Tuesday afternoon witnessed a packed auditorium for the finals of the western dance extravaganza – Razzmatazz. Eight colleges were to compete in a three-stage competition designed to test every skill required to be a professional dancer. Participating teams were judged on the basis of their style, creativity, and the entertainment value of their performance.

In the first round, each team was allotted three to five minutes to showcase their dancing skills. DDUC was the first team to perform, and presented an energetic dance, with acrobatic openings and closing moves. The act included dancers performing full splits, which amused the audience. IIT BHU performed next, presenting a well-coordinated performance. However, there were several abrupt changes in their dancing style to fit the background track. The highlight of the act was a dancer dressed as Lord Shiva, who performed his tandava dance and proceeded to climb onto a human pyramid.

Ramjas College followed IIT BHU with a very entertaining performance. Their act consisted of a clown wearing a hat and a glittery costume dancing to disco beats along with the rest of the team. The female members of the audience made sure to convey their appreciation to the several male dancers whose perfectly-fitting costumes left little to imagination. MAIT performed next, and their act was centred around school life. Their approach was of a story-telling nature, with fewer acrobatics. The audience was able to relate to the many acts they depicted, such as school students with books, school bells ringing, and a bully beating up kids. The performance ended with one of the lead dancers playing the drums and the rest of the team grooving wildly to the beats. Pearl Academy and Ramlal college performed after MAIT. The last performance was by Spardha Academy The background track abruptly stopped three times at the start of the performance, causing problems to the team. However, the dancers’ well-coordinated act left the audience cheering and asking for an encore.

The second round began soon after, wherein the participants had to dance impromptu to randomly selected background tracks. They were judged on how well the team adapted to the music and coordinated among themselves. The situation mostly revolved around the best dancer in the team developing steps while the rest of the team followed. The round ended after intense competition, with all teams on an almost equal footing before proceeding to the next round. While the competing teams prepared for the final round backstage, the Dance Club of BITS Pilani, presented their own surprise performance.

In the third round, an object was given to each team to center their dance around. This round put the teams’ creativity to test, with many teams delivering enthralling performances. For instance, the team from Ramjas College used a wheel to depict an aeroplane, a car, a bike, and a fan. Objects given to other teams included pillows, suitcases, ribbons, brooms, and umbrellas. Spardha Academy were declared the winners of Razzmatazz for their excellent show of talent and coordination.