Bhawanipur Dance Championship 2023

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” – Martha Graham.

As the year comes to an end, the dance collective, Flames of The Bhawanipur Education Society College, put up the biggest event in its annual roster called the ‘Bhawanipur Dance Championship’ or BDC. Being the biggest and only inter-college dance competition in Kolkata, BDC hosted its 8th edition this year and the theme of the competition was called the ‘Carnival of Curiosities’.

The Bhawanipur Dance Championship had seven events this year each designed to bring out the best performances. The inauguration ceremony took off at 10:00 am & saw a performance of the Enact collective, showcasing a fun enactment of what it means to be part of Flames. The act brought joy and laughter to people’s faces. The opening ceremony concluded with a short film made by Flames on the power of dancing, thereby rolling out the championship’s inaugural event.

The seven sub-events under BDC had their own charm and were a feast for the eyes. The events took place in separate venues of the college, starting with:

1.Eastern duet: With the theme being ‘mythical creatures, legends on display’; 12 colleges participated from around the city in this event, to showcase their classical talents. The event was judged by Ms. Debamitra Sengupta and it started at 11:00 AM in the Concept Hall and ended at noon. All the 12 duos were asked to perform within 2+1 minutes. In the end, Seth Anandram Jaipuria College won the event, while The Bhawanipur Education Society College (Main team) secured the 1st runner-up position and Shri Shikshayatan College took the 2nd runner-up place.

2. Bollywood Duo/Trio: With its theme as ‘Time voyage’ – Time is a flat circle, what if you get a chance to transport yourself to different moments; then will you go ahead with it?  Keeping this particular theme in mind, five colleges participated in this event. The event spanned from noon to 1:00 PM in the Concept Hall and was judged by Mr. Deborshi Dasgupta. The winning position was secured by THK Jain College while the 1st runner-up position was secured by The Bhawanipur Education Society College (Main team), and Techno India took the 2nd runner-up position.

3. Bollywood group Dance: The theme of the Bollywood group dance was “enigmatic whispers”. What a beautiful theme isn’t it, just like the subtle echoes from the unknown? The event was judged by Mr.Gaurav Bindra. It started at 1:30 PM and ended at 3:00 PM in the Concept Hall. Five teams from each college participated; each college depicted the theme in its unique way and style in under 5+3 minutes. But what caught the eyes of the audience was the performance of The Bhawanipur College making them the winners of the event. The 1st runner-up position was secured by St.Xaviers College and Sivnath Sastri College which secured the 2nd runner-up position. We also had a special mention which was awarded to Hanshika Chandak from The  BESC

4. Group Folk Dance: The theme in this category was ‘Folklore’, and so the 9 participating teams were decked up in traditional outfits and accessories that would best represent the culture they were depicting. The teams were asked to perform in under 4+1 minutes. The use of props in this category was evident as there were dandiya sticks and other kinds of props that enhanced the dance routine. The event took place in the Jubilee Hall at 10:30 AM and ended at 11:30 AM. The judges for the event were Mr. Dharmesh Bimani and Dr.Shelly Paul. The team that emerged victorious was The Bhawanipur Education Society College (OTSE team) and then the 1st runner-up position was secured by The Bhawanipur Education Society College (Main team), while the 2nd runner-up position was secured by Seth Anandram Jaipuria College.

5. Western Group Dance: “Disarray” was the theme kept in this event and the performances by the 5 participating teams were similarly filled with a sense of chaos. With each team getting 5+3 minutes to perform, the event began in the Jubilee Hall at 11:30 AM and ended at 12:30 PM. The event was judged by Ms. Sanchari Chakraborty and Mr. Reeshav Dhanuk. All the teams made use of their time by narrating different stories in one performance. In the end, The Bhawanipur Education Society College (Western Main team) bagged the winning award, while Jadavpur University bagged the 1st runner-up position, and the 2nd runner-up position was given to the Indian Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM). There was also an award for the Best Performer, and it was awarded to Ashutosh Singh of the BESC (Western Main team).

6. Eastern Group Dance: 8 colleges participated in this category under the theme of “ Carnival of Shadows”. With 6+1 minutes in their hands, the teams portrayed topics like child abuse and women empowerment in the most awe-inspiring ways. This category also had a lot of props that consisted of drapes which were used to create a sense of shadows. The event began at 1:00 PM and ended at 2:30 PM in the Jubilee Hall. The judges of the event were Ms. Rina Jana and Ms Debamitra Sengupta. Finally, The Bhawanipur Education Society College (Eastern Main team) was the winner, Sivanath Sastri College was the 1st runner-up and the 2nd runner-up was Seth Anandram Jaipuria College.

7. Street Battle: The event took place in the Concept Hall at 3:30 PM and ended at 5:30 PM with a large crowd gathered in a circle and within it was the center stage for performers. The use of hip hop music and pop culture was high as the theme itself was ‘Downtown Dance Off’. The format of the event was a 1vs1 faceoff and the music, and rounds were decided on the spot by the judges; Shubham Singh Aka Endless, Reeshav Dhanuk, and Saikat Das (DJ). Dancers used Western techniques of dance such as popping and locking to gain the upper hand on their opponent. Ten colleges participated in this event. Finally, the winner of the event was Paul from the Bengal Institute of Technology and the 1st runner-up was Rishabh from the Indian Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM).

The Bhawanipur Dance Championship came to its conclusion during the closing ceremony in Jubilee Hall at 5:30 PM where all the winners were handed their respective awards by Mrs. Nalini Parekh from the Management of the college; the judges of all the events were felicitated by Prof. Minakshi Chaturvedi, Coordinator B.com (Morning),  Mr. Gaurav Bajoria, from Black Tiger Events, Ms. Divya Uddeshi & Ms. Samiksha Khanduri, both from the Dean’s office. After the finale the volunteers & the participants were given an open floor to dance to the music played in Jubilee Hall, to celebrate the success of BDC 2023 & the sheer passion for dance!

Reporters – Pooja Dabrai & Aniket Dasgupta
Photographers – Paras Gupta,Priyanshu Chatterjee, Nischay Alokit Lakra, Ankit Majhi, Agrag Ghosh