Boogie Woogie India

Today in our knowledge segment, let’s learn about a fun dance called “Tango”!

Tango originated first from Argentina, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Uruguay. It is a very popular form of dance and is getting lot more popular in the Indian sub continent especially for dance competitions.

History of Tango: Tango was known as Tango Criollo or just Tango. They say that Tango has African influence. It originated in lower class districts of Buenos Aires. It was in 1890’s that it started to get popular and started spreading rapidly to other parts. In the early years of the twentieth century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires traveled to Europe and the first European tango craze took place in Paris. It soon spread to other places such as London, Berlin. Around 1913, it reached New York and Finland.

In the USA the name Tango was often applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. It had its lows and highs during the great depression but it soon emerged back in 1983.

Dancers like Miguel Angel Zotto and Milena Plebs, made it more popular when they formed a “Tango X 2” company. That created a style that recovered the traditional tango of the milongas, renewed it and placed it as central element in its creations doing an archeological search of diverse styles of the tango.

Tango Styles: The Tango consists of a variety of styles either open embrace, where lead and follow have space between their bodies, or close embrace, where the lead and follow connect either chest to chest or in the upper thigh, hip area. Some of the Tango styles are:

• Tango Argentino
• Tango Oriental
• Tango Canyengue
• Tango Liso
• Tango Salon
• Tango Orillero
• Tango Milonguero
• Tango Nuevo
• Show Tango
• Ballroom Tango
• Finnish Tango

Tango is played with several types of music such as Tango, Vals, Milongo, Tango Electronico and Alternative Tango.

How to dance Tango:

The easiest way to remember the basic tango dance step is to think of the acronym T-A-N-G-O, since there are five parts to the basic. At the same time, the steps have a rhythm and duration that goes as follows: “Slow…slow…quick-quick-slow…”

Like many ballroom dances, the lead and follow mirror each others steps in the basic. Many of the more complicated tango dance steps give each part their own specific roles to play. The lead also always begins with the left foot, the follow with the right, and the lead steps are “heel leads” – that is, the heel of the foot comes down first, not the toe.

1. T (slow): the lead steps forward with the left foot, the follow mirrors by stepping back with the right.
2. A (slow): the lead steps forward with the right foot, mirrored again by the follow’s right.
3. N (quick): the lead steps forward again with the left, a slightly smaller step, preparing to step to the side with the right.
4. G (quick): the lead steps to the right with the right foot, using a technique known as “collecting” the foot. This simply means that the right foot comes up alongside the left before stepping to the right, and doesn’t move in the diagonal.
5. O (slow): probably the most sultry step in the basic, this is a slow almost-drag of the left foot towards the right, ready to begin the basic again. For the follow, it’s the joining of the right foot to the left with a slow, deliberate motion.

Below is a beautiful video of Tango dance that one can watch and learn from:

If anyone is willing to share some information on this particular dance, please feel free to write to us at sansuiboogiewoogie@gmail.com

Remember to increase your knowledge, always share it with others!

Courtesy: Wikepedia and lovetoknow websites

Have a Fabulous Day!!

As Firdaus has announced the auditions for the second quarter will be for Mummy’s Championship, we thought we would put a reminder article of do’s and don’ts that may be helpful.

You can download the application from the link below:

Application Form

You can download the rules and regulations by clicking the link below

Rules and Regulations

Send your Video CD to Firdaus as soon as possible at:

Firdaus
R & N TV PRODUCTIONS
Meher Bungalow No 55, RSC 4, Park Street,
SV PAtel NAgar, MHADA Versova Andheri W
Mumbai 400053

Include a cover letter mentioning your interest in Boogie Woogie in Mummy’s championships. Prepare yourself a good introduction – think of how you would introduce yourself best at least amount of time. Maybe it is a good idea to mention few lines about your family and your flexibility. Don’t write a story. Be specific but be clear in the message your want to send across. (VERY IMPORTANT - Get your family consent so that there are no problems in future.)

Fill in your application form and make a copy of it for your records. Your application acts like your resume. Prepare yourself well according to your application and be ready to answer if you are asked anything from it.

Make a clear Video CD, label it with your name, the song that you are dancing on, film name, and music company name. Make sure you don’t select any song from the company’s that are not allowed. Boogie Woogie has listed few companies that you CANNOT play their music. T-Series, Yash Raj, Big Music and any international music labels are the ones that you cannot use.

Choose your best song for the audition video CD. Get a second and third opinion from others before making it. Be fluent and flawless in your performance.

Make sure none of the songs that you dance have vulgar meaning or feel to it.
Your audition needs to be no more then 2 minutes so trim your song well to its best part and prepare well.

I dont think costume is needed for your audition CD but if you think it might add to its strength then go for it.

Please make your video in sufficient light so that your dance and expressions are clearly seen.

Have a good quality for your audio song that you will be dancing on. It should be heard clearly in your video CD.

Make sure there are no background noises or disturbances

If possible, show your dance prior to the person who is recording so that he or she gets a feel of how to focus their camera while you are dancing.

Request your camera person to take a clear video especially when you give out your expressions and your best movements.

Prepare your song by understanding the meaning of all words well.

Last but not least - Have PATIENCE and wait to hear from Firdaus - continue to practice and pray - Keep yourself always on positive note.

Today we have a contribution from one of our member who explained to us about the importance of ghungroos in classical dance. “Jaishree” who has been a silent reader for sometime who is herself a well trained classical dancer, have contributed her first article. We are very thankful to her and appreciate her taking time in writing and making this blog lot more worthwhile. Thank You Jaishree!! God Bless You! We look forward to hearing from you more.

We often observe that Indian classical dancers wear ghungroo (foot bells) in their feet just above their ankles. Today let us see why they wear and what the importance of ghungroo is in the Indian classical dance.

Ghungroos are made with brass and they are tiny bells tied together to a cloth which is worn above the ankle on feet while performing classical dance. You will also find ghungroo tied to either leather or other material but many dancers who believe in sanctity, ahimsa do not use those as they perform in temples or at religious functions. Ghungroo in two words can be said that is used as a musical accessory. The sounds that are produced from it are often rhythmic and go with the other musical instruments that are played during the performance.

Ghungroos are considered sacred by a majority of classical dancers. They worship them and place them with high importance. It is believed that a dancer never throws her ghungroos after her performance and instead places it at a higher seat called Asan as a mark of respect.

Indian classical dancers strongly believe in mother earth as the Goddess Bhumati. They execute steps in rhythmic patterns touching their feet in full and also with their heel and toes. Ghungroo also adds a different charm to a dance. When ghungroos are not worn, the music instruments play heavy role. But a dancer always prefers to dance with her or his ghungroos as their preference. The rhythmic pattern of a dance makes a powerful ecstatic, divine sound and charm. If a dancer is skilled, he or she can very well produce different sounds out of these ghungroos sounding differently that can vary from loud to mild to slow. A good skilled dancer also has a knack to sound just one ghungroo out of many or sound only few of them or all making a thunderous sound from all ghungroos. A dancer who wears ghungroos often relates to the music that is played on tabla and sounds in sync with the instrument.

Ghungroos are made of brass and they are available at reasonable cost. They also are durable and can last a long time. Brass bells make a mesmerizing sound although people also wear bells that are made with silver as they sound enchanting too. Ghungroos are also inexpensive to repair if they are broken. A string of ghungroos can anywhere range between 50 bells to more then 200 tiny bells all knotted together.

Some of the Indian Classical dances that use ghungroos are “Bharatnatyam”, “Kuchipudi”, “Odissi” and “Kathak”.

- Jaishree

Honestly the credit to this topic should go to "Haresh Karkar" who made me think and write on the topic. Yesterday he mentioned about dancing in front of the mirror which inspired me to do research and think about it more in detail. Let’s have a look at the advantages but before that I must say something – “Thank you Haresh!”

We must have heard the phrase a million times that goes “practice makes a man perfect”. Very true, there is absolutely no doubt about it. But what is Practice? It is repeating any act or lesson over and over again to master it or to learn it good. But why is it that we need to repeat things to be able to master it? Well, 1) when we learn something new, it sounds or makes us feel foreign to it. 2) By just looking at it once, there is a very good chance that we might forget especially at the time of performance 3) even if we remember; we bound to mess it up either by including our own version or forgetting half way through and making the act look bad. And so, we must practice not only in the beginning but also when we are fluent so that it can flow easy, flawless, without any interruptions and also look professional.

Now that we talked why we must practice, let’s talk how can we practice or what are the ways that one can practice their dance. Here is a scenario – When we go to school to learn a lesson either in person or online, we are given home work and our duty is to practice that lesson so that next time we are able to perform without any interruptions and just the way it was taught. Normally people end up doing one of the below to practice:

Practice on your own playing music

Practice in front of a friend or partner who can point out if there are any mistakes.

Practice in front of a mirror so that we can judge ourselves and rectify any mistakes.

Practicing on your own is good and requires a good amount of confidence. When a person practices, he or she will have their teacher, choreographer or mentor on mind. They try to use the same type of expressions and steps. Unconsciously they imagine themselves to look similar like their teacher in expressions and steps. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. There is a big chance that one might end up practicing the wrong steps thinking it to be right as there is no way to correct at that moment. Yes but if you have a dancing partner who attended your same class then while he or she perform you can judge and vice versa. That does help. But the best way that is normally followed by a majority of the dancers is dancing in front of a mirror. Why? Let’s have a look at it.

1. Dancing in front of mirror helps a person come out of his or her shyness. A lot of times we fear audience and go weak in our knees. The best way to overcome the shyness or fear is to role play. Dancing in front of a mirror looking into our own eyes and also watching our every step especially while giving expressions can help in big way. Unconsciously when we are in front of mirror we start to imagine there is audience on back of our mind. And the practice that is done in front of mirror helps us overcome our shortcomings of shyness and fear.
2. They say we are our biggest critic. Before we can hear what others are going to say about us, we start to judge ourselves with a hundred faults. And so when we dance in front of a mirror, we tend to practice it better as we can see ourselves and hence the chance of picking harshly on us becomes less.
3. Evaluation becomes easy when practicing in front of mirror. When we practice in front of a mirror, we will be able to evaluate our every move. We correct the wrong moves and practice it till the time we are satisfied. And as they say “if we are satisfied then there is a good chance of others feeling satisfied too.”
4. A mirror gives us instant and true feedback and we don’t have to wait to know how we did.

Whether you talk about dance or sports or playing music, practicing in front of mirror always helps a person. A mirror shows us if our hands were in the right position, if we were balanced and also if we were leaning too much forward or backward. When we start to practice in front of mirror initially we may realize that what we feel is not comforting. We may feel there is still a long way to go to reach our full potential as a dancer. As they say bad habits die hard so a mirror practice is must to keep a self check and to make sure we don’t stay comfortable with the bad habits.

Once there was a man who was a great artist and he made many wonderful portraits and one day he realized that he should make a self portrait and so he started to sketch himself. He was busy for days completing his sketch and when it was finished he was thoroughly satisfied. He placed his new portrait next to a mirror and stood in front of it only to realize that there was a world of difference. The man he drew was the man he was 50 years ago. He had aged and the real man that he had turned into had very little resemblance which according to me is not wrong. But the world would see it as a different man’s portrait. Plus his intention was to sketch the present him not the past him. But if you ask me, even though the sketch had nothing to do with the present reflection as it was a reflection from the past but I see it as a positive thing. It only signifies that he is young at heart. It also means he is alive and lively. They say the day we start to imagine ourselves old, we have very less interest in life which is not good as it signifies that we want to near our end. Anyway, the reason why I brought this story here is to say that sometimes we might practice thinking its perfect but what we actually practiced may turn out to be completely different from original so having a mirror check is must.

And last but not least, any method that can help you improve your performance can never be wrong especially if it’s a proven one. Go ahead and practice your skills – make your mirror your friend – he sure will be an honest friend!

As we always say this blog is a fan blog and any input from you help us improve this blog. It also runs with an intention to serve as a great tool in polishing skills of dance aspirants. They say knowledge when shared, travels far and helps in improving ourselves and as well as others. And if this advice comes from someone who is not only knowledgeable in his work but also masters his craft then all this site can do is to salute the person. Boogie Woogie India heard a very valuable piece of advice from "Dan Duce" who visited us early morning today.

We are really fortunate to read Dan’s comments. Thank You Dan - Please do visit us again and we do look forward to hearing more of tips and advices from you. We appreciate your advice and I am sure many Hip Hop dancers will surely take this advice seriously and give a flawless performance for their upcoming shows. Our reference articles on Hip Hop dance has been very popular and many sites and schools are linked for easy reference. I am sure your advice will help them more in learning and practicing.

It’s not a great idea to wear any loose neck jewelery as it’ll get caught and could be dangerous. Your footwear should fit and be comfortable - not huge. Tees and polo’s are good but less on the accessories as they will hinder your performance and get in the way. If your moves are dynamic i.e B-boy you’ll regret the loose fitting cap, sneakers and jewelery. Keep it cool looking, comfortable, fun and dynamic.

Dan Duce

www.dynastyrockers.com

His original message can be seen HERE

Thank You! 

- Admin

BoogieWoogieIndia.Com

Yesterday we talked about the history and other details linked with Bhangra, today we will cover the costumes that are worn by Bhangra dancers.

Reference Courtesy: wikepedia

Traditional men wear a chaadra while doing Bhangra. A chaadra is a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. Men also wear a kurta, which is a long Indian-style shirt. In addition, men wear Pugdee - also known as turbans - to cover their heads.

In modern times, men also wear turla - the fan attached to the pugdee. Colorful vest are worn above the kurta. Fumans - small balls attached to ropes - are worn on each arm.

Women wear a traditional Punjabi dress known as a ghagra. A ghagra is a long colorful skirt which fans out into a giant disk as a woman twirls. Women also wear duppattas, colorful pieces of cloth wrapped around their neck. Many Bhangra songs make references to the duppatta. Also, women wear suits called salwars kamiz; long baggy pants tight at the ankle (salwars) and a long colorful shirt (kamiz).

These items are all very colorful and vibrant, representing the rich rural colors of Punjab. Besides the above, the Bhangra dress has different parts that are listed below in detail:

• Turla or Torla which is a fan like adornment on the turban
• Pag (turban, a sign of pride/honor in Punjab). This is tied differently than the traditional turban one sees Sikhs wearing in the street. This turban has to be tied before each show
• Kaintha (necklace), some men even wear earrings like the large hoops worn by the women dancers
• Kurta - Similar to a silk shirt, with about 4 buttons, very loose with embroidered patterns.
• Lungi or Chadar, A loose loincloth tied around the dancer’s waist, which is usually very decorated.
• Jugi: A waistcoat, with no buttons.
• Rammal: Small ’scarves’ worn on the fingers. They look very elegant and are effective when the hands move during the course of bhangra performance.

Have a good day folks!

After a long time we come back to our gaining knowledge segment. In past we have covered some classical dances such as Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Odissi and in western we covered Hip Hop, Tap Dance and Rock n Roll. I must say our Hip Hop and Bharatnatyam segments have been very popular with many sites linking to ours for gaining knowledge. Recently we also found out that it also helped the students with their school projects and so we gladly continue with this knowledge segment to spread it as far as possible.

Today we will talk about folk dance – Bhangra.

Bhangra as we all know is a Punjabi folk dance that originated from the state of Punjab. It is an energetic dance that initially was conducted by the farmers to celebrate Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi marks the birth of Khalsa and is also the beginning of the harvest season.

Vaisakhi is one of the most significant holidays in Sikh calendar commemorating the establishment of the Khalsa in 1699. It is celebrated by the Khalsa as their birthday every year corresponding to the event when they were created by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 at Anandpur. It is said that Guru Ji had arranged all his followers from all over India to meet him at the baisakhi fair in Anadpur. He asked a man to step forward who was willing to die for his religion. One man came forward, he entered the Guru’s tent, then the Guru came out of the tent – his sword stained with blood. One by one the guru chose four more men to come forward, and one after another they entered and the Guru emerged alone with his blood stained sword. The crowd was nervous, and mysteriously there was no screaming at all. The five men came before the people, dressed in robes like the Guru, alive and well. The Guru Ji put water water in a bowl for sprinkling over the five in a simple initiation ceremony. He said prayers as he stirred the water with a short steel sword; symbolizing the need for strength. The Guru’s wife, Mata Sundri, then came forward and placed some sugar crystals into the holy water or amrit as a reminder that strength must always be balanced by sweetness of temperament. After completing his prayers, the Guru then sprinkled the amrit over the five men.

He declared them to be the first members of a new community of equals, to be called the Khalsa, meaning “pure”. These saint soldiers were to dedicate their lives to the service of others and the pursuit of justice for the people of all faiths. The Panj Pyare were asked to wear five distinctive symbols of their new identity, the Five Ks. In a move to end social divisions the Panj Pyare’s surnames were removed by the Guru mainly because surnames were associated by ones caste’s. The Guru then gave them all Sikh men the name “Singh” meaning “Lion”, a reminder of the need for courage. At the same time all Sikh women were given a name title as “Kaur” meaning princess.

The same season was also the arrival of the harvesting season. The festival always falls on April 14 and marks the beginning of the solar year. Just before the festival the farmer returns home with his bumper crop, the fruit of his whole year’s hard labor.

This festival is in celebration to thank God for good harvest for the year and coming year. On this day, people take a dip in holy rivers early morning and later wear their best attire and celebrate by dancing Bhangra to express their joy. The dancers and drummers challenge each other to continue the dance. The scenes of sowing, harvesting, winnowing and gathering of crops are expressed through zestful movements of the body to the accompaniment of ballads. Traditional Bhangra is a fusion of music, singing and the beat of the dhol drum, a single stringed instrument called the iktar, the tumbi and the chimta. The accompanying songs are small couplets written in Punjabi language called bolis. This relates to current issues faced by the singers called ‘dil the gal’ what they truly want to say.

Bhangra has developed as a combination of dances from different parts of the Punjab region. The term "Bhangra" now refers to several kinds of dances and arts, including Jhumar, Luddi, Giddha, Julli, Daankara, Dhamal, Saami, Kikli, and Gatka. Jhumar, originally from Sandalbar, Punjab, comprises an important part of Punjab folk heritage. It is a graceful dance, based on a specific Jhumar rhythm. Dancers circle around a drum player while singing a soft chorus.

A person performing the Luddi dance places one hand behind his head and the other in front of his face, while swaying his head and arms. He typically wears a plain loose shirt and sways in a snake-like manner. Like a Jhumar dancer, the Luddi dancer moves around a dhol player. Women have a different and much milder dance called Giddha. The dancers enact verses called bolis, representing a wide variety of subjects - everything from arguments with a sister-in-law to political affairs. The rhythm of the dance depends not only the drums, but also on the handclaps of the dancers. Daankara is a dance of celebration, typically performed at weddings. Two men, each holding colorful staves, dance around each other in a circle while tapping their sticks together in rhythm with the drums.  Dancers also form a circle while performing Dhamal. They also hold their arms high, shake their shoulders and heads, and yell and scream. Dhamal is a true folk-dance, representing the heart of Bhangra. Women of the Sandalbar region traditionally are known for the Saami. The dancers dress in brightly colored kurtas and full flowing skirts called lehengas. Like Daankara, Kikli features pairs of dancers, this time women. The dancers cross their arms, hold each other’s hands, and whirl around singing folk songs. Occasionally four girls join hands to perform this dance. Gatka is a Punjabi Sikh martial art in which people use swords, sticks, or daggers. Historians believe that the sixth Sikh guru started the art of gatka after the martyrdom of fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev. Wherever there is a large Khalsa Punjabi Sikh population, there will be Gatka participants, often including small children and adults. These participants usually perform Gatka on special Punjabi holidays. In addition to these different dances, a Bhangra performance typically contains many energetic stunts. The most popular stunt is called the moor, or peacock, in which a dancer sits on someone’s shoulders, while another person hangs from his torso by his legs. Two-person towers, pyramids, and various spinning stunts are also popular

Tomorrow, we shall cover costumes required for Bhangra.

Yesterday we talked about evaluation, goals and the other essentials needed to reach stardom. Today we will talk about the most important factor that is necessary – building fan base and Marketing Strategy. These two factors play an important role in a stars career. Both these factors are interrelated and interdependent.

Let’s say you participated in a reality show and became popular. You are a star now. The show just ended. What would you do next? How would you make sure to maintain your stardom? Most of the reality show participants think offers start flowing on their own just because they appeared on TV. No it does not happen that way. There are steps that need to be taken after a show is over and one has to work even much harder to establish themselves in their dream career. TV shows gets you the initial push or the first recognition required but you will have to make sure you utilize it to the best so that the recognition can stay with you for longer time instead of fading away. You have to use that recognition to the fullest to establish yourself. Have you heard the saying “Out of sight, out of mind?” Well it’s true! People normally remember as long as the participant is seen on TV and soon after the show is over and a new face comes in, they get busy watching the new face. Only loyal fans stick by you through thick or thin but loyal fans don’t just come like that. It takes time. We will talk about it later. First let’s build some good strategies.

We are in year 2009 and the way things have been changing faster then the speed of light is of no surprise. The way things were handled few years back are completely different from the way they are handled now. Gone are those days when one use to sit at home and read a magazine to know things about a star. Now everything is available on internet and over the finger tips. And hence my friend INTERNET is the key topic today!!!

Make yourself searchable over internet: When anyone watches a show and if they like a person then the first thing they do is search for that person over the internet. Google them, YouTube them, or use any search engine to find out more information about him or her. Fans search for your pictures, videos and any articles. Every picture you upload, you must save it with your name and that is how it comes out when anyone searches for it. Make sure there are plenty of them available over Internet. If you are searchable then its plus and you start to build your fan base and if you are not searchable then the spark that had just got started gets to disappear with someone else search results. Initially what fans do is all in impulse and later when they come to know you they fall in love with you. Your job is to make sure you are available on any search engines so that your fans can know you better or find ways to interact with you.

YouTube plays an important role these days. You may ask how? Well, as we spoke about search engines, the same way fans want to watch the different performances, listen to their idol or watch their favorite videos. And YouTube is the biggest site to hold zillions of videos and contributes to any show or artist’s success. One small example: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa show is considered to be the most popular TV show ever. It has created history on YouTube. If you go YouTubing then you will find plenty to million videos of this show. It is not just popular in India but in entire world. There are many countries where Indian channels are not available so for people of these countries, YouTube and Daily Motion comes to aid for them to be in touch with their home country. And people who are YouTube members always look out for new videos and if your video is available, you start to build your audience better.

Would you believe if I tell you, we have traffic on this website from 167 countries? Well it is true. I was surprised to see traffic from countries that I hadn’t heard of. Boogie Woogie is popular no doubt about it and that is why we see traffic from so many countries. Internet plays a very important role in bringing people together. And sometimes seeing is better then reading. So make sure you are available over YouTube and other video channels and are current with your videos.

In present times one sees that fans are building via internet. Internet offers all the information to anyone just sitting at home at their finger tips. Having a website will help you develop your career. When fans or agents search for you, 90 times out of 100 they search your name.com or they type in your company name dot com. If the search results are not up to satisfactory then they Google you. But if you have a quality dedicated website and if the viewers like what they are reading, they visit you regularly. You aim should be to have a regular traffic with an increase as the time goes by. Now you may wonder that it may costs you to build a website. And it’s true that one may not have the finances at the beginning of their career to invest in websites. Both the facts are true and false. Well for a good website, it does require money but then there are places where you can host your own website free of cost. They may be limited to few pages but it is always better to have something then nothing. For example: blogger.com, blogspot.com etc. You can easily have a wonderful website without spending a penny out of your pocket. But having a dedicated person to run and maintain the blog is essential. If you kick start a website but cannot update it on regular basis or contribute to it daily then it does more damage then good. One needs to have a dedicated person who would really care for you and will not ruin your blog at any cost. You must have keywords set up in such a way that any search should lead people to your site and to your images. But having a dedicated person is not enough. YOUR CONTRIBUTION GETS ESSENTIAL. Work on it!

Talking about profile, it is another MUST these days. With current times the best places you can have your profile is on Orkut, Facebook, Myspace and many such communities. You will find fans especially all young ones flock to sites as above in search of their favorite. As these sites are very popular so it becomes easy for your fans to reach out to you.

Now one may wonder what time would be right to have a website or profile on the net. Well, technically one must have their profile and blog setup before their first performance is telecasted so that you are immediately searchable. This is how a human mind works, if I like someone and saw them on TV, the next thing I would do is search for that person on Internet to find more on him or her. Your planning should be in such a way that you don’t miss out on any hits. As they say, make hay while the sun shines so you should be ready at the first get go. In today’s world, one needs to be competitive, educated and knowledgeable of how everything works after all it’s your career which is at risk and you definitely don’t want to take any chances with it.

This brings us to our next topic – reaching out to fans and interacting with them. You got your profile, website, videos, audios everything setup. Your fans are viewing them and like them. They leave a message or compliment you. Your duty is to reciprocate back. That is how you will build your loyal fan base or friendship. Who says a fan can’t be a friend? I think a fan would be a lot more better friend then the fake friends you will find down the line who would be ready to stab you in your back. When you build your fan base and sometimes if your fans are not reaching out to you, feel free to reach out to them. Drop in a casual hello. It makes a world of difference. As I said before I also contribute to another blog and it so happened that the person in question there interacted with fans till the time he was in need of votes and as soon as he won, he didn’t bother to thank fans nor interact. A lot of new artists when they taste success they feel it’s below their dignity to interact with fans on their own. Don’t be like that. The truth is you need fans all the way through. So be courteous to them at least till the time you are in show business.

Reaching out to fans is not the only thing that one needs to do. One needs to reach out to all those who are in capacity to help. A lot of times we shy away from asking for help. We scare what if the answer is going to be “NO”. And in that fear half of the times we don’t approach to ask a person. But the truth is by not asking, we are not getting anywhere. It is still a NO. So why fear? Why not ask? there may be a chance of them saying yes. Unless we try, we won’t know. Don’t be shy or don’t fear. They say God help those who help themselves. Be courageous and reach out to people and it is okay to hear a “No”. Maybe you will hear 10 “No’s” and then there will be one big “yes”? Very much possible, go for it!

Okay let’s talk about “Consistency”. Fans expect that you will treat them in a consistent way and that you will do what you say you will each and every time. By acting in accordance with these wants, you provide your fans a sense of security and confidence in you personally and in your work. That builds loyalty. And loyalty in fans as I said before is greater then any achievement or award in ones life. So be consistent in your work.

Build your credibility right. Building credibility takes time it doesn’t develop just like that. But fans observe everything. And the things that they see in you and in your behavior, gets credited towards your credibility. Your good actions make your fans fall in love with you and your bad actions will take them away. What you speak, you should practice. You should be trustworthy. Your actions will play a vital role in developing your credibility not only with fans but also with your agents or producers/ directors, co workers etc. So keep a watch on what you speak and do. Be honest to yourself and with those who care about you.

Sharing knowledge has never harmed anyone; we encourage your inputs and your thoughts. Plus we love to hear from you. Do reach us out at sansuiboogiewoogie@gmail.com

Have a goodnight folks!!

With plenty to dozen Reality shows that every channel offers these days, there is no limit to what opportunities it opens up for those with a potential. TV channels provide the best platform, exposure and that helps a reality show participant to not only show case their talent but also form his or her first fan base and taste their first success.

Appearing on TV in front of one billion populations is something that can best happen to an individual who is looking to make quick name and fame. But it has its own painful procedures as well that one must walk on to attain in their initial phase. Many reality show participants take it as big success either when they win the competition or appear on TV but very little they realize that the real competition or struggle only begins soon after the competition is over. That is the time when one needs to put his or her energy to prove and maintain the stardom that they achieved. With TV shows, it becomes easy as production house normally backs a participant and projects them as a larger then life image. And hence the misconception of one being a star leads to a painful reality check later after the show when it gets difficult to maintain the same image.

In today’s segment, let us talk about how to become a star and what one needs to do to maintain that starship once attained. If this article gets too long, I might break it into two parts.

How do you become a star?

Well the foremost thing that is needed is SKILLS, potential, being different, right attitude, killer instincts, LUCK, FANS, a good agent and excellent marketing strategies. But before that there are few things that one must do!

Self Evaluate: First, one must try to figure out what they are and what their goals are and also what one is comfortable with. Don’t have a false image but try to be realistic. There is absolutely nothing wrong in accepting ourselves the way we are. Once we finish evaluating then we must work on packaging right enough to present in the market. It’s all in how you present yourself. Your image, style does count. Work on it. The way we talk and present makes a huge difference for people to like us. Try to analyze how and what your friends feel about you. If there are areas that annoy them, work on that and improvise.

Looks matter only initially in Reality Shows for Audience: Many will be under the impression that if they got looks then they won the world. It’s totally false. Maybe it can fetch initial attraction but it fades out just like a tan in the sun. As soon as another face walks by, this face is long gone. Work on your personality. What matters to your fans is your personality. No one likes to stick around a snobbish or a bad attitude. Fans make you and fans kill you. So chart out behaviorism’s and start working on them.

Create Fans: Your ultimate goal should be in making as many fans as possible and retaining them. The most important achievement in any stars life is his or her fans. And having loyal fans is even bigger then any award. The more the fans, the more the demand, the more the demand, the more offers and it turn out productive for both a producer and an actor. Now how can one build a fan base, we will talk about it in a little bit in second part of this segment.

Build your Image and Style: Evaluate your style. Find out what looks good on you and what you need to do to improvise. It really doesn’t matter what you wear, it should look good on you and you should be able to carry it off well. Don’t adopt a style that is cool to outside world but makes you look uncomfortable. Make your true self more recognizable, appealing and memorable. It’s really not in looks but the way you carry it out.

Be an all rounder: In present world it is not enough that you are only a dancer. You need to be an actor, comedian, singer and a good spokesperson as well. Before you reach out to market yourself, polish your skills. Stars enjoy being the center of attention but for being a center of attention in public mind, you need to come with the right image that can leave a lasting impression. A good star always spend good part of their day working out, practicing their crafts and finding ways to groom themselves better.

Be PPP: My mentor George Brunath always told me one thing. In life and for any career, there are three “P’s” that are essential and that is being Persistent, Productive and Positive. You drop any one of the “P” and there will be a difference in results. Make sure all your P’s are in order and stay with you all the way. It’s really great to be disciplined. Plan your charts, workouts, maintain a diet, set your goals, and keep a check on them. Your aim is to have a better result or performance tomorrow then what you have today. There always has to be improvement doesn’t matter if it’s small but the improvement should be there. Your graph should move upwards in positive and not go negative. There are good and bad days in life but for a good star, such days don’t matter. He or she works the same on any day.

Sell your skills not your soul: Sometimes artists take a shortcut to reach the top and in such shortcuts they sell their soul. No matter what height or stardom you reach at, one should be able to look at themselves proudly especially when alone otherwise nothing is worth it. People normally build a false image and live with it but when they get time to look at themselves they can’t meet their own eye for the shortcuts that they have taken in life and hence some of them, they turn into psychopaths. I am again going to talk about my mentor here, he always says: for success, life is like a triangle. The fatter part below of a triangle is your base, foundation, skills, personality and right attitude. The more time you spend their in grooming yourself, the lesser amount of time you need when climbing up. But if you aim right at top without a foundation, then things tends to be short lived and fade. Plus remember, if you got fans then your fans are following you in big way. Your each and every action is being observed and you definitely don’t want to end up with something that will let you down in your fans eyes.

Love your work: Foremost thing is to realize that being a star is not earning huge money but there are other things that need to be part of it. One have to love working and working great with everyone. Don’t be nice with only producers and directors or fellow actors and ignore the real hard working people who are sweating away for you. Be polite and nice to all. The enthusiasm that you show on your day one, you should be able to meet your every act, every dance, performance with the same enthusiasm even when you are burned out by working long hours. They say, if your work sounds like work, then you are not ready but if your work sounds like fun to you then you have what it takes to be a star. There are no shortcuts in life and as they say no pain no gain but going for wrong pain can kill the person in you. Adopt a right attitude and choose a right LIFE!

This section we talked about what to do. Coming shortly is Part 2 of this section, we shall talk about how to do and how to build a great marketing strategy.

Yesterday we talked about some common injuries that a dancer may come across and also spoke about ankle sprains, knee injury and hamstring injury. Today let us cover the other two injuries that can be dreadful for a dancer. Hip Injury and Back Injury

As I said yesterday, it is not advisable to dance when you incur any injury. Doesn’t matter how small a sprain or your injury is, it’s always better not to take any chances. Taking a chance can get you through that particular day but might make you suffer for long time in future and it is just not worth it. Remember, a competition can be a part of life but LIFE is not a competition!

Hip Injuries:

Hip Injuries normally result when a dancer is doing a certain degree of rotation. It may be due to the shallow hip sockets which the body attempts to stabilize with a very large ace tabular labrum. What happens is in some cases symptomatic labrum tears and it can lead to an arthritis problem for later on but immediate symptoms are restrictions of certain movements of a dancer. If the injury is severe then one might need to go for a hip replacement.

When a dancer injures hip, if its not too severe then a doctor may advice to take complete rest and later do some strengthening exercises. It is not advisable to try any turnouts and also recommends staying away from any anti inflammatory medication that could mask the pain.

Back Injuries:

A lot of times it is seen that a dancer’s back is frozen or becomes stiff restricting any movement. This may happen due to problems leading to fatigue, hyper mobility, scoliosis, leg length inequalities and emotional stress. If you are wondering what hyper mobility and scoliosis means, then here it is for you. Hyper mobility is where when a dancer wraps their legs around their head as a dance movement. Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curve to the vertebral column. It is highly suggested that one must go for physical therapy to reduce any inflammation and also using heat and cold patches will speed up the exchange of fluids by bringing a fresh blood supply to the area. Avoiding sit ups, and crunches is must for any back injury.

To avoid getting hurt during dances one can try to decrease fatigue, backing off during growth spurts, getting a correct diagnosis and rehabilitating any residual problems to prevent re-injury. Take proper precautions and take care of your body as you body will take care of you in return.

See you tonight with reviews of today’s episode of Naache Taare Zameen Par – till then have a wonderful time folks!