Across genres and cultures, student dance groups find connections through music

For some students, it is almost impossible not to dance when listening to music. 

The feeling of vibrations in our bones, lyrics echoing in our heads and the rhythm flowing through our bodies creates a universal experience — one that many UNC dance teams are quite familiar with. 

According to Heel Life, UNC has over 20 dance clubs that vary in styles of movement, culture and music. The groups perform throughout the academic year at multiple events and competitions. 

UNC Chalkaa isa competitive Indian performing arts group that combines Eastern and Western dance styles. 

Chalkaa co-captain Vishal Varadarajan said that the organization works with a circuit of local DJs known for splicing music with specific sounds or styles. After reaching out to share their chosen storyline or theme, he said Chalkaa collaborates with them to create a mix for their performances.

“We’ll talk with a basic idea for a theme or the concept and then think of music, build on that,” Nandini Kanthi, a co-captain of UNC Chalkaa said. “And then in practice, we’ll teach it to the team, they’ll learn it.” 

Another cultural dance group is Bhangra Elite. The organization focuses on competitive, high-energy, traditional dance that promotes and educates about Punjabi culture, according to its Heel Life page. The three captains of the group this year are Meeta Sindagi, Teju Kashyap and Anya Abhayakumar. 

Abhayakumar said that the organization has a live component to their shows because they dance and play with actual instruments during their performances. 

Kashyap said Banghra Elite also works with a DJ to build a mix for their performances, but they do not play live until the day of a show and they don’t add sound effects or layer instrumentals until they’re nearing the end of their process.

Live music and spontaneity can be major aspects across other dance forms too. 

UNC’s Freestyle 101 club teaches dance styles like hip-hop, breakdancing and popping and locking. They participate in cyphers, which is an activity where a group of dancers forms a circle and the DJ plays a random song. Any dancer can jump into the circle and judges can give or take away points. 

Shane Li, the president of the club, said that you need a movement to make people say “Wow,” because that could win you the battle, but you also need to have fun in the music. 

Blank Canvas is the largest student-led dance company on campus that offers classes for all levels of any style of dance, according to its Heel Life page.

Ainsley Mesnard, the performance team lead for Blank Canvas, said she thinks of the musicality of the songs instead of the lyrics when she is choosing music for dances. She said she’s more focused on how the words, background and beats work together, and then uses that to build her choreography. 

Then there is the Tar Heel Raas, a competitive dance group that focuses on traditional West Indian dances. They do two types of dance: Garba and Raas. 

Garba is a circle dance frequently performed during the Hindu festival of Navratri. Raas is a folk cultural dance that incorporates sticks, or dandiya. 

Nidhi Philar, a dancer for the Tar Heel Raas, said that she has a long background with music already and realizes just how widespread it can be with all of the different genres. 

“I think it really — music — just ties every aspect of art together,” she said.

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