Mangalore: Dazzling Elite Dance Challenge Takes Crowds by Storm
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Dec 4: There was music, masti, dance, entertainment and spirited performances in abundance at the “Elite 2011” dance challenge grand finale held at Nehru Maidan to mark the 10th anniversary of popular dance troupe of Mangalore Boyzone on Saturday, December 3, 2011.
Nehru Maidan reverberated with the sound, music and light and with the presence of thousands who assembled at the Nehru Maidan to watch the grand finale and also to watch popular dance star Dharmesh Sir and our own equally popular desi boy dancing sensation Kishore of Dance India Dance fame. For the solo and group performers who had qualified for the finals it was a perfect platform to showcase their ample dancing prowess and creativity and for the audiences too it was an experience of entertainment unlimited.
The final moments of knowing who the winners were in the three categories of junior solo, senior solo and group were really agonizing especially for the participants as the wait was too long or at least it looked that way. Though they had wait till 11 pm to know the results, it was worth the wait especially for the winners and also for the participants as the competition was of high standards and quite challenging may be with only a small percentage points differentiating them. Moreover having gone through the grueling qualifying audition rounds to enter the final itself was an achievement for the performers. Performers from Bangalore, Mysore, Udupi, Chickmaglur and many other places participated in the grand finale.
Results Sweet and Sour
There were three categories of competitions, 10 finalists each in solo junior (below 15) and in solo senior category and 14 finalists in the group category. In the Junior solo category Neha L K of Kavoor Mangalore, who danced to the popular number “Uvashi Urvashi” from the Prabhu Deva Starrer “Hum Se Hai Muqbala was the winner. Second place was bagged by Shreya Jain of Pandeshwar, Mangalore dancing to the popular number sung by Akon “Chammk Chalo”. Third winner was Gauthami from Ashok Nagar.
In the solo performance in senior category Shivani, from Surathkal, Mangalore came out with flying colours to win the 1st place. Kaushik from Mangalore was the first runner up and Deeksha Hosabettu was the 2nd runner up.
In the group category, which witnessed fabulous performances from all the 14 groups, Deepak X Zone, Kodikal Mangalore outwitted the others to emerge as the winner. Avish Dance Group, Kulai, Mangalore was the 1st runners up and Dancing Stars of Sharada were the 2nd runners up.
While the scope for solo performances was limited it was the groups that exhibited maximum creativity and variety and the competition was really of top caliber. The stage setting, the costume, the performances gave ample amount of opportunity for the performers to be creative and also to display their skills.
The judges for the grand finale were Rahul Choudhary, Assistant Choreographer to Saroj Khan, Shumbu Roy and Leena Ramakanth, all from Mumbai, who might have had a tough time in selecting the winners.
Entertainment Galore
It is not just the competitors who kept the audience glued to their seats. Dharmesh Yelande who was the 2nd runner up of Dance India Dance Season 2 fame and Kishore Aman of Mangalore, who was placed among the top 12 in the same competition, regaled the audience as they performed together on stage, though for a brief moment. Their very presence on stage electrified the audience who demanded they perform on stage and the duo did not disappoint. Shambu Roy,India’s number one B-Boying crew, who was also one of the judges of the competition and his team, gave a breathtaking performance to electrify the evening, which was watched with admiration by all those assembled.
There was also Mangalore’s own rock band ‘Shifting Scales”, which broke the monotony of the dance competition by crooning Tulu-English mix number “Kaasijji” (no money) and another number “uppinakai” (meant for NRI’s to give the nostalgic feeling of home). While Kaasijji was a thorough entertainer nothing could be made out from the second song which was too noisy.
The evening began with solo performances from the junior group. It was more of a girl’s show as 8 out of the 10 contestants in the final were girls. Soon after the solo performance the programme was formally inaugurated by lighting the lamp by Blossom Fernandes, Vijay Kumar Shetty, and former MLA, Moodbidri MLA Abhaychandra Jain, Ullal MLA U T Khader and others. Prominent personalities like M A Gafoor, P P Upadhya, Srikar Prabhu, Aziz Baikampady, mayor Praveen, Corporator Diwakar, Director of Kannada film industry Sanjeev Kumar, Sharat Amin, corporator Navin, Chairman of Western Institute of Technology Stephen Mendez, Kishore of Boyzone Dance Academy and many others were present on the dais. All these personalities who have been instrumental in making the show, were felicitated on the occasion.
Sunil Shetty, another senior dancer from Surathkal was also felicitated on the occasion and it was a tribute to him when Kishore of DID fame announced that whatever he has been able to achieve was due to the inspiration in got from watching the performance of Sunil Shetty.
The icing on the cake was the compere Sahil who was a sheer pleasure to watch and listen to. With his command on English, Hindi, Kannada and Tulu, he was a star performer indeed and Dharmesh even made him even shake a leg on the stage and a spirited Sahil did not hesitate though he looked more at ease with his loquaciousness.
It was indeed a top notch show, managed and executed impeccably. While the guests who inaugurated showed their good sense and magnanimity by refusing to take to mike and spared the audience from any onslaught of speeches the programme got delayed in between as those who were invited on the stage got carried away by the public response and stayed there a little longer than expected. But such minor hiccups in a event as gigantic as this one can be overlooked.
All credit goes to Western Institute of Technology and Boyzone Dance Academy for such a wonderful event and also for the audience who watched the programme till the end.