CURRY BEAR

Alright boys and girls, here is Curry Bear’s review of The Manhattan Project, which took place on November 14th. I haven’t done a review for a competition since NNR 2009. This one is not as detailed as my previous reviews and that’s because of the recession. So here it is:

Carnegie Mellon Tanah: Sorry Tanah, I wish I could use a better picture of yours for the review but my awesome photographer came in after your performance. Tanah did a “going to the Bazaar” theme. They are a great team but lacked the “X-factor” that would’ve helped them stand out above the rest of the teams. This is needed in cases where a team has to go first in a line up or they will be easily forgotten, like everyone from Dru Hill that isn’t Sisqo. Not all the dancers were on the same level. One could easily tell who the choreographer of each piece was. She would be on point but everyone else would be a bit off. I did like their half glitter pants. It made me want to half get with them.

Drexel Jhalak: I’m not sure if people caught that the Soulja Boy intro video was supposed to go with the Military theme, especially since it was the Chipmunks, but it was a cute little insert. The Jhalak girls did wonderful. I absolutely loved it. I thought the choreography was so on point with the military theme and these girls really know how to work the formation and stage transition. The hula hoop, marching, gun shooting poses and army crawl was a nice touch. The costumes were great and the army hats were a nice touch. The performance still had that true Jhalak presence with the dancing to instrumentals. The Bharatnatyam style moves were wonderful. MJ’s “Beat It” fit in well with the fight scene. I suggest using Battlefield by Jordan Sparks too if possible. One of my favorite parts was the push-up waves at the end. I hate that these girls are more muscular than me. Here are some people who would be proud of your military theme: General Tso, Col. Sanders, General Mills, Major Bitch (my ex-girlfriend), Cap’n Crunch and Dick Cheney. They are all very proud of you.

TCNJ Saathiya: “Don’t call it a comeback”! No seriously, I wouldn’t say that this was a comeback, but TCNJ are certainly on their way there. They improved quite a bit from the “SAW” themed performance I witnessed last time. That itself was a horror. Maybe them getting better has something to do with one of their ex-members moving back to Jersey (yeah I hit that…it’s called pillow talk, bitches). There’s a lot of potential in this team. The Facebook/MLID/ Websites theme was decent. The theme was that of a Mom looking through her son’s computer and finding the sites he goes on. The mother was just very awkward sitting on stage by her self in the corner. They need to figure out a way to transition her off stage during the actual dance. It was just really weird having her still sitting there looking constipated. Maybe she could bop her head to the music? Or maybe just go with a constipated theme and do a poop right on stage? Or maybe have one of the guys from 300 kick her off the stage while yelling “This is Saathiya”. How come she didn’t find any porn, though? You got to make it realistic, yo! The songs choices were pretty good for each website. Jay Sean’s “Down” was a crowd pleaser. The girls on this team ripped it though. They certainly outshined the guys. This team also did an MJ tribute. The moonwalking didn’t look that good because the guy was doing it barefoot. I don’t do anything barefoot, not even sex. I am all about knocking boots. The ending formation was a failure as one guy fell. It’s cool, it happens. Like Alfred said in Batman Begins, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again.” So let’s put a smile on that face of yours!

Delaware Kamaal: This team had an intro video that was the Indian version of The Hangover. The intro video ended abruptly and the dance picked up from there. I have to say this is one of my new favorite teams. Not only was their performance awesome, but wait till you see their Curry Bubbles. This team is comprised of like one Desi guy and two Desi girls. Maybe at Delware schools they have an affirmitive action to allow more non-desis on Desi dance teams. Seriously, these non-desi kids are taking over and I like it. The segment for “I’m on Boat” was done almost perfectly. Some members were on the ground creating the wave effect while the others were rowing a boat. Like my Uncle from Mumbai says, “Too good yaar, too good”. It had nothing to do with the storyline but the crowd loved it. Maybe during the hangover they ended up on a boat? The two white guys on the team, whom I will call Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, were awesome. Yes, that is what I named them because if you white, you Ben Affleck, but if there is two of you the better looking more talented one is Matt Damon. This team has an intense amount of energy in their performance. Watching this performance is like drinking a hundred bottles of 5 hour energy drinks. But I did feel that sometimes, they have a bit too much and it makes them sloppy. They should watch a video of their performance and see if they catch what I’m trying to say. The choices of songs were pretty good with the storyline and this was yet another team that played “Urvashi”. They explained the marriage during the performance and then ended it with two really cool standing back flips. The girls on this team are really hot and their costumes were really sexy. All the guys on this team are ridiculously athletic. This maybe one of the most athletic co-ed Desi dance teams I have ever seen.

Wanted Ashiqz: Introduction to the MJ Tribute was nice. The zombie walk to “Thriller” was even better. Nice use of theatrics and drama to build up to the dance. They danced to “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys which was a nice touch. “Oh My God we’re back again”…. so fitting. They used music from a lot of artists who were influenced by MJ, including N’Sync and Beyonce. WA did several iconic dances of MJ with their own little twist here and there. It was a nice homage. If MJ was alive he would be either very proud or aroused. There was barely anything new or original since they took their NNR performance and mimicked MJ steps to the letter, but then again it was a homage. I am pretty sure that’s how they meant it to be. You also have to remember that they are not competing and are there only as an exhibition. However, I still had a great time watching them combine their old performance to iconic MJ dances, including the 45 degree lean and the arm flip from “Smooth Criminal”. The “Singles Ladies” segment was hilarious. I can’t even make a joke about it because it was just so funny in itself. I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard at a performance. I almost pooped my pants like the mom from the TCNJ performance. The dance reminded me a lot of one of my favorite shows, Glee, when the football team danced to “Single Ladies” in a recent episode. This team gets a lot of flack for doing feminine moves and dancing like girls because of their NNR/BOB routine. So I felt like this was a message to all their critics, stating that we don’t care what you say or how we look…we’re just going to have fun. Only thing I didn’t like was that they were doing an MJ tribute but they had two gloves. I know they need it for their tutting but they should have started with just one on and put the other on. Or they could have taken one off at one point in the dance. The NNR Championship Belt at the end was a sick statement. The Champ is back. Great performance. If your performance was a hot chick I’d put a ring on it. A NuvaRing. Then fuck it.

BU Chankaar: Weren’t as good as last year but I still felt they should have received second place. It was a good performance but still needs a lot of improvement. The Jumanji theme was entertaining but I felt as if more could have been done. They still had their nice touches like the Lions and the Hunter segments. They also had props to go along with their theme such as two gigantic dice. I also felt like the stage was a bit too small for their dance. Also, after watching their performance my pants were a bit small for me (if you know what I mean). During some segments when all the dancers were in line from one end to the other, it looked as if people were going to bump into each other. They also did a nice stunt where the girls flipped over another girl, and then flipped again over another. One thing I always like about BU Chankaar is their intro videos. I believe they’re made by the same person who did the intro video for TMP. It’s either him or Michael Bay. Awesome! (cue explosion…..in my pants).

Stony Brook Khatra: This team had an Indiana Jones theme. Such an iconic movie and you didn’t use any quotes or scene from the movie? What the hell? Has this team even watched the movie? “Kali Maaa! Shakti De? “, “Snakes…why did it have to be snakes”, the scene where his hat falls off and he grabs it, and the boulder scene. Give us something! C’mon!! The main girl was hot and had a nice costume. I’m seriously in love with her and I’m gonna stalk her until they put an ankle bracelet on me. She was probably the hottest girl on stage that whole night. Indiana Jones had glitter on his hat though. Let me tell you something, Dr. Jones doesn’t have glitter on him unless it came off a stripper. Speaking of strippers, wow, 2 wardrobe malfunctions. I felt Jones was about to have one too as his belt kept coming loose and another girl’s pants came loose. After this performance, there were several dollar bills on stage. I never got the lap dance though. Maybe next time. This team had decent choreography but good stunts. I hope the team can laugh about the wardrobe malfunctions and get over it. Things like that are usually confidence crushers and I’ve been there. Once my dhoti came apart at an award function. True story. I want this team to get better because I see a lot of talent. These guys are really good. They picked a really unique theme but the implementation could’ve been better. I want them to prove me right. Prove it. Prove it like a theorem. Stony Brook = awesome.

PSU Jadhoom: I love this team but their performance was kind of disappointing. Sorry to say it but they kept reminding me of TCNJ’s Toy Story theme from a few years ago. I kept comparing it to that and it wasn’t anywhere near as good as theirs. It’s difficult doing a theme that was already done so well. There was nothing wrong with their performance. It was a good performance, and still very creative with the ballerina wind-up gimmick. But I would still consider changing the theme. This was another team where the girls outshined the guys. Really entertaining performance but a little sloppy at times. Some songs didn’t have choreography that fit. The Kayne segment would have been funny if we could hear what he said. The audio wasn’t as clear to the audience, though that could also be blamed on the sound system. This is a really strong team and they didn’t do anything wrong but TCNJ’s Toy Story theme has a legendary status amongst the dance scene followers. I might be being a little too hard on you guys, but it’s only because I know you guys can get first place. You have the potential, but there is a stigma that comes with doing a theme that another team has done so well and won with. If you can’t do it better than them, don’t bother doing it for first place. That being said it was still a very good performance and I did enjoy it a lot. Sorry guys, please don’t defriend me on Facebook. Instead of doing a Toy theme you guys can do a Sex Toy theme. You can have a giant dildo that is in love with an Indian girl and play the song “Dildo Pagal Hai”.

Northwestern Deeva: Deeva did the overused element theme. I wish Kayne had came out and said, “TCNJ Saathiya and Boston Chankaar had the best Element theme of all time!!”. Most of the elements were weak but I didn’t even see Earth. Did they forget it or did I miss it? They had a decent song selection and one of them was “Dholi Taro Dhol Bhaje” from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which the Gujju aunties love. This team placed second but for people who have been to a majority of the dance competitions for the past 5 years, the element theme is not new. I think they should really change it and come up with something more original. But then again this performance got them second place so go figure. What do I know? I’m just a damn sexy bear. However, they are more than welcome to email me for any advice, since I am the grand-master-over-lord of the Desi dance competitions. In return for some advice, I will ask for one of the Deevas to be sacrificed in my honor.

The competition itself was a lot of fun. There were some problems with the show, like the technical difficulties. Technical difficulties are expected at most desi competitions and there were quite a few. They seemed to be having problem with the VLC codec. You guys need to get Windows 7! It’s the shit! Fuck Vista. The hosts were pretty good. TMP proved that you don’t need to hire some comedians to come out and host a show. Just find two or three talented guys, write a few sketches and keep the crowd entertained. The white guy who hosted (I think his name was Antonio, but if that’s not right, it should be Antonio from now on) was really funny at some parts. My favorite part was when he introduced Wanted Ashiqz by doing some of their signature dances. If the Pandas are reading this, I want them to tell this guy to become my friend on Facebook so I can ask him out on a man-date. I really liked the end when the teams came out to dance with G-Deep. I don’t know why he was dressed like a purple marshmallow but he also did a decent job singing. The venue was small but not too small. It would be a good venue if not for the problems with the projector. The issue with the mics not working was annoying, but once you get passed all that it was a very enjoyable show. I was not able to pick up my free tickets because I was a little late and missed NYU’s Collaboration dance. That is my fault. Sorry for that. Overall it was a good competition and most likely a difficult one since the organizers were also performing. I for one would love to see The Manhattan Project 2.

Some other things I’d like to say:
- Thanks to the TMP organizers for putting my name on the program guide and giving me a shout out. It is highly appreciated.
- This show also supported a charity, The American Indian Foundation. Please check it out and support them: http://www.aif.org/
- There was a cute girl sitting in the 2nd row in the center. She was constantly yelling team names and tearing apart my ear drums. But when they gave me a shout out at the end, she said “Yeah Curry Bear!” Now I am in love with her and want to know who she is. She was wearing green, had her hair nicely tied up and possibly friends with the organizers. Please have her contact me so I may confess my undying love to her.

As always, I lock these posts to prevent the horrible, nasty, comments that start flame wars. You can of course go on the DDT Forums and leave your comments/corrections about the review there.