Tufts Bhangra places second at national competition

Upon returning back to school from winter break, the Tufts Bhangra team went on a mission. From Friday, Jan 16 through Thursday, Jan 22, the 14 member squad practically lived in Cohen auditorium, practicing day and night to prepare for the annual Bhangra Fusion competition in Detroit, Michigan, which took place last Friday night.

All the hard work paid off in the end as the team took second place out of twelve teams, and earned first among collegiate squads. The second-place finish earned the team a trophy and a check for $1,000 dollars. The only team to place ahead of Tufts was Khalsa Junction, a non-profit all male team of professional dancers who won the event for the second straight season.

"The entire experience was absolutely amazing," senior co-choreographer Kapil Dargan said. "It was one of the best weekends from beginning to end for all of us."

Bhangra is a joyous, unifying dance that brings people of every culture together. It is driven by upbeat, rhythmic music with fierce drum beats and powerful vocals. It is coupled with graceful dance moves requiring a high degree of skill and athleticism, both of which are reflected in the complexity, precision, and grace of the dancers.

The squad is led by choreographers Dargan and sophomore Priti Julka, both of whom devised the dance in the two days before the rest of the team returned. The team includes grad student and former captain Vidushi Gupta; seniors Dargan, Neha Surana, Mshak Ghazarian, Sameer Puri, Vaani Garg, Abha Verma, and Shaunik Panse; sophomores Julka, Arun Brahmbhatt, Nadia Ashai, and Neel Shah; and freshman Jed Forman. In addition, the team had senior Soham Mahadevia playing the dhole, or Indian drum, throughout the performance.

With the exception of Garg, Brahmbhatt, and Shah, all members of the team had performed for at least one semester, but the three newcomers were met with a warm welcome.

"I was nervous at first about entering the dynamic that had already been established from last semester," Garg said. "But it was amazing from day one. It was a week unlike anything I have done at Tufts."

The team drove to Michigan on Thursday night with two other teams, arriving very early Friday morning for the Friday night competition. The long trip was more time for the team to bond and get even more comfortable with each other.

"We became a really close family over the past week," Dargan said. "We practically lived in Cohen auditorium, ate every meal together, and spent about 16 straight hours bonding together on the bus."

At the competition, the 12 teams were judged on the originality and creativity of their moves and stunts, their synchronization, their energy on stage, and the strength of the individual parts. The Tufts team's dance was very formation oriented, and involved a lot of new steps in the mens' individual section.

After all twelve teams had finished performing, the judges announced the third place winner, host University of Michigan.

"After the third place winner was announced, we thought we had a slim chance because all of the other teams were so good," Surana said.

That doubt was short-lived, however, as the Jumbos were called out onto the stage as the second place winners shortly thereafter. They charged the stage, crying and hugging each other, staying there for almost five minutes.

"It was incredible to just step onto the team and win," Garg said. "I was really proud of the older team members who have dedicated the past few years to the team. They have brought Tufts Bhangra to the high level at which it stands now."

Overall for Tufts, the weekend brought the team even closer together, and more importantly, paid dividends for its hard work and effort over the previous week and a half.

"Usually, we have a great time and dance really well, but this time we finally got to walk away with a big check and a huge trophy," Surana said. "It was such an emotionally fulfilling experience, especially for the seniors."

The squad has two more major competitions remaining this semester: Southern, in three weeks, and Bhangra Blowout, the most competitive national Bhangra competition in the country, in early April. In addition, the squad will be performing for the Tufts community at the TASA culture show in Cohen auditorium on March 5 and 6.

"Bhangra fusion was a great experience for all of us," Julka said. "We had a lot of fun and were able to pick up new ideas for our future competitions. Despite our success, we will continue to work to perfect our dance and hopefully bring home another trophy."