Before we go on to the reviews, here's a shmaal shout out to Haresh:
Yo Dude, whoever you are, thanks for the awesome videos! They are crystal clear and you upload them up in a jiffy! It takes effort and it certainly helps everyone especially our fellow dancers. You have brought them to the next level - onto worldwide net. For that, you have our thanks! Nandri fellow Indian!
Now, the 2 groups who got in:
Mera Naam Joker
Clearly the winner in out poll this week, we knew somehow that these Jokers would get in! And they did!
A much better performance compared to Danz Arena. The piece on a whole was very fluid, and gelled together very well. Basically, the song, their movements and their expressions were up to par with everything going on around them.
In contrary to what Miss Lavanya said, we kinda liked the costume. It was different. We think they could have done better with the selection of fabric, but other then that the structure was new and different. It was a tad but plain, but it was an effort, can't say no there. So Kudos to Mera Naam Joker! You boys have redeemed yourself! We'll see you in the Semi Finals!
RSR
Jiggu Jiggu costumes makkal! Haha. The idea of having a 2 sided costume was certainly out of the box! Nice idea on that!! It could have signified the whole concept about snakes, and how 2 headed they could be sometimes. Not too sure on that though, but on the overall, these girls were good!
Something about their performance made if feel like it was from the 90's tv performance. And that is NOT an insult! Its Just a feel of the concept and the whole dance, that’s all. And we think that ladders are the trademark to this group. So far every performance of theirs involves their beloved step ladders! Their choreography and formations definitely suits their concept. But but but, the one thing we noticed in this performance was how awfully cramped up on stage they were. We kind of concluded that this was because of their formations. And girls, expressions were still bland. Why girls, why? Maybe the costume and masks overpowered the whole dance like how Miss Sridevi pointed out? And and and, only 1 person was missing in the dance. Haha, whatever it is, you are all in the Semi's! We hope to see you (and your ladders) again! All the best!
On the Fence
Anarchy
We applaud the effort for thinking of doing something different! This is one of the niche performances for the night. Costumes were extremely unique, it doesn’t strike you as attractive on first glance, but it tends to grow on you the more you watch them. Their dance was really one of a kind. Simple, Straight, Special (any other S u can think of) just like the costumes, the piece grows on you eventually. This junior group of Anarchy 99 is making its way back for the wildcard round! Let’s wish them all the best!
Mega Highlight
Today's highlight is on our very own Vadi's Sms Rap. Thanks to Haresh who uploaded that particular bit; our Dance2This crew came up with our own Rap for the Dhool'08 team. Makkalae's this is on behalf of you guys...
To counter this, here's Dance 2 This's very own rap:
*The song is from Prabhu Deva's Yezhaiyin Siripil (Yeppa Yeppa Ayyaapa). So sing along with us!
Yeppa Yeppa DHOOL Appa
Kannulae SMS votingae Kaathapa
Verum SMS panna sonna pothuma?
Namma kaasu yengae pothupa?
Yen SMS Un SMS
Namma SMS Yellam Panam!
Un SMS Yen SMS
Namma SMS Yellamae Panam!
Ayyo!
Panam Panam Panam
Athu namma podura Panam!
SMS SMS SMS
Athae konjam kaatavendum neeyum!
DhooL!
Yeppa Yeppa DHOOL Appa
Kannulae SMS votingae Kaathapa
Verum sms panna sonna pothuma?
Namma kaasu yengae pothupa?
And lastly, just for laughs, we made a shmaal video.
The 4 Quarter Finals are over! The wildcard round is up next! Groups in Ungal Choice round are as follows:
4Dee Krew
Anarchy
Apsara Asia
Chakraz
PFD
Synchronix
Basically all the groups who were on the fence are in! This battle is going to be one hell of a tough fight. Who are the final groups who will lock their places in the Semis to join Tridiac, Version 2.8, Kali Dancers, Agni Reloaded, Killabeez, Aerocratz, Mera Naan Joker & RSR? YOU decide!
*Click to enlarge
The (highly anticipated) 3rd Quarter finals have passed and my oh my, we have mixed feelings about what happened.
But first first first:
But lets congratulate the 2 groups who got in first, shall we?
1. Aerocratz
2. Killabeez
Enna beez? Enna aachu? An utterly dissapointing performance by our beloved beez. The funny thing was that the boys decided to dance for their thoduvean remix, the one that got the LEAST number of votes (25%) in their survery. So why the survey in the first place? We wonder if they attempted that dance in a bid to surprise everyone by giving us something unexpected. But sadly boys it didn't give hand. It was the 1st dance they had every performed as a group when they begun and it rocketed them to stardom, but watching today’s performance of it was just a total let down. It was more or less the same dance, with a couple of variations here and there. Boys! You guys are well known for your creativity. What went wrong? At the start everyone was lip syncing to the song, but halfway through, some were, and some weren’t. Same goes for the expression. And might we add, we totally didn't dig the costume. Sorry Viky! Something was just awfully wrong with it. Maybe it was the choice of fabric, or combination of colours OR both.
On the fence
Highlight:
Seriously, à®…à®°ைச்ச à®®ாவை எத்தனை வாட்டிதான் à®…à®°ைக்கிறது?
Having said that, let’s look at the next 5 groups up next week:
Aarthiz
Anarchy
Mera Naam Joker
Ryyan Spenser Revolution
Synchronix
That more or less sums up the 3rd Quarter Finals. 1 more week and we are into the Semi Finals already! With the performances we've seen so far, it's quite hard to think of what these groups are going to come up with next! Wonder what surprises are in store for us next week. Mmm.. Til next post everyone!
*Credits to Haresh for the awesme videos! Thanks!
If you had realised, the IP Address is exactly the same (we decided to haze out that person's IP Address to protect him/her before some gizmo freak tracks him down). But look at the name. This person is using various names to... have a conversation with themselves??? 
For some weird reason, we kind of suspected that these boys were gonna dance for Navraz for the quarter finals. Let’s face it, that is one of their better dances compared to so many others. So when we saw them at first glance (the 'please-vote-for-us' speech) we were kind of shocked to see them in the same get up as in Danz Arena. That was until they started dancing and we went... OOOHHHH.
The (in)famous Navraz dance.
With a few modifications here and there, they managed to pull off the whole routine with their new crew (plus plus the original Agni). AGAIN, what can we say? First off, their song has always been of good appeal to their dance. The song alone has the ability to make our hairs stand, including the sound effects that AR adds in.
Costumes, Make Up & EXPRESSIONS were a killer. They nailed all 3 departments! Everything was flawless except for their coordination, at certain times. Maybe it’s the new crew? Not accustomed to the Navraz routine or something? We don't know, but whatever it is, Agni Reloaded deserved to be in and they are! Excellent job, AR! (Spicy Man!) Haha, jokeu boys, jokeu.
Kali Dancers
Kali Dancers have taken a very different approach in this years Dhool compared to the previous.
But the shocker: We found that a few aspects of their dance ware awfully similar to Agni Reloaded in Danz Arena 08. The make up, male head gear and EXACT same song remix from AR's previous performance. Just that they added the Manthira Vaasal bit in the begginning.
Too much of a co incidence? We seriously do not know. What is YOUR scoop on this?
Even though AR Dhooled it, we feel that Kali dominates altogether because of their coordination. But other then that, Agni Reloaded and Kali Dancers are on the same ranking. The freaky thing was that everything was TOO similar to each other. Keeping all this aside, Kali Dancers were of same level compared to AR. The dance was full of impact and energy. Formations and expressions were brilliant. They were TOO good. Kali has always been damn good in their muga baavenei, but seriously, yesterday’s performance takes the cake. We knew you would make it! Well done.
On the fence
We realise that for every week, there will be 2 distinct dancers and of course, 1 group who is 'on the fence'. Basically, that means this 1 group is on a 50/50 card and they MIGHT get to go in if they get major help in their SMS Voting’s. And this week that group is none other then:
P.F.D Workshop (formely known as rebirth)
When we first saw these boys (and their botak heads) we were mightily impressed with their costumes. Even though their costume colours reminded us SLIGHLTY of the Killabeez costume in Bandmaster, that didn’t make theirs any less appealing. And the shaven heads, hats off for that effort. We really liked the fact that you guys stuck crystals on your heads. Nice. Use of stage space was very nicely executed and various formations are commendable. Thumbs up for that.
However, the whole dance was kind of mediocre. Energy level was SOMEWHERE there, but not exactly there just yet. Like we say, Fusion requires Dhaam Dhoom steps and that wasn’t THAT evident (even though we saw the effort). It was either that, or the dance was not executed out right, in the sense of maybe there was a lack of stamina OR moving too much in the formations threw you off course. And like what Lavanya said, expressions were running off here and there. What happened mottai boys?
But fret not! There is still a wildcard round. We wish you all the luck in getting in!
Special Shout Out
SOVIETS
We had to put their name up for 1 reason. Their effort in TRYING to do something different.
ESPANIOL DANCE.
We seriously applaud their tremendous effort in wanting to display something unique and of course, their costumes as well. Though the song choice went with the whole theme, we felt that justice did not prevail for the dance itself.
Why do we say this?
Every continental dance has a unique way of movement. Be it Samba, Salsa, Jazz, they all have their own individual specialty. Even though we saw effort in the choreography, it was executed very poorly because the boys bodies are obviously not accustomed to the flamboyant and sleek movements required in a Spanish dance. Even though their (partial) choreography was based on their theme, execution made it look really bad, simply for the fact that their bodies could not carry off the steps. Could have been a lack of practice OR a lack of awareness. We hope these boys take what we say into consideration and give us something out of the ordinary for their wildcard round!
Highlight:
What is this? Borderz 1:59 are in?! What happened to S.W.A.T?! From news gathered it seems that S.W.A.T backed our for some unsaid reason and in their place, Borderz got another chance to fight for the crown in Dhool 08. Actually, we are wondering. On what basis did Borderz get in? (Not that we are upset that they got in or anything. They were one of the groups we were hoping to see this year, but they didn't make it through to the Quarters due to some technical issues during the auditions) As in, there were 10 groups that were rejected in the Auditions. Borderz were 1 of them. Were they the best of the 10, or is this ANOTHER publicity stunt to make the rating of the show soar? Any comments?
And the official Dhool blog
Under currents under currents under currents.
Now, on a lighter scale, the next 5 teams up for Dhool 08's 3rd Quarter Finals are:
Killabeez
Aerocratz
De'Varanaaz
Borderz 1:59
Apsara Asia
In our opinion, the coming week is the TOUGHEST of all 4 weeks thats going to go by. Seriously, the judges are going to have a hell of a time. Lets hope they don't get caught in another argument like how they did during the 1st Quarter Finals. The groups must be working their tails off, considering what a close fight it is going be. Break a leg everyone! Till the next post!
*Groups, try sending in your group photo's. We would love to put them up for you. Like we said, we deserve the regognition anyways. Email them pictures to dhaamdhoomdance@gmail.com . Thanks!
Finally!
The day we were all anticipating; the first broadcast of Dhool's Quarter Finals. And just as we expected it was a very interesting round in deed.
Note: There is TOO many name changing and group-hoping dancers around in this years Dhool. Based on that we are giving our opinions SOLELY on the dance alone and how well the dancers bring it to life.
The 2 groups that secured their places in the upcoming Semi Finals:
Version 2.8
Version 2.8 yesterdays show in what seemed like a tamer version of Fusion. Their opening with the sheer piece of fabric over them was a nice. But here’s the thing that has been bothering us ever since we've seen them from the Auditions. Version 2.8's expressions are confusing at times, because firstly, different dancers seem to exude different emotions. We caught some looking blank, some full of rage (which was suppose to be the case we THINK, more about that later) and some just plain confused. We weren't sure if that was how it was suppose to be or was it a lack of concentration on that matter. And Version 2.8’s concept. The authors of this site are still trying to make out what the concept was all about. Yes, we saw rage in the dance, but that’s about it! When Mr Vijayendran commented that he liked the concept of their dance, we were relieved because we thought, HEY! this fella was going to elaborate more on it.
And then he didn't.
And then we are back to scratching our heads.
But Version’s use of colors and props on stage were good, even though we think it was the same ones used during Danz Arena. Song was also a very unique choice that kind of wrapped everything up together. It reflected what they wanted to depict really well. And energy was up to par with their dance. Basically Fusion needs alot of DHAAM DHOOM (forceful movements) and that’s what these guys delivered so good going boys! Congrats on getting in!
Tridiac
We kinda figured these boys had something up their metallic sleeves when we saw their costumes! Costume wise they are taking a really different a approach from last years Dhool. Lyrical hip hop Makkal! From slow to fast, there was a good transition (we agree with what Miss Lavanya had to say). The thing with Tridiac is that even when they try something different, you can still roughly figure that thats them. We guess they have their TRADEMARK baby! There's a clear cut stamp in whatever they do.
And we spyed with our little eyes a little bit of Acidhouz and a little bit of Movesh 'sprinkled' among this years Tridiac *ahem ahem*. This years competiton is really turning out to be one BIG Indian rojak man. So what are YOUR comments on this? We'll let you decide. But none the less, they still DHOOLED it! Congratulations fellas!
Special Shout Out
Chakraz
You have got to be kidding us. We are so utterly dissapointed.
In our eyes, these people were the clear cut winners for the evening. What a soft song, and what complimenting choreography. We had the exact 'lau' feeling when watching them as to when we were watching Killabeez perform for Danz Arena. An intricate and detailed piece brought to life with so much of emotions and body language. We can see that there was a whole lot of research that went into the routine. And we have to add, we loved the shoe part! The shoe part! The shoe that the guy has so much difficulty putting on for the females’ feet! We felt that it was a classic touch to such a classic song. Haha.
So what happened? Did the judges screw up? Or was it the voting? Our bet is on the voting. You know, since people MIGHT have already stereotyped them. Whatchu say?
Whatever it is, we are definitely waiting to see this group in the Wildcard round. Chakraz, don't be disappointed, rock on with your next performance! We are confident that you guys will get through :)
Highlight:
Now that we have seen how this competition is going to work, we see the impact that voting actually hold on these groups. We found it quite weird that the organizers didn't find the importance in informing the groups AND the audience how much SMS votings compares in to the judges’ decision (in percentage form). Or maybe they forgot? Mmmm...
In our opinion it would be more fair and 'on the table' if everyone knew how many votes came in for each individual group and who the judges finalized on. They ought to place the statistics on an LCD screen like they did for Vasantham Star. THEN and only THEN will everything be clear and no suspicions will arise due to conflicting views
So the question: Is Dhool 08' a competition based solely on popularity votes, or a competition of true talents. Its good if both work hand in hand, but if 1 outrides the other, then what can we say?. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?
Well well well. The Quarter Finals are right on their way and might we add that they are on FIRE? The heat is definitely up after watching the first episode! It's another 6 days of painstaking wait till we see the next 5 groups, who are:
1. PFD Workshop
2. Agni Reloaded
3. Soviets
4. Kali Dancers
5. 4'd
Work hard fellas! Till next week take care people!
And ouh, Congratulations to REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC on winning the trophy for MINERVA!
