Jhalak struggles at PhillyFest '09
Chelsea Plushanski
Issue date: 1/30/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
"Jhalak is known for having music that is off the track," dancer and team president Shivani Joshi said. This year the team's dancers worked hard to track down music that would seamlessly fit together and work with their 2009 Broadway musical theme.
In preparation for the 2009 PhillyFest performance, Jhalak's dancers have spent months practicing late into the night. Joshi said, "School work comes first, and [they] arrange the practices around the girls' classes." This means that the team's practices often start at ten or eleven o'clock at night and last into the early hours of the morning. In addition to their exhausting practices, the dancers must also endure critiques from their manager, Maryann Kuriakose, and others who help the girls by pointing out every aspect of their dancing, which may cause points to be deducted by the judges. Vice president and dancer Hiral Shah said "[They] must be synchronized from the beginning to the end." Joshi said that "[They] must move as one unit." Everything from the dancers' makeup and expression, to the point of their toe must be identical. In a dance that is six and a half minutes long, it is hard enough to catch your breath, much less keep track of your expression, position and which step is next. Yet, somehow Jhalak's dancers manage to do it.
Unfortunately, Jhalak was not successful this year, but there is always next year. Jhalak holds tryouts in the spring and fall of each year. Shah said, "Girls who make the team are like a junior varsity team. They sit out for a whole year and study us." But in April the new girls are also given a chance to shine when both Jhalak and its JV team perform at the Drexel Voice show.
In preparation for the 2009 PhillyFest performance, Jhalak's dancers have spent months practicing late into the night. Joshi said, "School work comes first, and [they] arrange the practices around the girls' classes." This means that the team's practices often start at ten or eleven o'clock at night and last into the early hours of the morning. In addition to their exhausting practices, the dancers must also endure critiques from their manager, Maryann Kuriakose, and others who help the girls by pointing out every aspect of their dancing, which may cause points to be deducted by the judges. Vice president and dancer Hiral Shah said "[They] must be synchronized from the beginning to the end." Joshi said that "[They] must move as one unit." Everything from the dancers' makeup and expression, to the point of their toe must be identical. In a dance that is six and a half minutes long, it is hard enough to catch your breath, much less keep track of your expression, position and which step is next. Yet, somehow Jhalak's dancers manage to do it.
Unfortunately, Jhalak was not successful this year, but there is always next year. Jhalak holds tryouts in the spring and fall of each year. Shah said, "Girls who make the team are like a junior varsity team. They sit out for a whole year and study us." But in April the new girls are also given a chance to shine when both Jhalak and its JV team perform at the Drexel Voice show.
Be the first to comment on this story