Senior Rudra Phalnikar poses at the end of the routine during MV Dance Team’s “December to Remember” showcase.
MV Andaaz members unpack the past year
Captains and members share their memories and hardships
Originally, junior Ethan Tarng decided not to join MV Andaaz. He had been encouraged by his friends in choir, in October of 2021, but his schedule was full with water polo. However, after the water polo season ended and Tarng had more free time, he decided to join the team in November past the audition deadline, since the team had a lack of male dancers and he had prior experience in hip-hop.
Tarng had not fully committed to joining the team until he attended his first practice, where he immersed himself in an environment and dance style he’d never experienced before. After his practice, which Tarng believes “went well,” the team celebrated at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse — Tarng’s favorite memory with the team.
“The environment was just really fun,” Tarng said. “I felt like I already fit in. Even though there were other members that I had never met, they were just so welcoming. It was just really nice to be welcomed.”
Having no experience with Indian dance, Tarng feels that being part of Andaaz has allowed him to learn a lot more about Indian culture through the dance style and song choices. Senior and co-captain Aryaa Pathak explains that the captains try to create song mixes that fuse both American and Indian songs together for a Bollywood routine. Similar to Tarng, Pathak believes that having Indian dance clubs on campus is important to help spread knowledge about the culture, even if the teams are non-competitive and don’t offer P.E. credit to students.
Pathak notes that the team saw a decrease this year in the number of auditions, which she attributes to the remote environment last year and lack of in-person shows, estimating that the numbers will continue to decrease next year. Due to the uncertainty of shows and rallies this year, Pathak and the other captains were hesitant to devote money to costumes and stage makeup until future plans were more certain.
“One challenge is just getting back into the groove of performing in-person,” Pathak said. “One thing that’s really hard … is facial [expressions]. We have this saying, ‘Energy, energy, energy, energy, facials, facials, energy,’ and we chant that before any performance because it’s something we all have to remember. At some point, it’s not just remembering what move is next, but just having fun on stage.”
In order to alleviate the gender disparity, the captains continued to recruit male dancers like Tarng after auditions and networked with their friends. Senior and co-captain Rudra Phalnikar shares that, while Andaaz began the season with only two males, they gained six more male dancers throughout the year, creating an even ratio of boys to girls on the team. Phalnikar feels proud to have assembled a team of 16 dancers when he had originally only expected to lead a team of 10 this year.
“I think anyone can do dance, and I actually want more guys to do it — it has nothing to do with femininity,” Phalnikar said. “I never saw myself actually doing dance when I was younger, but I think it’s just another way to express yourself. Once you get into it, it’s very fun.”
Pathak, Phalnikar and Tarng all cherish the welcoming and fun atmosphere that the Andaaz team creates, reflecting on memories like sneaking backstage to cheer on other MVHS dance teams or laughing as an Andaaz member tried dancing to Bhangra’s choreography. Having been on the team since ninth grade, Phalnikar mentions that Andaaz has developed traditions that help them improve their performance during practices.
“We have this thing in Andaaz called Circle Time where we just get the whole team together [after practice],” Phalnikar said. “We do a cheer at the end to hype ourselves up and the captains all give a speech to the teammates, talking about what we did well that practice and what we can do better. We do it every single practice and it’s probably a highlight of being on the team.”
Reflecting on the past three years, Pathak feels proud of her Andaaz career, both as a dancer and a leader. As she prepares to graduate this year, Pathak reflects that she will miss not only the current Andaaz team, but also the memories she’s created with previous Andaaz members. She advises the upcoming members to balance out the serious and fun moments, as she believes that it’s important to focus on the tasks at hand while also maintaining an enjoyable group dynamic.
“I’m just going to miss everything,” Pathak said. “I’ve made really good friends mostly through dance … the team atmosphere is the best part. The dancing and everything is obviously really fun, but it’s really nice to always have a new team where we can all be family no matter what.”
The film room
Exploring the use of video software like Hudl and Krossover in preparation for game day
He noticed a trend among the athletes huddled in front of him. Every time he tried to recount certain plays from the game the night before, he was often met with blank faces, the players not quite understanding what he was talking about. It wasn’t until the start of the 2019 season that boys soccer coach Todd Kimble resorted to a cyber companion — Hudl.
Used by both the football and boys soccer teams, Hudl is an online software that works with the recordings of games, allowing coaches to draw on certain clips and tag players. Players and their coaches can interact with the online interface, which allows for more personalized feedback. According to soccer captain and senior Avi Libman, Hudl has provided his team with numerous benefits since its introduction.
“We wanted a way for us to record our games,” Libman said. “Hudl provided another level of technology that allowed us to break down the games into different parts. [We could] see at what times teams possess the ball [and] watch the videos [as a team].”
Kimble has had prior experience using Hudl with his club team and decided that it was the best software to use for his team. He explained that Hudl has helped his team better visualize scenarios and bridged the understanding between him and his team.
“There are scenarios that I try to explain that I remember from the game,” Kimble said. “I was explaining them to the boys and they couldn’t get it. They couldn’t see the picture that I was painting, nor could they remember the incident from the game.”
Ranging from 400 dollars to 3,000 dollars per season, Hudl might come across as a hasty commitment for teams that purchase its software. Libman expressed that the high price of Hudl could potentially be used for other things, as the team could break down the video without the help of an external source.
“I don’t see it being such a necessity,” Libman said. “With the price of it, maybe just having someone record the game in a normal quality, we could just break it down ourselves. [But] with the budget we got, it was some sort of system that worked for us. “
The reason that drove Kimble to choose Hudl was the cross-platform capabilities of the software. It is made easily available on a variety of devices from smartphones to laptops, allowing athletes to access videos and messages anywhere and anytime.
“I just wanted to have a visual representation so that I could show them what I see,” Kimble said. “What that does is it first of all gives them the picture that I’m trying to paint and I can draw and give my comments but secondly, it also puts the [game] into snippets. By doing that, they can view quick highlights and things like that at their rate.”
Kimble has noted in this current generation of athletes is that they are more attracted to visual learning, which Hudl is perfect for. He thinks that the generation’s low attention span calls for the use of videos.
“They’re more interested in going in there and actually viewing the video,” Kimble said. “They are a little bit more engaged. I have seen some kids change the way they play or make adjustments based on what we have talked about, but it’s so early in the development that [it] is kind of hard.”
Hudl is not the only type of software used by MVHS sports teams. Both boys volleyball and football also use Krossover, a similar application. Unlike Hudl, Krossover breaks down the stats of each player and team in the video and is equipped with data visualizations and player specific tags. Volleyball player and junior William Liou says that Krossover has been extremely helpful in the improvement of his skills.
“I like watching [myself] play and seeing where [I] could have done something better,” Liou said. “One thing that makes it really easy is that it filters out your name for every play. You don’t have to watch every play. You can just instantly filter the moment you’re in that play, and you can see you know what your form is bad, you know where they made the wrong choice there, what you could have done better, just a lot of self reflection.”
Liou also credits part of his team’s success to Krossover, and agrees with Kimble that the video aspect of the software does create a profound impact in their learning as a team. He believes that the numerous statistical insights provided by such softwares, coupled with that of their opponents, allows players to strive to succeed athletically.
“Athletes at this school, particularly, for really competitive sports, like volleyball, are always striving to get better so we can get an advantage on the opposing teams,” Liou said. “Sometimes it’s hard to do that without a coach. Being able to look at yourself play all the time, and comparing yourself to other players is a really good way [to improve].”
With the increase in technology in MVHS’s daily academic scene, it comes to no surprise that athletic teams are indulging in software, which virtually helps them improve their games and plays.
Kimble likens sports and academics, as he personally noticed that students have started to put a label on their achievements – whether it is playing to get the number one spot or improving with each game. He says that Hudl and Krossover serve as a reward – or punishment – to satisfy their expectations in their athletic pursuits.
“I think that [technology] is both wonderful and problematic. It has an amazing ability to breakdown so many things,” Kimble said. “On the other hand, you can lost in the data and forget what you’re really trying to accomplish.”