Thirding the opinion that the choreography was almost hyper-masculine -- and acrobatic -- in execution. That fits more comfortably with Western standards of dance technique, though, so it's nothing that surprised me (yes, I ran to YouTube the moment I heard there was a Bollywood piece, because I am easy like that). And I thought they did exceptionally well with the routine they were given -- they kept the movement fluid and contained, which this kind of dancing (classically-inspired*) depends on, and Katee especially was holding her own on the hand gestures (mudra). And she didn't even know what Bollywood was, before!
*Most Bollywood routines are inspired by Indian classical dance to some degree, combining different schools or mixing them with modern dances with a cheerful disregard for "purity" of style. That's one of the reasons this routine made me happy -- saying something is Bollywood-style is like... well, it's hard to think of a Western equivalent, but you could draw a whole mess of different stuff from that label. The choreographer was obviously attempting to keep the movement grounded in Indian style, albeit tailored for newbie dancers and a Western audiences, while preserving the exuberance that characterizes Bollywood.
If you're looking for maybe an authentic Bollywood "equivalent" of this routine, try this:
It's two (female) dancers playing off of each other (each classically trained), using some of the same moves in the SYTYCD routine. The moves are executed differently, but are recognizable. It also brings home the "backed by 300 awesome dancers" aesthetic.
I bring it up not just because I like (love) this number, but it's some of the most athletic dancing I've seen women perform in a Bollywood film that is drawing heavily from the classical schools. As you can see, usually women's costumes outright prohibit the kind of movement in the SYTYCD routine. (Except the Odissi dance costume. But that's... me getting wildly off topic.) And the SYTYCD costumes were pure Hollywood. Even an item girl would wear a freakin' choli, not whatever bra thingy they had Katee in.
Chinese folk dancing pleeeaaaseeeee?
That would be so awesome, I would faint. And have to start watching the show regularly.
Was that African jazz? (I am just tickled they used a Manson song). It looks like regular jazz. But I am easily confused.
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Sat, Jul. 12th, 2008 07:01 pm (UTC)*Most Bollywood routines are inspired by Indian classical dance to some degree, combining different schools or mixing them with modern dances with a cheerful disregard for "purity" of style. That's one of the reasons this routine made me happy -- saying something is Bollywood-style is like... well, it's hard to think of a Western equivalent, but you could draw a whole mess of different stuff from that label. The choreographer was obviously attempting to keep the movement grounded in Indian style, albeit tailored for newbie dancers and a Western audiences, while preserving the exuberance that characterizes Bollywood.
If you're looking for maybe an authentic Bollywood "equivalent" of this routine, try this:
It's two (female) dancers playing off of each other (each classically trained), using some of the same moves in the SYTYCD routine. The moves are executed differently, but are recognizable. It also brings home the "backed by 300 awesome dancers" aesthetic.
I bring it up not just because I like (love) this number, but it's some of the most athletic dancing I've seen women perform in a Bollywood film that is drawing heavily from the classical schools. As you can see, usually women's costumes outright prohibit the kind of movement in the SYTYCD routine. (Except the Odissi dance costume. But that's... me getting wildly off topic.) And the SYTYCD costumes were pure Hollywood. Even an item girl would wear a freakin' choli, not whatever bra thingy they had Katee in.
Chinese folk dancing pleeeaaaseeeee?
That would be so awesome, I would faint. And have to start watching the show regularly.
Was that African jazz? (I am just tickled they used a Manson song). It looks like regular jazz. But I am easily confused.