With a fresh fusion of musical styles, a traditional Indian dance from more than 500 years ago has become trendy again to some ASU students.
Bhangra, a traditional Punjabi Indian dance that has been a lively form of dance since the 14th century, has most recently been finding playtime in American clubs.
The dance is similar to modern day hip-hop with an influence of belly dancing.
"It is a great dance to do alone," Simon Dove, chair of the Herberger College of the Arts' dance department said in an e-mail. "You do not need a partner and it can be as exuberant as you feel. It is going down very well in clubs in major cities around the world."
Typically, the dance is performed at celebrations. In ancient times it was performed to celebrate the harvest, but today the dance is common at events such as weddings, according to punjabonline.com.
Bhangra has now undergone a modern makeover by infusing other music genres such as hip-hop, reggae and house music with the traditional beats.
Bhangra has especially become popular because, unlike other types of dances, it lends itself to freedom of expression and a certain type of individuality, Dove added.
The Mystic Jewell World Dance Studio in Tempe recently became one of the few studios to catch onto the Bhangra bandwagon in the Valley.
Sherry Van Goethem, the instructor for Bhangra classes at the studio, said the studio fuses dances from all over the world, specializing primarily in belly dancing.
"A couple years ago a Bhangra troupe came by and did belly dancing and Bhangra fusion dancing," she said. "We thought it was so fun we later evolved some of the moves into Bhangra."
Van Goethem said although the dance is mostly a form of traditional Indian dance, her students reflect diversity in their ages, race and backgrounds.
Some of the most recent Bhangra songs have been mixed with artists such as Jay-Z and Missy Elliot, which for many has created an opportunity to try Bhangra through a pathway of American mainstream music, she said.
ASU offers a variety of dance classes in many forms of popular and social dances — from Hip Hop to Salsa and Egyptian Raqs Sharqi, Dove said. Although the University is not yet offering courses in Bhangra, Dove said that the dance department might be considering it for the future, and for now encourages students to explore new genres of dance even if it is not affiliated with ASU.
"We really encourage all students to follow their curiosity and interests wherever that might lead them," he said. "It is essential that the students engage as fully as possible with the breadth of dance practice wherever they find it."
But many ASU students are still finding ways to get involved with Bhangra.
Hemina Kapadia, who graduated in the spring with a degree in electrical engineering, said she first started dancing Bhangra for fun at festivals, parties and weddings. Now, Kapadia said she co-teaches belly dancing and hip-hop classes with Van Goethem at Mystic along with being an active member in a mainly Punjabi group called AZ Desi Entertainment. The group focuses on throwing Bhangra events for the community.
Kapadia said although her life is now busy with work, it is still important to her to have fun and stay involved in dancing.
"Bhangra is a great workout. It's fun, and pumps people up to feel good about themselves," Kapadia said.
Reach the reporter at: kendall.wright@asu.edu.
