Memorial Hall hosting Indian dance competition Saturday

Three thousand dollars in prize money. Eight competing teams. One lively night of music and dance.

UNC’s second-largest cultural awareness group will host teams from all over the East Coast in an Indian dance competition at Memorial Hall Saturday.

The top three winners of the 15th annual Aaj Ka Dhamaka competition will receive cash prizes, and the remainder of the proceeds will be contributed to the Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship.

Aaj Ka Dhamaka is an event hosted by Sangam, which organizes cultural awareness events and activities on campus throughout the year, including Holi Moli in April. It is the organization’s largest fall event, with about 900 attendees just last year.

“The MGF provides service grants of up to $3,000 to fellows to help them do a project that benefits the South Asian community,” junior Parth Shah, co-chairman of Aaj Ka Dhamaka, said. “It’s also the first student-run scholarship on campus.”

In the past, Mahatma Gandhi Fellows have traveled to Nepal, India and other South Asian countries and completed public health, environmental and social projects in those areas.

Besides being a fundraiser for the Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship fund, Aaj Ka Dhamaka is also a fun, competitive way for South Asian communities within and across campuses to come together.

“Dance teams across the East Coast look forward to this event as the first chance they get to start off their season,” Shah said.

Dance groups from the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and the Triangle’s own N.C. State University and Duke University are among the teams that will be competing.

“Aaj Ka Dhamaka is the biggest South Asian intercollegiate dance competition in the Southeast,” Roli Tyagi, president of South Asian cultural awareness group Sangam, said.

The teams are divided into three categories based on dance style — fusion, Bhangra and Raas. Fusion combines Bollywood dance, hip-hop and other forms of Indian dance. Bhangra is an energetic dance from the Indian state of Punjab, and Raas is a traditional style from the state of Gujarat.

“We incorporate themes that are just not Indian,” Shah said. “You’ll see elements of our dance that are jazz or hip-hop with a variety of music. It’s a great way for people to open their eyes culturally and see how the South Asian community is evolving, and how they’re taking into consideration other cultures.”

UNC teams Tar Heel Raas and Chalkaa will perform as exhibition acts during the competition.

Tar Heel Raas is opening the show with a lively set, said sophomore Ruchi Shah, a dancer on the team.

“Being a performer is a lot of fun,” she said. “Seeing the crowd get hyped for your performance is really awesome.”

Dancers have said they feel privileged to have such a variety of dance opportunities on campus. One dancer, Soumyaa Thushyanthan, had no experience with Raas when she joined UNC’s team.

“Everyone was very welcoming. I didn’t feel like I was behind at all,” Thushyanthan said.

In addition to being open to dancers with no experience, UNC’s dance teams strive to embody diversity within their membership and movement and music styles.

“I think we are extremely lucky to have so many options available for dancers here at UNC,” Parth Shah said. “Especially in the Triangle area, no school has as many dance teams as we do. It gives people an extracurricular that takes up time, lets you build friendships, do something athletic, something that is rich in cultural context.”

Ruchi Shah said she expected a good turnout for the event.

“A ton of my friends are coming because they haven’t seen a lot of this, and it’s on campus so it’s convenient,” Ruchi Shah said.

“The diversity in the dance styles and vibrant costumes and upbeat music are things that they really want to see. It’s going to be a fun night.”

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