Choreo: A Review

Choreo is a dance competition where teams are judged on the basis of their ability to portray a theme through a self-choreographed performance. On account of the stage being set for the Guthrie Govan concert, the event was delayed by an hour. By the time the event began, there was a crowd of about 200 people watching the event — a significant uptick from the attendance seen during previous iterations of the event.

The first team to perform was BITS Pilani, performing a piece called Evanescence on the theme of terrorism. Receiving strong cheers all throughout their opening performance, they set the bar high. Next up on stage was the College of Arts, performing on the theme of domestic violence. Their dance revolved around the emotions and perception associated with domestic violence and emphasized the face that abuse does not depend on gender. Their performance received a warm response from the crowd.

The third team to perform was Gargi. With clean and swift dance moves, they portrayed the outrage and confusion at the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. It was a cathartic, strong performance that was received well.

Gargi was followed by Lady Shri Ram College, whose dancers were welcomed with whistles and cheers by the crowd. Their performance dealt with the non-binary nature of gender, and how we see it. Their performance had a stable balance between sophisticated dance moves and an accurate depiction of the theme. Kirori Mal College—the team that was to perform next—performed on the theme “I Am A Wonder”. While they had put in a decent effort into the dance moves, their performance failed to clearly depict their theme.

The last team up on stage was Institute of Advanced Research. Their performance, which was considered by many as having been uncoordinated and haphazard in its execution, drew a strongly negative reception from those present. The crowd rewarded them with slow claps which were, in general, more coordinated than the overall dance performance.