Madhurum Bhuvan:

Currently, I do Bollywood fusion dance and I have also meddled a little bit with Kpop because of ICED, the urban dance club that I am in. I never really learned Bollywood professionally. I just auditioned for Sitaare, Irvington’s bolly-fusion team, and got in. From there, I got more involved with dancing in this particular style. I do have a hip-hop background, though, so that was helpful in learning.

I have been dancing for 10 years now. I started with ballet, then I studied contemporary, then lyrical, then jazz, and now hip-hop for 2 and a half years. Getting into Bollywood dance has helped me connect to a lot of people in the Indian community and understand Indian music. Through being in such a large community, I really do feel like I can find a place for myself within such a vibrant group of people.

Because we have a storyline for our dances with Sitaare, dancing through those emotions has really helped me connect to my culture on a more expressive level. Other than helping me connect to my culture and help connect me to my Indian roots, I have also gained a lot physically. Leading up to Dil Se, we had practices almost every day so I built a lot of stamina for dancing and being able to focus mentally.

World of Dance, Body Rock, Baazi, and Dil Se are some events from the teams that I am part of, and I am really grateful for all of these different events and opportunities that I’ve had because they are really meaningful to me!

Picture Credit: Flics by Devy

Arjun Ghuman:
I do Bhangra, which is a North-Indian dance. Specifically, it is a culturally Punjabi dance that originated as a celebration from the Punjabi farmers. As an Indian state, Punjab has a lot of farming land and therefore a lot of farmers. To celebrate a strong crop yield, Punjabi farmers used to do the Bhangra dance. Now, it has become more modern and the Punjabi community has made it more modern by adding more popular, up-beat songs.

I learned Bhangra from my local Gurdawara, a type of temple for Sikh people. Gurdawara is really special because they hold a lot of cultural activities, going beyond being just a traditional house of worship. Because of this community and support, I was able to learn more and more about this style of dance and joined many teams as a result. I have most notably joined the school’s bhangra team, Irvington Bhangra Crew.

Since third grade, I have always felt that this dance helps me connect with my culture because of its historical roots. It is a beacon and an avenue for me to find people who are part of my culture, or at the very least interested in learning more about it, and I can expand my community and personal circle of people this way.

Since the dance is very energetic, you need to have a lot of happiness and energy to do it. I think this helps me reflect on myself as a person while showcasing a very special part of my culture. At that moment, I can forget about other aspects of my life and just have fun dancing.

There is a lot that I have gained from bhangra dancing. I have become healthier and more fit because of the energy it takes to do this type of dance, and I’ve also been able to expand my social community because our team is really good with helping us connect to other people. I am really happy that I can express this part of my religion and culture in America by dancing!