BY PARIJAT CHANDRA

Boogie Woogie Chalo America 2004 presented by Sony Entertainment Television Asia was brought to Atlanta for its second year by Mark Premji Productions. The auditions for the Southeast USA Finals took place on October 24th at the Global Mall and the competition itself was conducted at Earthlink Live on October 31st.

Shivani Gandhi, winner of last year's junior category, won the senior competition this year, while the junior category was won by Samta Savla.

Participants in the Junior category represented ages 6 to 13 and those in the Seniors represented ages 14 to 21. Potential participants had to fill out forms detailing their training and experiences and were asked to give three choices of song and dance numbers preferred. This was done to avoid repetition of songs and keep each performance unique.

A panel of 5 judges, carefully chosen by Mark Premji, was present on both occasions, audition and the competition, to view and rate the performances. The judges, though from diverse backgrounds, were all linked by the common thread of being educated or trained in the art of dance and music. It was a pleasure to see Shezi Sardar the winner, in the Senior category, of last year’s Boogie Woogie Chalo America in Atlanta and the first runner up in Boogie Woogie Chalo America US Grand Final as one of the esteemed judges.

The participants in each category were judged on basis that included choreography, originality, rhythm & grace, costume and visual presentation. One winner from each category, Junior and Senior will fly to New Jersey to compete in the Boogie Woogie Chalo America US Grand Finals on November 21st.

Such is the allure and popularity of the show that on the day of the auditions, throngs of people came to Global Mall just to watch and cheer the performers. Security had to be assigned to keep the crowds away so as not to disturb the performances. Even Grand Marshall for the event, Subhash Razdan, of Namaste Bombay, came to the event straight from the airport from a business trip, and claimed he would not have missed being there for anything.

The competition started off with emcee Parijat Chandra welcoming the audiences and explaining the rules to them. She also introduced each judge along the course of the evening and emphasized on why they were qualified to judge the event. She brought a unique feature to this year’s show by engaging each contestant in a tête-à-tête before each performance. This helped dispel a lot of the nervousness of being on stage and helped provide a smooth transition from conversation to performance. It also gave the judges enough time to carefully rate the performances.
The parents of the contestants in the Junior category were very appreciative of the fact that she asked each of them age appropriate questions and specifically asked their ages as the difference in the performance of a 6 year old versus a 13 year old can be significant and age should definitely be factored in the scoring. 

The performances in the Junior category ranged from classical music based numbers like ‘Rang Deni’ from the movie ‘Dev’ to a medley of Bollywood songs to Bhangara numbers by Sukhbir and Shehzad. The enthusiasm, talent and innovativeness of the juniors were a pleasure to watch as was the fact that a seven-year-old participant chose his own medley of songs and choreographed them. The impact was amazing and the audiences very encouraging.

The competition in the Seniors category was intense. Each song was thoughtfully chosen, outfits perfectly put together, appropriate props in place and the performance – mind blowing! Judging this section must have been quite a challenge for the judges. What was amazing is that guys in this category gave the girls a run for their money and matched them step for step even in areas such as grace, fluidity, flexibility, “jhatakas”, “lachchak”, and expressions etc. which are typically stereotyped as women’s domains. It was a visual delight and an experience few in the audience will ever forget.

As the winners and first runner-ups were announced it was clearly evident that a tough competition had been fought and the winners carefully and appropriately chosen. The First Runner up in the Junior section was Shivany Bhakta who danced beautifully to the, very difficult, number “Mann Mohini” from the movie ‘Hum Dil Chuke Sanam’. She was surpassed only by the Winner in this category Samta Savla who drew the audiences’ breath away by her flawlessly choreographed and performed song “Rang Deni” from the movie ‘Dev’.

The fact that the judges’ judging prowess had really been put to test was evident when a tie was announced for the First Runner-up in the Senior section. Hariqbal Basi who performed to the song “Maut” from the movie ‘Kaante’ and Nina Talukdar who performed a fusion dance to the number “Tumse Milke Dilka”from the movie ‘Main Hoon Na’ tied for the first runner up slot. 

Shivani Gandhi who danced to her idol Madhuri Dixit’s song “Hum Ko Aaj Kal Hai Intezaar” from the movie ‘Sailaab’ was the big winner of the evening. This girl is on a roll. She was the winner in the Junior section of last years Boogie Woogie Chalo America in Atlanta and took home the Seniors trophy this year. Her performance in the finals in New Jersey is being looked forward to with baited breath. She has all of Atlanta rooting for her.

Dancers who before this never had an opportunity to showcase their talents now have the platform for it and the others who performed only at social and family gatherings now have the opportunity to check out their peers across the country and find out where they really stand. It has gotten a lot more people up and on their feet Boogie Wooging their nights away until time for the next competition comes around.