Merge branch 'master' of https://github.com/wona/wona.github.com

_posts/2016-08-25-join-the-cult-music-section.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Join The Cult: Music Section"
+image: music-section.jpg
+tags: [wona,column]
+category: cultural
+---
+
+_The Music Section, IIT Roorkee has a reputation of delivering wondrous performances catering wide ranging tastes along with fostering a camaraderie to envy. Read on as Sahil Lamba, the current secretary of the Music Section, talks about his experience with the section, how it refines your art and that unforgettable time the crowd cheered his name to which he smiled and gave his sticks a spin._
+
+#### <b>What is the best part of being in the Music Section of IITR?</b> 
+
+I feel that people listen to very limited genres of music and being a part of the section changes that the most. You meet people who are into different kinds of music; Indian Classical, <b>Ragas</b> and <b>Qawwalis</b>, Bollywood (yes, there's some good music here too), Folk Pop, Blues, Jazz (and Fusion), Psychedelic, Progressive and you start listening to all kinds of stuff. You have access to frets almost all the time and when you try to tap your way across the fingerboard, you start learning about music theory, scales, and keeping up with time signatures. Listening to so much at once trains your ears to focus on distinct elements in harmonies and various techniques utilised in a piece. You learn the art of improvisation and jam with people who have different approaches to music. It’s a great and fun learning experience with some of the most talented people you’ll ever meet.
+
+![Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” at Dhun’16](/images/posts/the-wall-dhun-16.png){: style="width: 55%;"}
+
+*Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” at Dhun’16*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+#### <b>How has the Music Section changed your life?</b>
+
+A person’s skill level develops significantly after being part of the Music Section because, during preparations, people push you to extend your limits and present something that you've never tried before. You're not bound to a single instrument anymore, I'm essentially a drummer but I can work the guitar, bass and even sing to some extent now (although I only sing to myself). With sufficient experience in the section, one also observes how to manage people and keep them motivated enough to finish up tasks. I've learnt a lot about life, the universe and music from everyone at the section.
+
+#### <b>Could you explain the structure of the Section?</b>
+
+There's no defined structure of the Music Section, though we try to maintain proportion between the number of guitarists, percussionists, keyboard players, vocalists and other instrumentalists that we take. We usually recruit around 10­-15 people across all years and branches (even M.Tech). The roles vary from year to year; the most experienced members are responsible for ensuring smooth practice sessions, audio setups, pointing out mistakes and getting them corrected. Some of them accountable for figuring out various technicalities of songs and passing on that information to everyone involved. The youngest and new recruits are more involved in the music and are generally asked to suggest good numbers, figure out their parts and are guided in the process. Apart from this, everyone has the responsibility of perfecting what they play and are free to get involved in any role that they like.
+
+![“Stairway to heaven” at Dhun’16](/images/posts/stairway-to-heaven-dhun-16.png){: style="width: 55%;"}
+*“Stairway to heaven” at Dhun’16*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+#### <b>Some hacks to crack the recruitment process?</b>
+
+A good selection of songs prepared for the auditions will surely leave a lasting first impression. We won’t grill you when you’re playing although we do expect a good level of understanding of your instrument or catching up a certain scale (if you’re a vocalist). A little knowledge of music theory would help guitarists and pianists in latter rounds, and beat sense, consistency and groove while playing is required for percussionists. However, the most important of all is that you’re confident and enjoy whatever you play/sing.
+
+#### <b>How did your recruitment go?</b>
+
+My recruitment was pretty straightforward. I dedicated about a week to prepare 2 songs; <b>Diary of Jane</b> by <b>Breaking Benjamin</b> and <b>The Sound of Muzak</b> by <b>Porcupine Tree</b>. I got myself listed outside the section, went in, played for 10 minutes and 26 seconds and was sent back with a <b>"We'll inform you"</b>. I played the primary beats of the songs (which seemed extremely complex at that time) and was then asked to employ different techniques such as heel­-up kick drumming, playing 16th notes and the 3/4 time signature. Post that, I was presented with a groove and I was asked to improvise on that. I was fortunate enough to have 5 years of experience with all these rudiments while learning in rock school so it was pretty easy to follow. I was called 2 days after and was informed that I had been selected and was to wear shorts and a shirt for the intro <b>chapo</b>.
+
+#### <b>What was your most memorable moment/performance?</b>
+
+It’s the best feeling when you go up and walk on stage to your set, and the crowd starts cheering. It brings a little smile on your face and gives you a shot of confidence. At Swaranjali ‘14, I had invited all my friends to watch the show and when I went onstage, they started shouting <b>“Lamba! Lamba!”</b>, with the crowd joining instantaneously and this was not part of some scripted act, so I started looking at the audience following the whooping, trying to locate them (believe me, you can’t see a thing down the stage with all those lights glaring in your face), I smiled and gave my sticks a spin. That has been the most memorable moment of every show since then, and I thank my audience for that.
+
+![Post Swaranjali’15](/images/posts/post-swaranjali-15.png){: style="width: 55%;"}
+
+*Post Swaranjali’15*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+#### <b>Recount some glories and achievements of the group.</b>
+
+The group has grown a lot over the years. The level of each and every performance has increased exponentially and we’ve been successful in delivering 4 shows in a single year (which is an accomplishment). Not too long ago, the group’s main focus was to put up 2­-3 shows in a year but, things have changed now. Many a times, we record our own practice sessions to learn more about studio setups and to achieve that crisp sound. We’ve also shifted our focus on promoting music culture by delivering popular numbers in our shows. Our activities are not restricted to the campus, we’ve been participating in various fests of other colleges and secured podiums too. Unplugged jam sessions at random locations during Thomso/Cogni are always on our checklist. We’ve started <b>Friends of Section</b> to involve everyone in our endeavours and keep the good music around, all year long. So, a lot of stuff goes on and it feels great to be a part of it all.
+
+#### <b>Can you tell us more about the Friends of Section initiative?</b>
+
+Friends of Section (FOS) was started by our secretary last year to provide a platform to students who are not part of the section but are confident enough to perform live in front of an audience. We have auditions to shortlist students for an FOS show although the expectations are somewhat lower than our section recruitments. We practice for our section shows and parallelly train and guide the FOS students for about 2­-3 weeks, provide them with our instruments, audio equipment and a stage to showcase their talents. We plan to have one FOS show in every semester with the initiative to uplift the music culture in the campus.
+
+#### <b>Obligatory question, your first crush on campus?</b>
+
+I don't know if I should do this or not. She was the Additional Secretary of the section when I joined, and I first met her in my introductory meeting after the recruitments. She was in her 4th year and fortunately was part of a five­ year course, so I got to spend a good 2 years practising alongside her. She is primarily a vocalist but can also play the guitar even though she has the fattest fingers in the whole world.
+
+#### <b>Three words to describe yourself.</b>
+
+Misty mountain hop.

_posts/2016-08-26-join-the-cult-choreo.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Join the Cult: Choreography and Dance Section"
+image: jtc-choreo.jpg
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: cultural
+---
+
+_To almost the entire institute, the only memory of Thomso’s Footloose is the Choreography and Dance Section mercilessly thrashing their competition. Read on as Nidhi Srivastava, the current secretary of the section talks about the choreo family, their string of wins in inter collegiate competitions and how the recruitments might just leave you pleasantly surprised._
+
+**How has the Choreo Section changed your life? What is the best part about being in the Choreo section?**  
+The Choreography Section taught me how to build a better bond with the juniors, seniors, rather everybody; to have more fun on the campus. I never thought that my life would end up being like this, because when I came I imagined all the students to be these extremely ghissu types, but the environment was totally different. Even today, I see the same environment in the Choreo Section,which is more like a family, I suppose?
+
+We are not here to just dance, one of the main principles of this section, apart from following your passion, is to build a bond with the members. I have a motherly feeling to my juniors and it grows every year. It has been a pattern, I think, that the 4th year is close to the 1st year, and I think it is because of this feeling or sense of being like a parent on campus. 
+
+**How is the choreo section structured?**  
+We have one secretary, which is the post I serve, and there are two additional secretaries, Prajwal Bhatt and Agniva Si. Then we also have two joint secretaries each from the second and the third year. To be honest, the whole trend of secretaries doesn’t really matter, it is more of a superficial post, and everybody contributes equally to the section, which is nice. 
+
+**How does the recruitment process go?**
+There are basically three levels in the recruitment process. First, is you prepare your own dance sequence with your own choice of songs. The second stage is when we pick our own songs, the most random and challenging music, and you have to dance to that! This stage tests the ability of the dancer to adapt to various beats on the spot. The third is the interview round, where we end up talking to you to see that sense of group dynamics that I was talking about. This process of recruitments
+has been this way since the very start and the only element of mystery is the song in the second round.
+
+![Footloose performance](/images/posts/jtc-choreo-1.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+
+**Can you share some hacks for the recruitment process?**  
+We are looking for a friendly person. One who can gel with the group dynamics. What we see in the interviews is how would he be able to mingle with the people of the section. Some people come for the centre stage and the limelight, which may cause problems in the group, so to avoid all of that we look for a selfless, friendly person. And of course, bakchodi toh aani hi chahiye! 
+
+One thing I would like to admit is that it is kind of difficult for boys to get into the choreo section, because one, there are so many of them and two, we expect boys to come up with something new and cool, like backflips and somersaults, maybe.
+The easiest hack, to be honest, is that you should do something that impresses us. Use your own discretion and impress us!
+
+**How did your recruitment go?**  
+My recruitment was very normal. In the first round I picked “Twist” from that Saif Ali Khan movie Love Aaj Kal. However, the second round was kind of dramatic as they played a random ‘50s song, and asked me to dance to that! As if that wasn’t enough, they played “Pardesi, Pardesi..” next! And that’s how we take the recruitments. These songs are completely out of the blue and leave the most prepared dancers confused!
+
+**Your most memorable moment in the section.**  
+Thomso ‘15. Anyday.
+
+Towards the end of our performance in Thomso’15, I was supposed to be lying down, and as the song ended, the whole convocation hall audience rose with me, and every single one of us was overwhelmed with happiness, so I think that was one of the best moments on campus. And we did end up winning the Footloose event of Thomso ‘15. 
+
+![Choreo group pic](/images/posts/jtc-choreo-2.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+
+**Some recent glories and achievements of the section.**  
+When I was in the first year, that was the year when Thomso came back after being discontinued for a while, and ever since then, we have been winning the Footloose event of Thomso, so it has been three consecutive wins for us! Last year, we participated in the IITK’s cult fest and ended up being the second runner ups. This trend of participation outside the campus started last year, so we hope we continue winning accolades for IITR!
+
+**How does choreo section help people who want to learn dance?**  
+We do realise that people want to learn how to dance, but unfortunately, choreo section is meant for the performances in events like Thomso, Jashn and the orientations. So it isn’t possible to let people join the choreo section just for learning. We look for a certain prerequisite skill before we take that person in the choreo section, which is why the recruitments are the way they are. 
+However, we do organise flash-mobs and events like those to teach the IITR junta how to dance, and events like FoS, which started just the last year, might help people who aren’t a part of choreo showcase their worth. We are going to try  keeping more dance workshops too, like the contemporary dance workshop a couple of years ago and Garhwali Dance workshop the previous year. 
+
+**Can you tell us a bit about the section’s Friends of Section initiative?**
+Actually it is an informal event which the choreo section organises for people who are not it’s members. I guess the IITR junta loves, in fact everybody loves to dance and somehow not being a part of the section might lead to a lot of people giving up on their dream of performing on a stage. So this is a platform where people can show up and portray their talent. It is open for everybody.
+
+There are a lot of people who miss out on their auditions for the choreo section in the first year, so what we have done through the FoS initiative is that we have made it easier for them to showcase their talent and if they do end up being brilliant, it is a huge plus point when they show up for their interviews in the next recruitment cycle.
+
+**Which is your favourite dance form?**
+I have tried a lot of dance forms, but my favourite has to be contemporary!
+
+_The Choreography and Dance section goes recruiting in the MAC auditorium from 6-9 pm today and from 10-6 am on the weekends._

_posts/2016-08-26-join-the-cult-drams.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Join the Cult: Dramatics Section "
+image: jtc-drams.JPG
+tags: [wona, column]
+category: cultural
+---
+
+_The Dramatics Section is revered for the rigour and discipline that goes into each play along with soaking the audience with a deluge of emotions that accompany their works. Read on as Ishwar Dutt Sharma, the current secretary of the section, talks about the work that goes into every play, how he absolutely admires the joker and that one mind blowing improvisation he did onstage._
+
+
+**How has the Dramatics Section changed your life?**  
+More than anything else that this section has taught me, it is the rigour that goes into each play that I treasure the most. Delivering a play requires little more than a month’s practice and it is during that time that you learn to detest mediocrity. You practice and fine tune every dialogue and gesture to perfection and see yourself thinking at every step. It is upto you to add quirks to your character and make it truly yours. In terms of purely creative thought, I do not think I’d enjoy any
+activity more than that.  
+As for the people, I can comfortably say that this section my primary support system at IITR.   
+
+**What is the best part of being in the Dramatics Section of IITR?**  
+This has to be a tie 
+
+  - **The people:** The culture in the section is such that you enjoy the whole process of making of a play much more than the play itself. The football sessions we have, the bakar at the chapos. 
+
+  - **The feel:** After days of relentless practice, remembering the dialogues, the feel of each and every word that comes out of your character's mouth. Living that character for all those days! It’s not the applause at the end of the play that i am talking about. It’s the week after, when walking towards your class, somebody you don’t recognize, comes up to you and says, “THAT was a great play” #Feels  
+
+All that and also you can always get away with anything by saying “I was rehearsing a dialogue, of course it was a line!” . 
+
+![The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940](/images/posts/jtc-drams-1.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+*Mid play inebriation during “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940”*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+**Could you explain the structure of the Dramatics Section family?**  
+I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you or recruit you.
+
+As for our work around the year, we stage 4 plays, two each semester. Three stage plays along with a street play in the autumn semester. 
+
+**What are some hacks to crack the recruitment process?**  
+We, at the dramatics section, aren’t looking for made actors. Of course some background in dramatics can earn you a few brownie points but that would still be just 5% of the overall personality that we are looking for. We put in enough practice and efforts to ensure that even if somebody is going on stage for the first time in their first year, it wouldn’t show. 
+
+You don’t need to prepare anything before coming for the audition, it is a simple three step process which can be easily prepared on the spot. Bring your friends along with you!
+Basically, don’t fake anything, just enjoy the process. 
+
+
+![Aavirbhav](/images/posts/jtc-drams-2.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+*“Aavirbhav” - The street play during Autumn’15*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+**Which is your most memorable performance?**  
+This was in the last semester in the english long length play we did, **The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940** by John Bishop. This was a comic murder mystery, and we were near the climax of the play, trust me when I say that it was an intense scene! You could hear a pin drop in the overflowing OP Jain auditorium! The murderer was trying to get away with killing everybody by setting the scene up as an accident and he wanted us to act natural. As soon as he asked us to act natural, I, true to my character started whistling and roaming around. It was an onstage improvisation and the burst of laughter from the audience that followed has to be the most memorable moment for me. 
+
+**Your favorite role?**  
+My favourite role has to be Roger Hopewell, the character I played in the aforementioned Musical Comedy Murders of 1940!
+
+
+![Aavirbhav](/images/posts/jtc-drams-3.png){: style="width: 65%;"}
+*“Ant Nahin” by Badal Sircar*
+{: style="text-align: center"}
+
+**What’s the one role somebody else played that you wished you did instead?**  
+The Joker in The Dark Knight! I am pretty sure he did it better than I can ever dream of doing but I would just like to be in his shoes.
+
+**Three words to describe yourself.**  
+Easy-going conscientious 
+
+**Things you can tell us about the Friends of Section initiative.**  
+Friends of section was one of the initiatives started last year by the music section and then also by the dance and choreography section which basically involves performances of students from the campus who might not be a part of the section. We are trying to start a friends of section for dramatics section as well this year and the format of that is being worked upon. Till that time, if there is any group of people on campus who can prepare a play and need a stage to perform can contact us any time! We would be more than happy to offer suggestions and ensure that cultural council provides you a stage to perform the play.
+
+_The Dramatics Section recruitments take place in the Chemical Auditorium from 6-9pm today and 9am to 8pm on the weekends. Be there._
+