pick one fading yesteryear star whose minimal dance knowledge can prove to be ridiculously detrimental to the dancers.

This is where we have to hold our horses one moment. In that sense how different is Mithun duh from all of us. We the viewers who pass so many judgments on here and everywhere, who the heck are we? What the heck do we know about dance? How many of us are actually trained in dance? How many of us truly know what we talk about? But we do pass on many opinions and judgments.

But that exactly is the key. We are all ordinary humble people. We may not know much, but we share a passion for dancing. It may not be astutely trained, but we have our tastes, our likes and dislikes and our own view on dancing. Barring a few, we try to express ourselves with sincerity. And who better than Mithun da to sit at the helm as a representative of the humble folk - a simple ordinary person who made it with nothing but his passion for dancing.

So no matter how much he lacks in knowledge or aptitude, one thing for sure is that Mithun da functions like a junta machine - representing the ordinary views of the ordinary person. Of course he is a goof and the butt of all jokes. Of course sometimes he makes everyone have those WTF moments. Of course he makes us snicker at his ridiculous outfits and constipated looks. Of course we roll over with laughter at the absurdities that spew out of his mouth. But the truth is despite it all he judges with compassion and fairness. There is not much negative holding back or ambiguity from him. Please him a little and he is jumping around like a child on a massive sugar rush. Most of all he makes us laugh and keeps us perpetually entertained.

So heres to all the Grand Salutes and to all the Kya Baats. Theres dozens out there and we could do with dozens more. Sometimes you don't need something rare and precious. All you have to do is put yourself in the shoes of a child discovering their cheap plastic toy in their cheap kiddie meal like panning for gold. So lets add to the joy of happy meals and plastic toys in this world. At the end of this just stand up and grandsalute whatever and invent your own kya baat kya baat kya baat.

In fact make Kya baat a way of life. Every time you watch the news and hear of octamoms and health care over hauls laugh and say kya baat kya baat kya baat. When you vote or file your taxes just grand salute everyone and say kya baat kya baat kya baat. Birthday ho ya shaadi, mubarak baat deni ho to bhaiya salute marke bolo kya baat kya baat kya baat.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

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: Dabulls23

Another wonderful post...I felt as if you were writing what I was thinking and wanted to say...I might have written something similar shorter post but not as well...So thank you for your indepth analysis-write ups on all 3 mentors and I 100 % am in agreement with you including our own favorite Terence Lewis 😃

Thanks for taking time in putting your thoughts out in such a clear, concise manner...Appreciate it and love reading them..👏

@ Oh My dearest beloved Mithun Duh-Tinkerbell...😆 What an apt name 👏

Exctly my resons for liking him....He represents aam janta...Nimrods and bafoons all those who loves dancing...

For this post you get Kya baat kya baat kya baat and Grand Salute my dear RTH...

Thanks Varsha Ma, ah let me tell you when I read many of your posts too, I find myself nodding in concurrence. Btw have I told you I love your creation 'Nimrod'. 😃

Haha, I think you are one of the few people with infinite patience to read my posts though. 😆 LOL! Thats k, I'm a recreational writer. Writing is how I pass time when I am not reading or watching TV. Such a nerd.

I'm working on my analysis of contestants now, hopefully will be done soon.

WOW just WOW

Originally posted by: ekta_salman

WOW just WOW

im speechless

u truely are a dedicated person ... needs huge effort for all this

claps great written

Thanks for your words. 😊

But writing to me is entertainment - just like how television is to some people. So this is how I keep myself entertained. 😆

Now for the most difficult part of my recap – rating the contestants. One would imagine the hardest part of rating dancers would be the lack of a quantified scale. But that's ok, I am not here for ISO 9000 precision accurate ratings. Heck there is no such thing as ratings that even the legitimacy of scaled scores are disputed. Moreover, I am perfectly happy with my personal tastes and subjective ratings.

The real tricky part is communicating personal tastes without rousing a lynch mob. Especially considering that I have been told I am most likely to die at the hands of a lynch mob due to excessive honesty. Apparently people have their life's emotions and sentiments tied to another person's perception. Some people are actually hurt because someone has a different opinion. Unfortunately, I am no psychiatrist otherwise I would have had some valuable advice on basing ones feelings on everyone's opinions. (Half the people in this world are sad because of someone else's opinion - give it some thought). However, I do have valuable advice on the true meaning on freedom of speech and expression: This is the internet kids. Don't take it seriously. 😆

Anyway diving into my no holds barred assessment on the contestants this year. All opinions are strictly personal, you don't have to accept, confirm, embrace, love, agree or do any such thing with them. Your choices are yours (But it does not prevent me from judging your intellect. 😛). These also come well after the finale, to prevent me from unwarranted libel and slander accusations. In an honest attempt to not rouse a lynch mom I swear not to use any words that I usually use to describe - Ann Coulter, Fred Phelps or Sarah Palin.

But seriously, are you kidding me? Why would anyone use those words for them? Being India's top twelve dancing stars is no mean feat and to begin with lets give them all a huge round of applause. 👏

The Underrated:

Our underrated dancers are those dancing stars whose potential was never fully recognized or appreciated by the junta. They are immensely talented dancers who went out much before their time or never garnered the fan base and popularity they deserved.

Kruthi -

By far the most underrated dancer this season has to be Kruthi. Her elimination was a shocker and the worst elimination this season. When she bid farewell to the stage, the stage bid farewell to a great classical dancer who was truly the most versatile too. We as viewers were deprived of many more performances Kruthi would have delighted us with. She truly deserved more appreciation and go further.

One problem I see is that a lot of people do not seem to appreciate Indian classical as much. Contestants fear to perform pure classical, and masters fear to choreograph a full classical performance. Historically, in Indian reality shows audiences has always had an uncanny soft spot for the hip hoppers.

Kruthi's Bharatnatyam on Draupadi cheer-haran was by far the best performance of DID solos and duets, both seasons. She had impeccable expressions, great movements and beautifully conveyed multiple characters. It rightly won the best solo of the season and hopefully, this is a sign of positive things to come - and classical dancers get the appreciation they deserve.

Amritha -

She came from the back and went far ahead. But two things irk me. One, she should have been there all along. Two, she should have gone further.

Amritha was by far the most passionate dancers this season. Not only was she well trained with impeccable base skills, she had a genuine love for dance and was ever eager to learn and do something different. She truly appreciated dance and was the most vociferous in cheering on and supporting her rivals, the hallmark of the most spirited and sporting competitors. She was also the most versatile, in a short period she attempted everything from classical, to Bollywood. From femininely charming to aggressive like Krumping. Another great skill was her ability to create and maintain characters in her dances.

I think people were turned of by her exuberance and loudness. Loud confident girls tend to turn Indian audiences off. Many people seemed to criticize her and think less of her because of her personality. We as an audience need to learn that this is a dance contest, not a personality contest and we have to look beyond the personality quirks for people.

Shashank -

He was the first to go. He had his fans but never seemed to get a following. No one raved about him much or praised him. Most thought he was mediocre and should not be there. Others were irked by his personality and comments. Some will be shocked that I give him this recognition.

The fact is that being a ballet dancer, that to in an international dance troupe is no mean feat. Ballet is one of the most rigid and hierarchical forms of classical dance. It takes years of practice and Ballet trainers are very stringent about their troupes standards. Male ballet dancers are even rarer as male bodies are typically not well built for ballet, and except in certain countries men are not encouraged to do ballet.

I will admit that Shasank did not stand out as much or do something dazzling. But he sure was of a higher caliber than some others who stayed on. When it comes to western classical ballet leads the pack. There is a story telling aspect similar to those in Indian classical dances. We could benefit from more ballet and ballet dancers.

The Underutilized:

There were those dancers who never had a genuine wow moment. They were good, they had their fans, but they just kept falling short. Our esteemed masters somewhere somehow faltered in unlocking the full potentials of these dancing stars. They were undersold and underutilized.

Punit -

Sure he made the final 4, but he was a classic case of underutilization. When he reached the finals a lot of people had the huh! moment. Where did he come from? Why is he in the finals? Does he deserve to be here?

The fact is that Punit is a good and versatile dancer. Throughout the season he showed potential. He fulfilled every dance he received to the best extent. He rarely had a bad dancing day. Yet he never made an impact. He never made a breakthrough. He barely had any dances that would be memorable. He just came, he did well and then he faded back into oblivion. It was hard to recognize and appreciate the talent he had.

The problem herein was poor choreography. I think Remo was ambitious with Punit and wanted to do something unique for him, but it never really reached full potential. His gopeshwar dance ended up being half baked. His MJ impression was really good, but we have seen so many MJ impressions that he did not shine. With the right choreography, I doubt Punit would be so unnoticed.

Nikkitasha -

She had potential. She had fans. She garnered initial popularity. She got the town talking. But she fizzled and faded and ended up being one of the earlier exits.

A classically trained dancer, with grace, poise as well as humility - I totally expected her to be a strong contender. In fact in the very early stages of the season, I deemed her capable of competing with Shakti. That was never to be, after the initial excitement she hit a plateau and never grew. It was like watching a bright flame, flicker then fade away.

Had she not garnered an ardent fan following or recognition for her abilities - I would have called her underrated. But many fans and viewers did have high expectations of her. Her undoing was that her full potential was never unlocked. Even though she danced well she never got a chance to showcase her versatility, or the ability to tackle on anything. With the right moves, she could have been a stronger contender.

Jack -

Ah the cute boy from Norway with his funny silly Norwegian Hindi. Sometimes I honestly do wonder, was his popularity wave due to his adorability factor or due to his dancing.

There is no denying that Jack is a good dancer with great potential. Parvez said that. The same Parvez who mesmerized us with emotional performances stated boldly and clearly that Jack was a a better performer than him and felt genuinely hurt that he was chosen over Jack. Terence said that too. Terence was in awe of Jack's Europop blend of hip-hop that is unlike conventional hip hop.

Unfortunately, I don't think Terence truly managed to extract the full potential out of Jack. Jack went on to be the mediocre dancer who did not excel much beyond hip hop. His performances were recognized as cute, entertaining - but he never garnered the reaction some of the other contestants did. At times he appeared to be heavy on feet and clunky when he was capable of better.

Terence did get a curve ball with Jack. Should he hone Jacks natural hip hop. Should he work on Jacks identification with India and his desire to do Bollywood and folk. Or should he let Jack shine in contemporary. In the end Jack never got the right blend that should make him stick out.

Kishore -

The boy with the crazy hair. He danced with exuberance and his hair danced along with him. He always had lop sided smile on his face and conducted himself with awkward humility.

When Kishore first went in the bottom two, I did not think much of him as a dancer. He was mediocre. Deserving of top 18, but not the top 12. However, as time went on I grew a slight fondness for him. He has a very rustic rawness to his dancing that is very refreshing. Behind his calm face he had a pretty dare devil attitude, immense strength and a willingness to do any sorts of stunts or tricks involved.

As a dancer I thought Kishore could really shine in Indian folk. Especially the folk dances that involve stamina and strength. He could have been a great person to showcase folk and he did have a few memorable ones. Unfortunately, he never really found his signature strength or selling point that some other dancers did. I'm surprised that Geeta ma did not try to make him a folksy dancing star, it would have suited him. Especially considering how fond Geeta is of Indian styles. The result is that Kishore too eventually faded. Maybe not at the wrong time, but he could have made a more lasting impact.

The Overrated:

These are dancing stars who were good and exceptional. They would not be in the top twelve if they did not have extraordinary skill. However, their bark was bigger than their bite. They were able to garner a rapidly growing large fan base and received lots of love and adoration. The problem was that the love of their fans created a larger than life aura about them which was bigger than the talent they could actually deliver. Perhaps cases where their own fans were their Waterloo.

Dharmesh -

He was definitely the most talked about star of the season. Everyone remembers the Vadodra auditions and the mysterious Dharmesh who trained all these dancers. Only to discover that THE Dharmesh himself was an unassuming humble dance teacher who like everyone else aspired to reach for the stars. A mesmerizing dance routine with his simple personality catapulted him to super stardom. People were touting him to win before the contest even started.

While Dharmesh is a great dancer, he is definitely the most overrated dancer in the seasons of Dance India Dance. The bottom line is Dharmesh did not grow at all. His final routine reinstated that his first routine was his best routine. Within his genre he was repetitive and did not garner the mesmerizing perfection or grace that other dancers achieved. He tried different genres but not enough. Barring a few most were half baked attempts which were disappointingly mediocre. He never really seemed at home outside his comfort zone. To me the saddest thing about Dharmesh was that after his auditions and till the last performance, he never really had the smile and ease of a dancer who is on stage comfortable, enjoying and doing their thing. He never seemed fully at home.

The sad thing is that Dharmesh need not have been that way. He could have been creative in his comfort zone and attained perfection. He could have tried more and more genres and with more heart and effort he would actually been really successful at it. He might have even won the second season. He was really close.

The problem was that with the hype of 'sir'. He was already bigger than everyone else no one really cared to push him to his potential. Remo did try a few times, but I think Geeta was too defensive for Dharmesh as were fans.With continuous number ones and growing fans - he never got the push needed to reach the dancer he can become. As fans grew more crazed by the day, the rest of us were turned off by him each day. Such is the burden of fan following at times that it rests heavily on your shoulder as an idolized image that you are not sure you can deliver to. Such is the burden of fan following that instead of pushing you forward it actually holds you back in place where you are - making you the overrated dancer instead of a breakthrough dancer.

It is so true when they say fans can be a double edged sword.

Binny -

One cannot help but admire and adore Binny. She truly was a fighter. After being rejected the previous year this untrained dancer came back with renewed fervor this year. It was incredible how far determination can take an untrained dancer. She was a formidable foe for everyone, and really impressed as Geeta's veera in the early rounds.

But then she hit a plateau. Sometime into the top twelve she stopped growing. She hit a period of stagnation where she really did not grow. One could say that she was untrained dancer who came so far. But last years Alisha and this years Amar were both untrained dancer. Both who constantly grew, every performance revealing a new growth in their learning curve. They rarely had a bad day or a performance where they let you down. Unfortunately, Binny has not been able to sustain that ascending curve. In the later stages of the contest she fell behind the level of people she was competing with.

Now I will not blame Binny for her lack of growth entirely. Every growing star hits a plateau. It is natural. Considering that Binny was the only girl left in Geeta's gang at a point, she has danced more routines than anyone else in the show. Some of the growth that usually is reserved for crucial stages was exhausted in the early rounds. As a human I feel fatigue and pressure also set in, and she did handle it well mostly.

Had people not been so much in awe of Veera, I think she could have been made aware of the plateau. I'm confident if made aware she would have taken her dancing to the next level and strived to be on par with the contenders. Another case where adulation can shield one from growth.

Saajan -

Saajan is to b-boying as Prince is to locking and popping. Two young boys, two raw dancers, two boys who introduced an entire nation to a whole new genre of dance. Saajan single handedly gave B-boying the popularity and hype it has attained in India. Now every kid wants to be cool doing some hot b-boying moves.

The question is whether that is enough to make one a dancing star. B-boying is one sub style of dancing. A true dancing star has sound fundamentals, shows perfection potential as well as versatility. As a self taught dancer Saajan's fundamentals were shaky. Even as a b-boy he had the moves and the tricks, but a street dancer would tell you that Saajan did have to work on rhythm and get his b-boying groove right. The shaky fundamentals were a barrier from him being versatile and multifaceted. He came much further than he actually ought to have.

A lot of people are in awe about b-boying. It is a very tough dance which requires immense strength and practice. I wont take that away from it. However, it is not a formal dance form that has rigorous training. Most original b-boys learned to dance on the streets. As a free form dance it has signature tricks and moves, but has a lot of room for self variation. Original breaking was only amidst some black and latin communities. Over time Asians and girls too have become self taught street dancers and breakers. A large number of breakers are self taught or street taught. It is only in more upper crust areas and in other places where street style breaking is formally taught. So in that context the hype over him self teaching b-boying is actually overdone.

That being said Saajan was definitely good at what he did and no one can take away the fact that he created this years trend. Moreover, he is young and willing with plenty of room to grow - in b-boying as well as dance as a whole. Hopefully, he takes this break given by DID to do exactly that - because he has a long way to go.

to be continued.....

Next: Dynamic Duo - Shakti & Amar

Way to leave us waiting for the best part of the ratings..😆
I love your posts..They are always so well written and articulate..You really do have a way with words..👏

@RTH: Thoughtful analysis with the right dose of sarcasm maketh a good write - when it's said right it makes it all the more better!!😊