Bhawanipur Dance Championship (BDC) 2024

“When you dance, you can enjoy the luxury of being you.”
– Paulo Coelho

Resuming its activities after the holidays, The Bhawanipur Education Society College was geared up to organise and host the 9th edition of the much-awaited event of the Bhawanipur Dance Championship or BDC on the 12th of November 2024. BDC is the crowning moment for BESC’s Dance Collective of Flames, who prepare for the event months back. Dance Duos, Trios, and Groups from colleges all across Kolkata were invited to partake in this fest and celebrate the universal language of dance and rhythm. The fest was to take place in both the Jubilee and Concept Halls at BESC simultaneously, starting from 9:00 A.M. onwards.

Opening Ceremony (Jiya): Keeping the tradition alive, was all set to host the 9th edition of the Bhawanipur Dance Championship, or BDC 2024, organised by the dance collective “Flames”. The opening ceremony commenced at 9:00 A.M in the Concept Hall of the college campus, where enthusiastic students gathered to witness the magic the performances never fail to create. The event was inaugurated by Smt. Krishna Dutt, an exceptional mime artist graced the stage with an awe-inspiring performance setting a soulful vibe for the rest of the day. Further, our Rector and Dean of Student Affairs Prof. Dilip Shah left the students with the saying “Dance like no one is watching” which further motivated the participants. The opening ceremony also featured an AV that revealed the theme of the much-awaited annual fest, Umang 2024.

Opening Ceremony (Saptak): On November 12th, 2024, the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) held its Bhawanipur Dance Championship (BDC), organised by the dance collective of BESC—Flames. The audience congregated in the Concept Hall for the opening ceremony. The ceremony began at 10:20 A.M. with the arrival of the Chief guests. The anchors took their positions at the dias and the AV for UMANG 2024 was rolled- announcing the theme for BESC’s biggest fest of the year- ‘Artificial Intelligence’. The anchors then announced the theme for BDC 2024- ‘The Inner Odyssey- embark on a journey of self-discovery, where emotions meet movement’. Each of the performance categories for the fest carried a sub-theme delving into the vast spectrum of human emotions and experiences.

Next, the Dean of Student Affairs – Professor Dilip Shah, was introduced by the anchors and called up on stage to speak a few words. He spoke briefly on the fest of BDC- highlighting the emotional and humane aspect of dancing as an art form and encouraging everyone to “dance like nobody is watching you”, he ended his speech by stressing that even though we had gathered for a competition, sportsmanship and having fun while performing was of paramount importance.

Group Folk Dance: This event commenced at 10:00 A.M in the Concept Hall of the college campus. The competition saw various folk performances from different states of India that added a cultural dimension to the event. 6 participating groups explored the folk culture of various states from the vibrant and colourful Dandiya Raas of Gujarat to the traditional dance styles of Odisha, this event was successful in depicting the diversity of India. The judges for this event were Rupsha Acharya and Nitishree Boyal. The second runner-up award was bagged by Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, the first runner-up position was secured by The Bhawanipur Education Society College OTSE team while the emerging winner was the main team of The Bhawanipur Education Society College.

Bollywood Duo and Trio: The theme for Bollywood Duo and Trio was —“Rendezvous Rewind” where participants were encouraged to re-imagine and re-interprete legendary and timeless Bollywood numbers to create something entirely new. The time limit for each performance was 3+2 minutes and the judge’s decision would be the final one. The event started at 11:15 A.M.; a total of 10 different institutions had signed up for the event. Each team was introduced and invited to the stage for their respective performances in the following sequence– Techno India University (duo), Prafulla Chandra College (duo), DHK College (trio), Jaipuria College who had to delay their performance due to some technical issues, Heritage college (trio), Jadavpur University (trio), Heritage Academy (duo), Sivnath Shastri College (trio), Sister Nivedita University (trio), Jaipuria College (duo) and finally, bringing up the rear was BESC (trio) with one of the most mesmerizing and imaginative renditions of Bollywood dance numbers to grace the stage. All teams displayed considerable ingenuity with their song choices, seamlessly blending contemporary and older Bollywood songs to put forth a performance to be remembered. Few teams utilized speech and actions in between musical numbers to tie their performances together. The anchors did a phenomenal job of intersecting in between each performance to release the building tension and provide comic relief to the audience.

Eastern Group Dance: The next leg of the fest took place in the Jubilee Hall in the form of an Eastern group dance performance starting at 12:50 P.M. The anchors introduced the judges for the event- Mr Rajiv Bhattacharya and Mrs Nilina Jana. The theme for this performance was –“ The Chakras of Life”, teams integrated presentations in their dances that played in the background explaining the theme and its correlation to the ongoing performance and introducing the chakras that were being represented. In spiritual belief systems, chakras are seen as spinning wheels that life energy flows through at various focal points in our bodies. Each group for this event could hold a maximum of 12 dancers with a 6+1-minute time limit. The performing teams were Techno India University, Jadavpur University, NSHM Knowledge Campus, Sister Nivedita University, Sivnath Sastri College, Shree Sikhshayatan College, Heritage College, Seth Anandram Jaipuria College and BESC. Chakras are thought to be the flowing points of chains of energies existing in each of us, and truly this chain was displayed as groups transitioned from slow and rhythmic movements to fast and impassioned ones as dictated by the different chakras of life and the body. Every college represented their understanding of the theme, similar in style yet different in performance. Some colleges even utilised a medium of storytelling in their performance to better emphasize their understanding of the theme. BESC came up with a unique approach to the theme with their mythological inclined performance, flawlessly Combining the chakras of life in a fluid motion of moving limbs – aided by effective use of props representing the different organs of the human body.

The enthusiastic reactions of the audience complemented the theme of the event perfectly as the wild energy of the present watchers seemed to be invigorating the dancers in their performances.

Eastern Duo and Trio: After the Eastern Group dance ended, the fest took a break for lunch before convening for the next events with doubled enthusiasm at 3 P.M. Attendees poured into the Concept Hall for the Eastern Duo and Trio performances, fresh off the high of an exhilarating Eastern Group Dance event, they were ready for more.
The anchors began at 3:20 P.M., introducing the judge for the event as Mrs. Bijoya Dutta. The theme for the event was the concept of “Bhava and Rasa” which is of paramount importance to any form of art. According to the Natyashastra, Bhava is the state of mind of the artist and Rasa is the aesthetic flavour that results from the Bhava where neither can exist without the other. The teams sought to invoke this feeling of Rasa in the audience through their performances- both classical and semi-classical, fusing different forms of dance. Each time was permitted a 5-minute time limit to flesh out their presentation.

The number of teams participating in the event was relatively few- Sivnath Shastri College (trio), NSHM (duo), Shree Shikshayatan College (duo), Seth Anandram Jaipuria College (trio) and to end the event two teams of BESC- OTSE (trio) and main (duo). Performances were highly mythological, enacting key stories and incidents from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the life of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Makeup, props and costumes were expertly employed to accentuate the display of the theme of the event and to say that the teams succeeded would be an understatement- their aggressive yet fluid movements, expert choreography and facial expressions captured the minds and hearts of the audience members as they witnessed each performance with bated breath and pounding hearts. Both the BESC main and OTSE teams had beautiful synergy in their performances, even at points when it seemed impossible to hold proper form in sync with the music- seemingly delivering the performances of a lifetime that could only be topped by themselves. Dean sir had entered the hall soon after the event had begun and he felicitated the judges at the end of the event to claps and cheers from the audience, who packed the Hall after many had arrived late from the event happening simultaneously in the Jubilee Hall. The event ended at 3:50 P.M.

Western Group Dance: Held at the Concept Hall of the college campus from 11:30 A.M, this event saw an ultimate face-off between two exceptionally talented teams of NHSM College and The Bhawanipur Education Society College. The teams were decked up in classic Western costumes all set to set the stage on fire with hip-hop, waacking or breaking moves. The teams narrated well-crafted stories revolving around technology and AI integration into our daily lives through their performances successfully impressing the audience. The judges for the event were Shalini Subedi and Arun Biswakarma. The winners were none other than The Bhawanipur Education Society College and the Best Dancer title was awarded to Bhumika Bhattacharjee.
Bollywood Group Dance: This was undoubtedly the most awaited event of BDC’24 It was held in the Jubilee Hall of the college campus from 1:15 P.M. onwards and saw classic Bollywood moves by 5 participating colleges. Each team explored different layers of Bollywood from the chronicles of Munna Bhai MBBS to the friendship of Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan, the Karan-Arjun of Bollywood. Some teams also depicted the intensity of harassment towards women in India through the use of emotional storylines and goosebumps-inducing soundtracks. The competition was judged by Mr Gaurav Bindra and Mr Deborshi Dasgupta. The second runner-up position was secured by Sivanath Sastri College, the first runner-up position was secured by Techno India University and the winning position was secured by The Bhawanipur Education Society College.

Street Battle: This competition was held in the Concept Hall of the college campus from 3:00 A.M onwards. The event saw solo performances as well as face-offs between more than 20 participants from various colleges and universities. A large crowd was gathered in a circle while the participants performed in the middle showcasing their exceptional hip-hop, waacking and locking skills. The judges for this event were Shalini Subedi and Arun Biswakarma. The second position was secured by Reeshav Das from IIHM while the winner was Paul from Bengal Institute.

Closing Ceremony: The Bhawanipur Dance Championship 2024 came to an end with the closing ceremony where the participants were awarded their respective awards. The overall first runner-up position was secured by NHSM College while the overall winners were The Bhawanipur Education Society College. To conclude the extravaganza, the volunteers and participants were given the open floor to dance their hearts out yet again, DJ Dhruv Soni conducted an hour-long round of DJs to conduct the same.