With screams so loud that it left our ears ringing, the crowd at The Hindu NXg Campus Jive 2013 got what they came for— an evening of uninhibited dance by college crews peppered with jaw-dropping special performances. All at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Auditorium, Lady Andal School
Finalists
The 12 teams that made it to the finals of the fifth edition of the competition were Anna University, Women’s Christian College (day college), Sastra University, SRM Medical College, SSN College of Engineering, MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Madras Institute of Technology, Women’s Christian College (evening college), National Institute of Technology–Tiruchi, SRM University, Stella Maris College and Loyola College.
Continuing the trend from last year’s edition of Campus Jive, there were quite a number of women in the crew along with the men.
Hip hop was once again the flavour of the evening, with a dash of global fusion and freestyling thrown in. PSY continued his hold on the music with ‘Gentleman’; some teams even brought back Gangnam Style. ‘What Does The Fox Say?’ by Ylvis also made an appearance.
With just five minutes to impress the judges, teams gave it their all. SSN College hit the audience with Chennai Super Kings sentiment and also had anti-rape slogans as part of their routine. The Stella Maris girls went in for a dramatic effect with glow in the dark t-shirts and shutter shades with flashing lights on them.
MOP Vaishnav College for Women’s global fusion performance executed with attitude and precision won them the third place. Lead dancer Shrivarsha was named the best female dancer of the evening.
Last year’s winners, Loyola College (Dream Team), who had to settle for second place, danced to the title track from Superstar Rajinikanth’s Baba, among other songs, and kept the audience hooked. The best male dancer for the evening was Pawan Alex from this crew.
A different setup including a DJ, dance floor and speakers, stunts by a female dancer, costume changes, eye gear, LED lights and a whole lot of energetic dancing won the Anna University team the first place and a cash prize of Rs 1,50,000 including gifts from all gift sponsors as well as from textile sponsor and multiplex partner. The second and third place winners walked away with Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.
Judges Speak
Actors Nishanth and Misha Ghosal and Miss South India 2012 Rohini Subbaia were the judges for the evening. All three concurred that the judging was a difficult task as all the teams were equally good.
Apart from the contestants, special performances by India’s Got Talent winners Shonali Majumdar and Maraju Sumanth aka Suman and Choreo Culture had the audience asking for more. The host for the evening was Rebecca.
Sponsors
The title sponsor for the event was glam by Nathella. The multiplex partner is Inox. The fashion partner is Venfield. Radio partner is Chennai Live 104.8 FM. Dance Partner is Choreo Culture Dance Company. The gift Sponsors for the event are Desi Basics, Landmark, Fitness One, Fruit Shop on Greams Road, RMKV, Motherhood, Cup of Cafe, landmark and Reebok
The event was managed by iads & Events.
Winner speak
The balcony at Sir Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert Hall went up in a roar when the winners of Campus Jive 2013 were announced. Anna University were crowned victors in the fifth edition of the contest.
The 20-strong crew managed to take back the title they had won last in 2011. Abhijeet. S, team leader, said, “We were quite nervous about having to go up on stage first. But when it was decided, we wanted to set the bar high, set a standard for the others to beat.” This attitude, paired with four months of rigorous practice sessions that started at 5 a.m and went on till it was time for their classes to begin and continued after study sessions late into the night has paid off for these students.
While several colleges conduct auditions to get into the crew, Abhijeet says that it was interest that mattered for the Anna University team. “Thirteen members of our crew were beginners in dance. We’ve been able to train and bring them on par with all the other dancers,” he says with pride, adding that the team believes the two women in the team who performed the stunts on stage were what clinched it for them.
“For many in the team, it was the first time on stage. For those in fourth year, like, me, it will be perhaps the last time we get to participate in an amazing competition like this. Either way, it’s a great feeling,” he says as he runs off to his waiting crew, ready to celebrate.
Special Performance
Glittering outfits, amazing confidence levels and a dazzling stage presence — Suman and Shonali, stars from the reality shows India’s Got Talent and Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa provided perfect entertainment at Campus Jive 2013.
Fourteen-year-old Suman is charming offstage and on. “I’ve been enjoying watching the dancers here. We are professionals and do it on a daily basis, but all the crews in the competition match up to us in energy and in their steps,” he says.
Tiny Shonali smiles sweetly and says that she likes Chennai. “We are here only till tomorrow, but everyone here is really nice,” she says. The little girl enthrals the audience with her devil-may-care attitude while performing the most daring of stunts on stage.
The pair excels at salsa and showcases it while performing ‘Senorita’. “We performed it in the grand finale of Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa , so it is very special to us. We also had a lot of fun dancing to the Tamil song (‘Apdi podu’ from Gilli ) as well,” says Suman.
