The organizers of a traditional Indian dance festival in the Twin Cities are throwing the doors to the event open wide in order to make this an event for the whole community. What's more, they're putting a Bollywood spin on the traditional Indian festival dance forms known as Dandiya and Garba.
Exit 167 Event Management Group aims to bring the entire Bloomington/Normal community together to experience fellowship through traditional Indian dance styles. The event is Friday, Sept. 30 beginning at 7:30 PM at Benjamin School in Bloomington. Organizer Vinod Nambiar said the event is held at the same time as a traditional festival in India that celebrates the season and typically goes for nine days. "The key element of this festival is that it's a community dance, where everybody from the community gets together in a big space and they all dance together in a similar rhythm and a similar dance pattern."
"It's called the circle dance," explained co-organizer Leyons Philip. "It's like a folk dance, it's very traditional. It's become so popular that it's not just limited to India any more. Many other countries have embraced this style of dance. It's a very fun event. Dandiya includes the use of bamboo sticks, some with bells tied to them, and the steps are very easy to learn."
Although the dance forms are very traditional, there's been a growing trend of incorporating more modern music, such as the world-famous Bollywood style, which also has elements of Western music, making the dancing that much more international.
Exit 167 Management Group is offering free dance training on Sept. 29. Sign up is available through their website.
