CURRY BEAR

PhillyFest 2007 Review

One of the biggest Fusion and Hindi Film Dance competitions in the nation took place in Philly last week – PhillyFest 2007. The tagline said Dance, Comedy, Penn Masala, and that is what PhillyFest delivered. With performances by an elite group of dance teams, comical hosts and musical act by Penn Masala, PhillyFest was a very memorable night. PhillyFest was a sold out event and I wouldn’t have expected any less.

BU CHANKAAR

This team did not have a video intro displayed but I remember in MidTown Dhamaka, their intro video consisted of an “Arabian Night” theme with clips of Aladdin. The performance started with a giant genie lamp prop and the girls engaged in a struggle – one girl, whom I shall call the queen, kept all the other girls trapped in her grip. The girls of course, struggled to escape from her grip but couldn’t. Why would she hold on to these pretty girls? Maybe the lamp was a whorehouse? Later on, the rest of the girls came out of the lamp and the performance went underway. These girls performed to mostly Arabic based songs like “Bure Bure”, “Habibidah”, and “Ya Ali” to name a few. They used such props as a stick (Habibidah) and small lighting lamps with weird formations and decent moves. The performance was more upbeat with one Bollywood song, which got the crowd into it. The highlight of the performance would probably be the Bharatnatyam segment to “Ya Ali”. The performance ends with the queen entangling the rest of the girls and bringing them back into the lamp. The theme was very original and went out of the box with this performance, but the dancing aspect of the performance wasn’t spectacular either.

Costumes: 7
Mix/Music: 6
Video Intro: n/a
Props: 8
Stunts: 0
Dance Moves: 6
Synch/Formation: 6
Hotness: 6
Crowd Reaction: 6
Originality: 10
X-Factor: 3
Score: 6.4

DREXEL JHALAK

The much hyped Drexel Jhalak did not live up to their hype unfortunately. It seems their winning streak is finally over. The video intro consisted of clips, which seemed to be spliced from Batman Beyond. The video intro explained their theme: Pandora’s Box. It wasn’t a great theme and at certain times during the performance, I kept forgetting what the theme was. Does Curry Bear have Alzheimer’s? I’m not exactly sure how their song choices related to their theme either. “Slow Down” by Bobby Valentino, “Days Go By”, Ke Sera (Bollywood version), “Everybody Dance Now”, “Dance Dance” by Fallout Boy, along with other instrumentals was part of their song selection. The team must have a good DJ because their song transitions were remarkable. The performance was mostly Bharatnatyam based (Days Go By and instrumentals). They didn’t have any stunts but I do remember when they were tossing this one particular girl side to side like a pendulum. They had one outfit change from white to bright red while their face paint was half white and half red. Oh, and I should recommend you go to the DDT image gallery to check out these girls in red hot leather outfits. In the back, there was a box on top with a ladder to reach there. One girl would go up, open the box and drop down a banner that revealed words like “Insanity”, “Greed” and “Violence”. The banners were relevant to the Pandora Box theme. I believe many of the audience members did not understand the concept of Pandora’s Box and Greek Mythology to begin with, which might be the reason for the lack of interest in the crowd. And for that, they receive an X-Factor point of -1 for boring the crowd. Sorry ladies – you’re all pretty, talented and artistic, but the crowd is looking for insane excitement.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 7
Video Intro: 10
Props: 10
Stunts: 5
Dance Moves: 6
Synch/Formation: 10
Hotness: 10
Crowd Reaction: 6
Originality: 10
X-Factor: -1
Score: 8.3

JHU JOSH

The video intro was mug shots of the team members – two per city, and all convicted of murder. I really think they should have gone with a Prison Break themed video intro for this performance. The performance opening was all the girls behind jail bars and with a Baltimore City Prison banner on top. Their performance consisted mostly of non-mainstream American music like “Promiscuous Girl”, 80’s swing dance, and “Gunshot”. They also had one desi song by “Bombay Rockers”. In between each segment, the girls talk about the murder they committed and how they could not see the victim die because they had a performance to do. The fact that none of the girls saw him die comes into effect at the end of the performance as the victim, Vinny, makes his appearance, and is very much alive. Go Vinny! The girls performed with some fast Bharatnatyam, Hip Hop, Swing dance, and some Drill team steppin’ which was lead into bhangra. One stunt that stood out was when three of the girls did a split as four other girls did a flip too. Another impressive formation I recall was when the girls spelt out JOSH with their bodies. These girls are like Transformers! They had a very original theme and had a storyline to it, which almost makes it like a Hindi Film dance team, – well, sort of. Unfortunately, the dance moves and synchronization wasn’t as great as other teams and they could have had a better song selection. What I don’t understand is how they got the jail bars to stand up straight during the performance without tipping over. These girls will someday make good Mechanical Engineers. They get an X-Factor point of 10 for doing their theme very well and thoroughly.

Costumes: 6
Mix/Music: 6
Video Intro: 10
Props: 8
Stunts: 8
Dance Moves: 5
Synch/Formation: 7
Hotness: 6
Crowd Reaction: 7
Originality: 10
X-Factor: 10
Score: 8.3

NYU PANDAMONIUM

Oh the Pandas. I really enjoy watching this team but it sad that the judges never really appreciate them as the crowd does. PANDAMONIUM is mainly a crowd-pleasing team. Their intro video consisted of a slideshow picture with the song “We Ballin’” and then into a video of a panda bear and back into the slideshow. The slideshow was quite hilarious and also featured Philly Eagle’s traitor along with other funny pictures. This team had the same exact performance from MidTown Dhamaka and Aaj Ka Dhamaka. All the same songs, all the same stunts and dance moves. The only difference I recall was that during one segment, the dancer ran out in a Philly Eagle’s Jersey. The guy looked very short from where I was sitting and for a second, I thought Pandamonium hired a midget to run through the stage. His Jersey was so small and tight one, they must have bought it from Kid’s R Us. Once again, they did the whole Bhangra vs. Hip Hop gimmick and their infamous ripping off the clothes of the Hip Hop guys to reveal the Bhangra outfits underneath. And as always, one guy always seems to struggle to take his clothes off. Their dance moves, both Hip Hop and Bhangra, were good and clean with not many screw ups. They receive an X-Factor point of 7 because they are a good crowd pleasing team but their act is exactly the same as the all of their performances from last semester. In fact I shouldn’t even do a review for this team. Just check out the review from MidTown Dhamaka. If Pandamonium can copy and paste dance moves, then I should be able to copy and paste their review.

Costumes: 8
Mix/Music: 8
Video Intro: 10
Props: 5
Stunts: 8
Dance Moves: 8
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 8
Crowd Reaction: 10
Originality: 5
X-Factor: 7
Score: 8.5

TCNJ SAATHIYA

TCNJ really went over the top with their brilliant toy store gimmick. Their performance was basically the same as last semester’s. Their video intro was clips from the movie Night at the Museum, and they explained what you will see in the performance: Garbie Dolls = Barbies doing Garba, Danceformers = Dancing Transformers, Super Bhangra Bros. = Mario Bros doing Bhangra and Mortal Kombat. The Barbie dolls did garba to “Barbie World”. One of the dancers comes out like a robot and does the robot and raving for the Danceformers section, who is later joined by other dancers. On to the stage comes Mario, the Punjabi Plumber. Soon to be joined by his brother, Luigi, these Punjabi plumbers go into a Bhangra segment with a song that had the famous Super Mario Bros. tune. This performance included props like bricks, coins, and the star, Goombas, the flag at the end of the stage, and jumping into the pipe to end the segment. The last segment was the Mortal Kombat segment with a fight between Sub-Zero and. Scropion. One thing different I noticed about this segment was that a banner dropped down from the top which was the life bar of the two characters. That was awesome! It would have been even cooler if the life bar would have decreased as the segment went on. The Mortal Kombat segment consisted of dance moves that looked like Martial arts. Overall, it was a great performance and great gimmick, they pulled it off very well, for which they will receive an X-Factor point of 10. It was more synchronized than their performance at MTD. I also like how TCNJ used their venue to their advantage, such as the health bar banners. This was not possible in the venue for Midtown Dhamaka, and for a redundant act, these elements are appreciated.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 10
Video Intro: 10
Props: 10
Stunts: 7
Dance Moves: 8
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 8
Crowd Reaction: 10
Originality: 10
X-Factor: 10
Score: 10.1

UPENN DHAMAKA

This team was the underdog in the show and they surprised everyone with their amazing performance. First off, they had a sick and authentic looking iPod video intro. It really looked like a real iPod commercial. In fact, they should talk to Apple to use their intro video to market the iPod in India. This team did a variety of different dance styles with different kinds of music – “Let’s Get It Started”, “Lean Back” Bhangra remix, Salsa, Habibidah to name a few. After each segment a dance member would go up to the iPod prop and use it to change the song. During one of the transitions, the dance member mimicked his voice to Borat, “It’s very nice”, which made the crowd laugh. Their dance moves to the Salsa segment was pretty good but I don’t understand why they did Garba to an Arabic song. One segment looked like they were doing a Stepping vs. Bharatnatyam battle, and then they soon busted out with orange-red-ish handkerchiefs and began doing Bhangra. One thing I noticed about this team is that they never lip synched to the music – the rest of the teams were doing it. Hell, even a black guy was lip synching perfectly to a Hindi song on Dil Se. One stunt I remember is when three dancers ran up behind 3 other dancers and jumped over their heads. During the Hip Hop segment near the end, all the dancers took off their shirts to reveal their iPod shirts underneath. I think it was an iPod shirt…or I need to go see my eye doctor. This is another team which is a great crowd pleaser. They had really good formations during the song “Breathe In, Breathe Out” by Timbaland. In their final segment they did more Bhangra to a Bombay Rocker song. Throughout the performance, one of the dancers constantly kept sticking his tongue out – I found it quite annoying. He looked like Michael Jordan doing one of his dunks. This team did some stunts you’d see performed by a Bhangra team. Let’s just say that some of their stunts were impressive.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 9
Video Intro: 10
Props: 7
Stunts: 10
Dance Moves: 9
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: n/a
Crowd Reaction: 10
Originality: 10
X-Factor: 10
Score: 10.3

BARUCH ANDAAZ

I was expecting little to nothing from this team. Boy was I wrong. Thankfully they did not have a recycled dance but an amazing and original performance. However, before I start talking about their dance, I should mention that this team did another performance with mostly all Shah Rukh Khan songs. As of now, this team will be referred to as the Shah Rukh Khan team. I even vowed in an earlier post that I would give the girls on this team herpes if I see another SRK performance. However, since their dance was original, I take back that statement. The video intro explained the storyline pretty well. They had a Don like character who was on a mission to save Bollywood dancing by getting some CDs from a Bollywood museum. The video then went into the Dhoom 2 tune with a slow motion clip of the SRK Jr (yes, the main dancer for Andaaz) and then clips of MI:II where Cruise bungee jumps out of the helicopter into the Biocyte building. The performance starts off where the video left off, which was really cool. SRK Jr. lies on the floor as if he had just detached the bungee cord. It takes place in a Bollywood museum where he is in search of Bollywood CDs which are all set for a different decade. The rest of the teams are statues in the back round that end up coming to life like Gargoyles – awesome show. After each segment, as the team performs to music of that decade, SRK Jr. receives a CD. He does all this as he tries to elude the bad guy who is trying to kill him and take the CD’s from him. At the end of the story line the bad guy wins, as he sneaks up behind SRK Jr. and shoots him in the head (if only that was a real gun…just kidding folks). The performance had an array of music as each of them was from a different decade, from the 1960’s all the way to 2000. They had the tune from MI:II, Rang Barse (and danced to Garba), “Ek do teen” – a classic Madhuri song, “Makhna” from Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, “Rukhja” from DDLJ (we all knew he was going to do at least one SRK song), “Dhoom Again”, and “Dil Na Lagye” (I’m surprised more teams didn’t do this song). They also played many oldies such as Shammi Kapoor’s “O Haseena Zulfo Wali” and “Hawa Hawa”. During one of their Bharatnatyam segment, they danced on top of crates and the crates had lights that flashed to the stomping of their feet. SRK Jr. is known for his stunts as he continues to prove him self in this performance – he jumped over the bad guy when escaping him and then later jumped through a hoop like a doggie. It would have been more impressive if instead of a giant hula hoop, they had THE RING OF FIRE !!!! At the end they assembled a four level pyramid which toppled down (purposely). This was an amazing stunt and I’m sure someone got hurt during dance practice. Like always, Andaaz’s performance are always filled with props. Some of the costumes were good too. SRK Jr. was sporting an outfit that Hrithk wore in Dhoom 2 – the all black skydiving looking vest so he can show off his ripped biceps (relax, I wasn’t checking him out) while the bad guy was dressed up as Morpehus from the Matrix. This team has made plenty of improvement and surprised everyone. They had become one of the more favorable teams of the night.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 9
Video Intro: 7
Props: 10
Stunts: 10
Dance Moves: 8
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 5
Crowd Reaction: 9
Originality: 10
X-Factor: 10
Score: 9.6

RU SAPA

RU SAPA is usually an all fusion team and this was their first performance as Hindi Film Dance so I was quite excited to see what they had in store. I wasn’t too impressed with their performance. It didn’t feel like a HFD performance; it felt more like you were watching a Bollywood concert with overwhelming backdrops and props. They really over did it with all that glamour. The video intro starts off like the original SAPA video intro and then cuts off into BREAKING NEWS. A pink haired reporter talks about a motorcycle thief who’s been on a robbing spree and his next target is a diamond which will be at PhillyFest (there was a diamond at PhillyFest and no one told me??). They took clips from Dhoom 2 – the scene with the room that has the diamond in it. The performance starts off with Dhoom Again as the curtain goes up in the back to reveal someone in all black on a motorcycle on stage, and then pedal their way off stage. I’m guessing the theater didn’t allow them to actually drive the bike on stage, which would have been awesome. They performed to such songs as “Where’s the Party Tonight”, “Rishi Rish” instrumental, “Ashique Mein Teri” from 36 Chinatown, “Don’t Touch Me” from Dhoom 2, “My Love” (surprised only one team did this song), “Crazy Kiya Re”, Salaam-E-Ishq (highlight of the performance). “Where’s The Party tonight” had some good moves to it, but “Ashique Mein Teri” did not; the moves didn’t look like they fit. Not only that, but the transition was not smooth. The moves in “Don’t Touch Me” were pretty good and the stunt where they spun the girls on the floor like a mop was impressive but not original. They did some Pop-lock to My Love. After that, as the backdrop went up, it revealed a huge diamond in the back, and it opened up. The girls came out of the diamond to perform to “Crazy Kiya Re”. I don’t know how the girls managed to fit in there so quickly – maybe they were trained by Clowns in a clown car? This all girl segment had some decent moves but what I noticed was one of the girls didn’t have her outfit on all the way; she was holding on to as she danced – a wardrobe malfunction but not as kinky. After the biker stole the diamond, the guys came out with some flashy costumes for “Salaam-E-Ishq”. On the side of the stage, the girls seemed hesitant to when they were supposed to come out and I believe they came out later than they were supposed to. Again, one of the girl’s outfits was not completely on. The song stopped in the middle as the biker comes out to reveal herself – it was the reporter from the video intro. After she left the stage, there was more dancing to “Salaam-E-Ishq”. This was the highlight of the performance; it was very energetic and had the best moves. SAPA is known for their dancing, but they didn’t deliver to the fullest. It was good, but not great. They went too hardcore with the props and backdrop and the storyline seemed like they threw it in there last minute. It seems like they came up with the dance first and then the storyline. Many of the songs did not relate to the biker stealing diamond storyline; maybe it’s not supposed to. Who knows? But as always, I love the girls of SAPA and want to make little cubs with each one of them.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 9
Video Intro: 10
Props: 10
Stunts: 5
Dance Moves: 8
Synch/Formation: 7
Hotness: 10
Crowd Reaction: 10
Originality: 9
X-Factor: 3
Score: 9.1

STANFORD DIL SE

I had very high expectations from this team, and I’m guessing everyone else did too. The last time I saw this team was at Best of the Best 2006. This team did not live up to the expectation. Their video intro was amazing. It was almost an exact duplicate of the music video from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Ladke Hai Deewane. I mean EXACT. It was remarkable how much it looked alike. Every detail of it was almost the same. The performance starts off with Chaiya Chaiya from Dil Se which received a huge crowd reaction, definitely an old time favorite song. The outfits the girls were wearing were quite revealing and very hot! One of the dancers on the team was black and resembled Denzel Washington. It’s ironic because in the movie, Inside Man, featuring Denzel Washington, the beginning of the movie features the song, Chaiya Chaiya. That guy looked quite humorous lip synching to the lyrics but he knew every word. One thing I liked about this team was that everyone seemed so happy as though they were fed Prozac backstage. The storyline of this performance was that two friends of different genders (gay love is icky people) begin to fall in love with each other. The guy is confused at first if he’s in love or not and then later confesses his love only to find out that the girl was in love the whole time. It was like watching a Bollywood movie. This team performed to such songs as “Rang Balle Balle”, “Ashique Mein Teri” and an Adan Sami song. During the Adnan Sami song, disco balls and stars came down from above to shine on the entire venue. It was a real working disco ball too and gave a cool effect on stage. “Ashique Mein Teri” had some decent moves but was not up to the tempo of the song, and most of the dance moves consisted of punching and elbowing. They concluded the performance with the guys lifting up the girls and then rolling them down. I’d hate to see a stunt like that go wrong – the girls would end up handicap. I liked this team’s mix because it went well with the storyline. This team lip synchs well and acts out the lyrics in their performance, which is what a HFD performance is supposed to be like. The performance did not have an original theme but the girls looked really hot in their outfits. I seriously need to get on the West coast.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 9
Video Intro: 10
Props: 7
Stunts: 7
Dance Moves: 7
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 10
Crowd Reaction: 8
Originality: 6
X-Factor: 10
Score: 9.2

UCB SHAKTI

This team also had very high expectation. This team featured some technical difficulties with their intro video. The wrong video was played. Not presenting a video intro really hurt this team’s performance. Due to no video intro, I’m not sure what the storyline for this performance was. However, I should mention that video intros were not a judging criteria. They performed to such songs as “Where’s The Party Tonight”, “Faana For You”, “Don’t Break My Heart”, “Gori Gori”, and “Dhoom Again”. They also included “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga” – a classic Madhuri song. The guys wore a shirt which had lighting bolts on it; it reminded me of the Power Rangers. The girls were all short but very hot. The guys performed a stunt where they jumped off a chair, which was about the only stunt I can remember. The transitions in their mix were good, their choices of songs were decent but then again, I don’t know what their storyline was. This team had a lot of enthusiasm which did help in the presentation of their performance.

Costumes: 8
Mix/Music: 8
Video Intro: n/a
Props: 9
Stunts: 8
Dance Moves: 8
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 10
Crowd Reaction: 9
Originality: 7
X-Factor: 7
Score: 9.1

UCLA NAASHA

This team also faced some technical difficulties with their video intro but finally got it working. I had no idea what the storyline was from the video intro, but I didn’t care because the girls were SO HOT!! The quality of the video was really good; they must have some really expensive camera or hired a porn filming crew (Happy Cows come from California and so does porn). Also, this team comes from Los Angeles, the city Jack Bauer has saved for the past 6 years. I just felt like mentioning that. The performance started off with all the girls dressed like flight attendants and they tap danced to the “Lago Re Munna Bhai” theme. The girls tap danced as they were reading their newspaper. Some of the songs in this performance included “Where’s The Party Tonight”, “Rukhja” from DDLJ, “Crazy Kiya Re”, “Huma Huma” (finally a song of Prabhu Deva), and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Soniye”. This team had great dance moves that fit the songs they were performing to; they were very Bollywood-like. Unfortunately, they had no storyline or theme. The part where the girls danced behind the curtains and you only saw their shadows was very erotic – the seat I sat on at the Merriam theater probably has stains now. That segment made me feel like I was in one of those bad ass strip clubs for the mafia. “Rock N Roll Soniye” was the best part of their performance with good stunts, dance moves, and formations. One of the dancers even brought out a toy guitar, which fit well with the song. Oh by the way, the girls are so hot!!! Cali rocks!

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 10
Video Intro: 5
Props: 8
Stunts: 8
Dance Moves: 9
Synch/Formation: 9
Hotness: 10
Crowd Reaction: 10
Originality: 5
X-Factor: 5
Score: 8.9

USCD KYA

The returning champs of PhillyFest. Of course, high expectations were there once again. The video intro presented the storyline over the “Dhoom Again” song. Guy gets dumped by girl, and then his friends bug him to come out and go clubbing. Meanwhile, a group of girls are getting dressed up where they see a flyer for a club, China Town. Some of the songs featured in this performance were “Where’s The Party Tonight”, “Khaike Paan Banaraswala”, “Ashique Mein Teri”, and that “Pyar Kar Ke” song from Bhagam Bhaag. This team also performed many stunts like tossing a girl up and catching her, but almost dropping her as well. This team perhaps had the best stunt of the night where they flipped this one guy up off the floor and he landed on his feet. One of the sickest stunts I’ve ever seen – I wish I could draw it out for you. They get X-Factor points for unique and insane stunts. Their props were glowsticks, individual Chinese umbrellas with letters spelling out SAN DIEGO. Unfortunately, some of the letters were upside down – Curry Bear has problems reading upside down letters. They also had Chinese banners and lamps to go with their Chinese outfits for “Ashique Mein Teri”. Their best dance moves were during the song from Bhagam Bhaag. I personally didn’t like the storyline, because it wasn’t original or interesting. But this team put a lot of work with getting their costumes to match the Chinatown theme. In fact, I got hungry for some Chinese food after watching this performance.

Costumes: 10
Mix/Music: 9
Video Intro: 6
Props: 7
Stunts: 10
Dance Moves: 7
Synch/Formation: 8
Hotness: 7
Crowd Reaction: 8
Originality: 5
X-Factor: 3
Score: 8.0

My Picks For Winners:
FUSION
1. TCNJ Saathiya
2. UPenn Dhamaka
HINDI FILM
1. Baruch Andaaz
2. Stanford Dil Se

My Predictions:
FUSION:
1. TCNJ Saathiya
2. UPenn Dhamaka
HINDI FILM:
1. RU SAPA
2. Stanford Dil Se

Actual Winners:
FUSION
1. UPenn Dhamaka

2. TCNJ Saathiya

HINDI FILM
1. RU SAPA

2. USCD KYA

OVERALL
UPenn Dhamaka

PENN MASALA
One of the most popular a capella (it is spelled a capella and not acapella people) groups in the South Asian community. They performed “Tempted To Touch”, “Woh Lamhe” (amazing singer), “Desert Rose”, some Indian song which lead into “Only You” by 112 and ended it off repeating “I thought I told you that we won’t stop”. The guy with the afro was going nuts during “Woh Lamhe”. “Desert Rose” was very random but sounded very good. When they broke into “Only You”, they received a huge reaction from the female crowd. Overall, it was a great performance by this talented group. I just felt that it was a little too short and they could have picked more recently popular songs. Regardless, still an amazing performance.

THE EVENT
The event itself started 30 minutes late, but that’s OK, because I myself arrived 30 minutes late. The event featured many on screen commercial from Best Of The Best: Chicago, Bhangra Blowout, Ehsaas, Garden State Garba, PariandHariv.com Video, Mission Miami, DesiDanceTeams.com (wooots), and Top Naach. The show was hosted by Pari and Harvin who did an excellent job as comedic hosts. Every segment and every introduction was very hilarious and relative to the next dance team. The segment where Harvin did a solo stand up was decent, but very old and a redundant act. I heard the same routine at last year’s PhillyFest and BOB:NYC. DJ Gaurav was also an MC for certain parts of the show but mostly during technical difficulties for the videos. There were quite a few video problems throughout the night. The location of the show was good; it was next to some theater where Prince William was making his appearance. That was the reason for the huge crowd and high security outside the theater. What? You thought they were there for RU SAPA? This event, with an all-star league of teams, could not have picked a better line-up. The awards were somewhat fair and arguable as always. The amount of money given to winning teams was a decent chunk. The stage was big, which really helped teams with a lot of props and backdrops. Not only that, but there were a lot of facilities that were used to help teams in their performance. I noticed diversity in the crowd, which is always good to know that the South Asian dance scene is spreading to other ethnic groups. The seats were not very comfortable; you had to change positions quite often. But the view you had from your seat was decent. If someone tall with a big head was in front of you, you would’ve been screwed. Overall, a great competition and ran pretty smoothly except for the video difficulties.

MC: 10
Location: 10
Name: 10
Seating: 7
Guest Performers: 7
Awards: 8
Teams: 10
Timings: 7
Stage: 10
Diversity: 10
X-Factor: 10
Score: 9.9

Check out discussion about PhillyFest at DesiDanceTeams.com in their Hindi Film Dance forums and Fusion forum. Also check out the DDT Image gallery for pictures of PhillyFest.

* Curry Bear ratings are based upon Curry Bear’s knowledge, taste, and opinion. Whether you agree or disagree, doesn’t matter. But you are welcome to leave comments about teams and competitions so your opinion is stated and heard. If your feelings are hurt from this review, then you are a sissy. Curry Bear doesn’t hate any team. Curry Bear writes in the way he does because that’s his style. This is just a review. Please excuse Curry Bear’s misspelling for song titles or mistaking song titles.