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Show 0DMUGV1 ftfixit t2, 2006 n ISOM sitradl India: traditional costumes, music : where men are free to join in, according to www. Wikipedia, com, the free I j i A shivery and rainy Tuesday calm was it outside on night, campus and even inside the Shaw Center. A few students strolled in as the India Night festival began near 7:30 p.m. As Indian music started playing in the background, Westminster student leader Ashi Shah came forth with her dance partner. They came in front of the television and started dancing to a mixture encyclopedia Web site. The music pm' played through a vast majority of the dances was Bhangra, and the dance itself was briefly presented. Bhangra is a lively form of folk music and dance that originates from Punjab, now divided between North India and Pakistan. People -j of Indian songs that represents todays Bollywood cinema. They both were wearing native Indian clothes, including black salwar kameez (a long black shirt accompanied with a baggy flared bottom piece) and a black duppatta (clothscarf wrapped around the neck). The dances energized the crowd, and they became engaged and started clapping to music. Shah is the director of International Fest and a first-generati- on college student of Indian descent. She worked with a diverse group of West- minster students to organize the event, including students with backgrounds from Italy, the Philippines, Pacific Islands, India and Iran. After the performance given by Shah and her accomplice, the Westminster students were stirred up and excited to practice the Indian native dances. The stick dandiya dance was the first to be shown. This dance ideally involves two circles formed by men and women as the move in clockwise and e directions with two sticks called dandi-ya- s held in their hands. The sticks can vary from 1.5 to 2 feet in length and are meant to represent the sword of the counter-clockwis- Ashi Shah danced to music from Bollywood during India night last week. Photo by Zarish Hamid avenging goddess Durga. I feel Indian I thought tonight was great and I seemed to really get into the festive mood. I think you can learn a lot about a culture just by the dances, said Tyson Smith, next years ASWC vice president. The Garba dance is another form of dance that originated in the Gujarat region. Unlike many famous types of Indian dance, such as Bharatanatyam and Odissi, Garba is much more similar to Western social dancing. The greatest difference between Garba and western social dancing is that its in a circular formation and is religious in origin. Performed by women, it is in reverence to the goddess Ambaji. The basics of the dance are singing and clapping rhythmically while going aound the goddess. Today its a basic pattern ffiFFoefiSom In Issue 22 of The Forum, the article Includes Generous Donation From Bassis" said Jostens supplied ' "Gift graduation items. Fierff-Jon- es is actual supplier for Westminster graduation items. Jonathan Smart, dmd The "Smart" Choice for Dentistry Ask for 484-079- 2 the Westminster Discount 201 1 S. 1300 E. 7 the performed Bhangra when celebrating the harvest. During Bhangra, people sing Punjabi Boliyaan lyrics, and one person usually plays the dhol drum or other musical instruments. Now Bhangra has become extremely diverse. Bhangra is danced in various occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. During the last 30 years, Bhangra has grown immensely around the world both traditional and fusion styles with genres such as pop music, reggae, disco, techno, house, and now jungle, according to hip-ho- p, Punjab online. India Night had a better turnout than yesterdays Greek Night. It was more than expected. Especially after din ner, its hard for people to stick around. There were about 20 people that showed up and they were all anxious to learn the dances, Shah said. ' Salsa, Samba heat up the night more, said, Its very exotic, an exotic taste to it. You just feel free and else to it. Ashi Shah, sophomore, and Nick Nageli, junior, moved to the music, stepping from side to side and doing multiple spins. They were dancing bachata, a dance from the Dominican Republic. Last Wednesday was deemed Latin American Night. As a part of International week, students got free dance instruction from Francisco Ruiz and Daiyany Sosa. They have taught together for more than four years now, offering free classes for beginners Thursday nights at Sky Bar on 161 West 600 South. Shah sits on the student activities commission as the diversity chair. We really wanted to represent different cultures on campus. It was very important for us to do this, and its a lot of fun, she said. Students learned the basics of dance salsa, merengue and bachata. The choice of music and the tempos of the songs were all different, aL lowing everyone to learn to dance fast and slow songs. When the music is slower its the time to show off. You exaggerate, said Ruiz. Latin dance is very sensual. The body is guided by the music, hips swray as the man leads the woman, spinning her and coming close to kiss her hand. Andrea Sartor, sopho theres nothing Although Latin American Night wasnt as well attended as other events, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We had a small group. The people were very receptive. It was really good energy from people in the class, said Ruiz. It was really quick but exciting and its the first time Ive done it. Theres a lot of technique involved, said Nageli. The food and drinks made, for another chance for everyone to partake of Latin culture. Jarritos, Mundial and Sangria, popular carbonated soft drinks, were served along with flan, a rich Hispanic dessert. The club-lik- e atmo- sphere set up by DJ Coque who has played at Mambo Club and currently deejays at Sky Bar and the Manhattan club with lights and music were perfect for everyone to get on the dance floor and put to use what they had learned. Ruiz and Sosa took a time out for themselves, taking the chance to dance a song together, before having to leave to go teach a class. Dont be embarrassed. Dont be afraid. This is about feeling, about good energy, said Sosa. I feel the most important thing is to just do it and be consistent. |