Bhangra.  What is bhangra?  Bhangra “can express anything from the height of joie-de-vivre to sudden bursts of warlike emotions. There is no known folk dance in the world that has the range of Bhangra…The Punjabi Bhangra is a dance that combines every known emotion. Bhangra is a traditional dance, harvest dance, wrestlers dance, dance of spiritual ecstasy, dance of joy and abandon and dance of romance” is what the Bhangra Council explains it as (www.bhangracouncil.com).

This dance was on full display during the Boston Bhangra Competition at John Hancock Hall on Saturday, November 12th, 2005.  12 bhangra teams came from all over North America and Canada to compete for the number 1 bhangra team at the Boston Bhangra Competition.  There were teams from Vancouver Canada, California, Florida, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and of course Boston.  The crowd was electric, with over 1100 people in attendance to cheer on the participants.  This competition did so well last year that the tickets actually sold out in 2 weeks this year!!! That is very impressive for the second annual show!

All of the teams were very exciting, but unfortunately, only 4 could win.  Boston Bhangra actually chose to award a 4th prize just because of the high competition level.  “The judges just couldn’t decide on 3 top teams, so they awarded 4,” said Amit Bhambi, the president of Boston Bhangra.  The top award went to THE Bhangra Team, which hails from New Jersey, due specifically to the authenticity of their dance, by doing all of their singing and instrument playing live on stage, and were awarded a trophy, medals, and $2500.  Second place was awarded to a local team, Tufts University, who were awarded a trophy and $1000.  Third place was awarded to Khalsa Junction from California who were awarded a trophy and $500, and fourth place went to Duniya All Stars from Vancouver who were awarded a dhol.

One of the highlights of the show were the singers and producers from England that performed before the trophies were awarded.  DCS put on a great singing performance with live dhols on stage, while the competitors danced behind them.

Boston Bhangra even had food on sale from Bombay Club during intermission for the hungry folk in the audience, and seem to be airing the show on Sahara One sometime in early 2006.  They will be selling DVD’s of the show in December 2005.

“Bhangra is very important to us, and we want to recognize it in its fullest form.  Bhangra is a very exciting dance, and we want all of Boston to see just how rich this aspect of our Indian culture is.  We have extreme respect for all the teams that came here today as they put in a lot of hard work and dedication to make this show possible.”  These are the words of Rohit Bhambi, one of the organizers of the show.  “Without the support of the community and our sponsors, this show wouldn’t have been possible.”

These are the words spoken from one of the most recognized teams in the country within the bhangra circuit, Boston Bhangra.  They are encompassed of college students, and community members that go and compete across the country.  They are seen as one of the top 5 bhangra teams in North America currently. 

The Boston Bhangra organization puts on this show each year, and has many other goals, including it’s mentorship program, teaching bhangra classes, and competing nationally at various competitions across the country.

To find out more about this organization, visit their website: www.bostonbhangra.com, or call them @ 617-687-9181.

Overall the show was very well organized, fun to watch, and should be something that everybody should try to experience.  The ticket prices were nominal for the three and half hour show with the amount of talent that was on display.  Definitely a must see show come next year!

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