BUCKEYE MELA | 01.28.2017 | MERSHON AUDITORIUM
2016-2017
APPLICATION PACKET
APPLICATION PACKET
WWW.BUCKEYEMELA.COM
[email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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APPLICATION PACKET
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WWW.BUCKEYEMELA.COM
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www.buckeyemela.com
[email protected]
OPENING NOTE
Dear Potential MELA X PARTICIPANT,
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The Buckeye Mela Executive Board at The Ohio State University is proud to
bring you Buckeye Mela X, the tenth annual Columbus-based combined BollywoodFusion and Bhangra dance competition hosted at the prestigious Mershon Auditorium
on OSU’s campus. This year’s competition will be held on January 28th, 2017, and as
usual, will be an eventful weekend of exciting entertainment geared towards
celebrating South Asian culture, while raising money for charity. Featuring teams from
two of the largest circuits in the country, Buckeye Mela showcases 8 BollywoodFusion teams and 8 Bhangra teams competing in their respective categories.
Applications are now live, and we would like to officially invite your team to
apply and become a part of the Buckeye Mela tradition! This year’s show will
undoubtedly be one for the ages, and you will definitely not want to miss out on what
will for sure be one of the best overall competitions in both the Fusion and Bhangra
circuits’ histories. Buckeye Mela as a competition has always attracted the very best
talent throughout the entire dance circuit. Founded by OSU's Indian American and
Indian Students Associations, Buckeye Mela has grown to be The Ohio State
University’s largest philanthropic South Asian event, and the biggest South Asian
dance competition in the Midwest. In our tenth year of existence, we pride ourselves
on bringing one of the most entertainment-packed, well-organized, and hospitable
weekends in the nation to OSU’s campus and the greater Columbus community.
As a competition with ten years of experience under our belt, we know what it
takes to run a logistically-sound, exciting, and memorable event for all dancers,
judges, liaisons, volunteers, and audience members involved. We know how much
effort dancers really put in to show off their talent come January, and strive to give
each of them one of the most stress-free and fun weekends year after year. With every
year of Mela so far, we’ve only gotten bigger and better, which is why we’re so proud
to announce that Buckeye Mela will be BOTH a bid competition for Bollywood America
AND a partner competition for Legends National Bollywood Dance Competition this
upcoming dance season! As in previous years, the bhangra and fusion categories will
be judged as two separate entities with teams competing at Buckeye Mela for the top
cash prize in their respective genres. Additionally, we will be continuing to welcome
any non-collegiate teams into our competition.
In this packet, you will find information regarding registration timelines and
procedures, application and dancer fees, tentative schedule of the weekend,
participant guidelines, and audition video rules. This is going to be Buckeye Mela’s
most special year, and we want you to be a part of it. We encourage all teams to apply
to grab a slot in our tenth year anniversary show and truly understand what
Midwestern hospitality means. For us, Mela is not just another simple competition – it
is an experience. We hope to see you at Buckeye Mela 2017!
Sincerely,
The Buckeye Mela X Executive Board
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www.buckeyemela.com
[email protected]
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
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JANUARY 27TH, 2017
(FRIDAY)
JANUARY 28TH, 2017
(SATURDAY)
●STAGE REHEARSAL●
●TEAM ARRIVAL●
●PROP SETUP●
●REHEARSAL VIDEO●
VIEWING
●OFFICIAL MIXER●
●PRACTICE TIME●
●PRACTICE TIME●
●OFFICIAL COMPETITION●
●AFTERPARTY●
JANUARY 29TH, 2017
(SUNDAY)
●BRUNCH●
●CLOSING CEREMONY●
●TEAM DEPARTURE●
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www.buckeyemela.com
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BOLLYWOOD AMERICA
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Bollywood America, the most prestigious
national Filmi-Fusion dance competition that made its
debut 7 years ago, celebrates South Asian culture,
tradition, and diversity through dance by bringing
together the most talented dance teams in the nation to
compete on one stage every year. It is a rigorous
competition where the caliber of choreography,
production, costumes, and dance continues to excel as
South Asian dance styles become more prominent in
communities across the country. Bollywood America is
the final championship of the year for the entire FilmiFusion dance circuit, and takes the 11 teams who
accumulated the most points over the course of the
competition year. The 100+ teams in the Filmi-Fusion
circuit audition, travel, and compete at regional
competitions hosted in various cities in order to earn
Bollywood America bid points, cash prizes, and respect.
Bollywood America attracts audience members from
across the world and continues to gain more attention
each year from local press and global media
channels. This national dance championship will be held
on April 8, 2017 in Dallas, Texas, where the next FilmiFusion Champion will be crowned.
http://www.bollywoodamerica.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/BollywoodAmerica
_____________________________
POINT ALLOCATION
CHART
1st Place
nd
12 Points
2 Place
10 Points
3rd Place
8 Points
4th Place
6 Points
th
5 Points
th
4 Points
th
3 Points
th
2 Points
5 Place
6 Place
7 Place
8 Place
This year, Buckeye Mela is fortunate enough to
officially be a bid competition once again for Bollywood
America. All competing teams will receive points based on
the point allocation chart to the left. To qualify for BA, a
team must attend a minimum of two bid competitions, and
will be ranked based on a global Z-score system to
determine the top 11 teams who will attend the competition
April 8th.
____________________________
Point Calculation
1. A team’s top 2 point allocations summed to yield total score
2. Average will be taken of population of teams that have attended at least 2 bid competitions.
3. Once mean has been calculated, the standard deviation of all eligible teams’ total points will
be calculated.
4. The team’s Z-score will be calculated using a combination of the individual team’s average
score, population average, and standard deviation
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LEGENDS
Legends Bollywood Dance
https://www.facebook.com/DDNLegends/
The Elo System
Gained Points Calculation
T
hrough research and simulation of
various point systems and methods with data from
previous years, the Legends board concluded that the
Elo system is the ideal system to define
championship teams.
The Elo system employs a method that
compares the relative skill levels of participants in a
series of competitions. A team’s Elo rating is
represented by a number that increases or decreases
depending on how many other teams it outperforms.
The system is incorporated in a variety of sports,
from Chess to Major League Baseball. The Elo
system could be fine-tuned to best suit the sport it’s
being used to provide rankings for.
 Each team starts with 1000 points at the
beginning of the season
 The number of points a team has is referred to
as its Elo rating
 At a competition teams take away points from
other teams that they out-perform; they give
up points to teams that out-perform them
 During a SINGLE competition, the amount of
points that a team takes or gives up is
determined by the difference in the Elo rating
between the two teams (it’s a zero sum game!)
o Teams with lower Elo ratings will
win more points from high-rated
teams they beat
o Conversely, teams with high Elo
ratings will win fewer points from
low-rated teams they beat
www.buckeyemela.com
Championship, founded by Desi Dance Network
Incorporated, expands the focus of a national
dance championship to improving competitions
across the United States through an inclusive,
communication-based approach. Using researchbased methods, Legends employs an ELO system
for team selection that measures relative team
strength for the fairest representation of the most
elite teams. Working with 18 Partner Competitions
across the country, Legends collaborates to ensure
the highest standard of performance is met and
that the top Bollywood Fusion teams have the
opportunity for the chance to compete at its
Championship Competition. This year’s
competition will take place April 15th, 2017 in Los
Angeles, California, where the first ever Legends
Champion will be crowned.
The formula used to determine how many points are
given or taken away from a certain team-pair is as
follows:
Rn=R0+10 * (Sx-Ex)
𝐸𝑥 =
1
−(𝑅0 −𝑅𝑜𝑝𝑝 )
400
10
+1
Rn is the team’s new Elo rating, after the competition.
R0 is the team’s old Elo rating, before the competition.
Ropp is the competitor’s Elo rating, before the
competition.
Sx is either 1 or 0. It’s 1 if the team beats their
competitor, and 0 if they lose.
Ex compares the Elo ratings of the two
competitors. The higher R0 is relative to Ropp, the
fewer points the team stands to gain.
Each additional competition that a team performs at
makes previous competitions count for less to their total
Elo ranking. So, as a team evolves over the entire season,
their Elo ranking reflects the strength of their more recent
performances.
[email protected]
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APPLICATION PROCESS/RULES
IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, November 1st, 2016: Registration Deadline
 All registration materials (including registration form response, supplemental application,
audition video, and payment) must be submitted before 11:59 PM PST to qualify for
regular registration. Any applications sent in after this time will count as late registration
and team will be assessed late registration fee.
 Registration fee of $75.00
Tuesday, November 8th, 2016: Late Registration Deadline
 This will be the final registration deadline for any teams interested in competing at
Buckeye Mela X. Any team that failed to meet November 1st deadline may submit until
11:59 PM PST on this date with a raised registration fee.
 Registration fee of $100.00
Sunday, November 13th, 2016: Notification of Status
 All teams will be notified of their application status by this date. Every accepted and not
accepted team will be promptly notified, and any waitlisted team will be told their waitlist
position.
Sunday, November 27th, 2016: Intent to Compete Confirmation
 Accepted teams will have until this day to email confirmation to
[email protected]
 Dancer registration fee of $35 per team member (up to 25 members) must be paid by date
 Dancer registration fee of $40 per team member (if over 25 members) must be paid by date
 Teams over 25 members gladly welcomed, but teams bringing 26 or more members will
be assessed slightly higher per-member cost for fairness to teams bringing much less
All payments are to be paid via Venmo (Search: Buckeye Mela; Account Name: @Buckeyemela10) or can
be sent to
The Indian American Association, 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43210
APPLICATION PROCESS
Part 1
Fill out preliminary registration Google form
(https://goo.gl/forms/qnhdVvlCMzbg5EW22) to establish main
point of contact and general information about your team!
Part 2 
Once we have received your preliminary
registration form, you will receive a confirmation email from
[email protected] with additional information
about how to pay your registration fee and submit your
audition video. We will also send you an initial judging rubric
for your respective category (Bhangra/Fusion) and attach a
supplementary application containing an initial roster and
team verification form. You will be expected to complete and
email us this supplementary application along with the audition
video by the registration deadline. Payment must also be made
by deadline.
Type
Regular
Registration
Late
Registration
Date
Nov
1st,
11:59
PST
Nov
8th,
11:59
PST
Application
Fee (nonrefundable)
If
Accepted
$75
$35 or
$40/dancer
$100
$35 or
$40/dancer
 All components of your application will be solely
accessed by the registration co-director prior to
decisions, and videos will only be viewed by
members of the Mela executive board.
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www.buckeyemela.com
[email protected]
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AUDITION VIDEO GUIDELINES
 The audition video must be a MINIMUM of two minutes and a MAXIMUM of four
minutes. If the video exceeds four minutes in length, only the first four minutes will
be taken into consideration.
 All audition videos are to be taken in one continuous shot. In other words, they MAY
NOT be edited.
 The camera must be centered. Only one camera angle may be used. Ideally, the
camera should be placed above eye level so that all formations are visible, but this is
not a requirement.
 The entire stage must be visible at all times. Please do not zoom in or out.
 There is to be absolutely NO display of the school name, logos, or colors throughout
the video. This includes clothing, props, floors, walls, decals, etc. We strongly suggest
that dancers have similar clothing and colors (i.e. boys are in one color and girls in
another).
 The video must be of clear audio and visual quality (minimum 480p).
 The routine used in the audition video must be representative of the routine that will
be performed at Buckeye Mela. Videos from previous performances, competitions,
audition videos, or rehearsals CANNOT be used.
 Audition videos are due with the Application packet.
 The dancers in the Audition Video must be identical to the dancers attending
Buckeye Mela.
 Videos should be submitted via a video uploading website such as:
www.dropbox.com; https://www.google.com/drive/ and must be downloadable links.
 A link to the website with the uploaded audition video can be submitted along with
the registration packet to [email protected].
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ANY AUDITION VIDEO THAT VIOLATES THESE RULES WILL NOT BE
CONSIDERED.
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TERMS & CONDITIONS
 Each team must have a minimum of 12 members.
 All forms regarding Buckeye Mela 10 must be
completed by a team captain/manager. This individual
will also serve as the primary contact.
 Dances must be between six and eight minutes in length,
excluding intro videos. Intro videos can be as long as 2
minutes maximum. Violating these time requirements
will result in score deductions.
 Although performers may use props, IAA and ISA will
not be held responsible for transportation, damage or
misplacement of any props. No breakable and/or
hazardous props or those that will create a mess will be
permitted on stage (i.e. glass, fire, confetti, glitter,
powder etc.)
 The Buckeye Mela 10 committee is not responsible for
any damages caused to the venue by any dancer. The
cost of any damage must be paid in full by the dancer
(or the group he/she represents).
 All choreography in the competition routine must be
unique and original. If there is any evidence to suggest
that choreography has been take from another source,
your team could be disqualified.
 The regular application deadline (with a non-refundable
fee of $75) is Tuesday, November 1st, 2016 at 11:59 PST.
All materials must be submitted by this deadline to be
considered a regular application. If not all materials
have been submitted by this deadline, your application
will be considered as a late application.
 The late application deadline (with a non-refundable
late fee of $100) is Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 at
11:59 PST. Any application packets and audition videos
received after this deadline will not be considered.
 Teams will be notified of their status by Sunday,
November 13th, 2016.
 If a registered team, for any reason, withdraws or is not
able to compete at Buckeye Mela 10, no refunds of any
sort will be provided. In addition, withdrawing AFTER
the official lineup is released will result in a $300
withdrawal fee. Declining acceptance and/or
withdrawing before official lineup release will NOT
result in a penalty.
 After the initial roster is submitted, if a team wishes to
add or drop a member to the roster, these changes
MUST be submitted promptly to the Buckeye Mela 10
executive committee. ([email protected])
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www.buckeyemela.com
[email protected]
PRATHAM USA
PHILANTHROPY
Pratham was first founded in 1995 with the
B
uckeye Mela’s prime motivation is to
provide a medium for South Asian culture and arts to be
properly celebrated and showcased to the general
public, as well as to give back to the greater South
Asian society as a whole. Each year, Mela donates all
proceeds from the entire weekend to a chosen charity
that is geared towards improving life for populations
both in the Indian Subcontinent and across the world.
Our most important ideal is to utilize the influence and
public reach we have in our community to aid others in
the countries from where the majority of our circuit’s
dancers hail. In the past, we have partnered with James
Cancer Research Center at the Ohio State University,
the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, as well as Ekal Vidyalaya &
People’s Movement. We have also provided support to
The Pure Water Access Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
founded in 2010 by current Ohio State medical students
dedicated to alleviating the global water crisis through
consultation and implementation of sustainable water
projects via data-driven and culturally sensitive
methods. This upcoming year, we will again extend
another partnership to truly help societies in improving
living conditions. We will be supporting Pratham
USA, a nonprofit NGO dedicated to providing quality
education to as many underprivileged children in India
as possible. Proper education is a right to be had by all,
and is something often taken for granted. As humans
privileged enough to live and attend school in a city as
affluent and infrastructurally sound as Columbus, the
greatest thing we can do is use our efforts to help set the
stones to ensure everyone in the world may have a
chance at a similar set of opportunities.
idea of providing pre-school education for children
living in slums. Every day since, it has been committed
to providing quality schooling for every child in India,
impacting over 6 million children in the last year alone.
By aiming to increase the literacy levels of poor
underprivileged neighborhoods, Pratham hopes to
achieve socioeconomic equality through low-cost and
effective education solutions tailored to each
individual’s capability rather than age. In a nation
where 287 million are illiterate, Pratham’s system of
teaching youth based on their individual learning
capabilities is a revolutionary step towards promoting
equal education for all in the world’s fastest growing
nation.
IN-KIND SERVICES
 Teaching children ages 6-14
fundamental literacy, arithmetic, and
writing skills through the Read India
program
 Publishing affordable, quality books
for children across the nation
 Providing access to secondary
education for female dropouts,
empowering female fulfillment of
education
 Conducting annual survey (largest in
world) to determine enrollment and
basic learning levels in rural areas
 Providing industry-specific vocational
training and job placement for youth
All proceeds from Buckeye Mela X, net of operating
costs, will go towards Pratham USA and directly
impact underprivileged children in need of quality
education and vocational training.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.pratham.org/
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[email protected]
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CLOSING STATEMENTS
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THANK YOU
Buckeye Mela would not be where we are today without the effort and commitment
you teams bring every year to change the game in both circuits and raise the overall level
of competition. For us, Buckeye Mela is more than a simple organization. It is a means to
creating a more positive world, one filled with equality and the power for any individual to
reach the heights of their dreams and not be limited by where they are born and what
resources they are given. By being a part of our competition, not only are you showcasing
the very best in South Asian culture and art, but you are also part of a greater whole, in
which your participation helps those underprivileged youth in the world to lead better
lifestyles with purpose and dignity. This drive to better our greater community is truly what
pushes us forward as a team, and to be able to achieve this through something so close to
our hearts and cultures is an amazing feeling.
This weekend aims to spark friendships with dance teams from around the world
and our Ohio State community, all while creating amazing, unforgettable memories. In our
tenth year of existence, we guarantee this year’s competition to be the best Mela yet, and
one of the most entertaining weekends in either dance circuit’s history! This will
undoubtedly be a very special year for us all, and it is an experience we want to be able to
share with you. This tenth-year anniversary show is definitely something you will not want
to miss out on. If you are looking for a competition filled with top-class hospitality, key
organization, and a true passion to bring the best our circuit has to offer to the general
public, look no further than right here, and learn for yourself why Buckeye Mela is the
“biggest and best competition in the Midwest”. If you have any questions at all regarding
registration or our competition in general, please feel free to email us! We look forward to
reviewing your completed application soon!
Sincerely,
Shashank Raghavachari & Raj Grover
Co-Directors, Buckeye Mela X
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[email protected]
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www.buckeyemela.com
[email protected]