sorry i couldn’t get it up till now…

South Asian Dance Off
By Diane Jacob
NEW YORK

“Jaye, Jaye, Jaye, Jaye He!” These words echoed throughout the Ramapo High School auditorium as hundreds stood up to salute the Indian flag. This is the first year that there has been a tri-state South Asian dance competition, celebrating South Asian culture. Nearly 400 people attended “South Asian Dance Off,” a talent competition divided into three dance categories – classical, folk and film. A total of ten dance groups competed, five in each category except for classical, where there were five solo performances. Anirban and Maninder Singh, the MCs for the night, provided lots of laughs and helped bridge the long gaps between performances due to technical difficulties.

The first five performances fell into the classical dance category. Five females performed a classical dance, known as bharatanatyam, individually. Each was dressed in traditional Indian clothing, consisting of a heavily adorned red blouse and gold skirt as well as a bountiful amount of jewelry. The music that accompanies bharatanatyam is unlike any other. The singers have very high-pitched voices, similar to the voice of “The Nanny” and the tabla is widely used, an instrument similar to the drums.  Priya Tharakan, a twelve year old, won the bharatanatyam competition due to her precise movements. In bharatanatyam, it is important that every finger on every hand is placed at the right position at exactly the right time, a big accomplishment for such a young girl. Although many may find this technical dance very boring, it is exactly what makes bharatanatyam beautiful and challenging.

Bhangra, a popular style of Indian folk dance, was definitely more audience friendly. The “Delhi Gang” took the trophy home for this division and they deserved it. Unlike bharatanaytam, bhangra is much more lively. The dance groups consisted of at least ten people, with an equal amount of both males and females. The tabla is actively used in bhangra, creating a tribal beat which makes the audience want to dance along with the performers. The dance is choreographed and each dancer is in sync with the other. The typical characteristics of bhangra include a lot of jumping and running across the stage, which helps keep the audience awake. Females wear colorful costumes known as salwars, which consists of baggy pants, a long shirt and a shawl wrapped around their heads. Men wear matching costumes but instead of a shawl, they wear a colorful turban on their head, resembling the feathers of a peacock.

Indian film dance, which is very popular in Bollywood, was the favorite at the dance competition since it was the most modern of all the dances. For film dances, females wear short shirts and even shorter shorts, resembling Western clothing. The dancing is much more seductive, revolving around hip and pelvic thrusts and a large amount of gyrating. The music incorporates western genres, such as hip-hop and pop. In film dance, the song changes every 30 seconds, keeping the audience and the dancers on their feet. Kuchipudi, an eight member dance group, performed the dance originally seen in an Oscar nominated Indian movie, Lagaan. Ironically, they also took home the trophy.

At ten PM, after the awards were given out, the audience dispersed from their seats and ran into the cafeteria, happy to take a bite into fresh samosas, which were almost as hot as the performances.