George Washington University junior Kunal Patel had never tried dancing the traditional dances of his Indian heritage until his freshman year in college.
As one of the members of GW’s Raas, one of the nine teams from seven states that competed in the longest-running intercollegiate Garba-Raas dance competition on the East Coast Saturday night, Patel took the stage and won first prize for the activity he tried for the first time just two years ago.
‘It’s my culture,’ he said. ‘I just fell in love with it, and now this is all I do.’
GarbaFest Paanch, an Indian cultural dance competition, was hosted by Boston University’s India Club at John Hancock Hall. Teams from all over the nation came to participate in Garba and Raas, dance forms native to the Indian state of Gujarat.
More than 300 attendees chanted in support of the dance teams, and although several of the dancers said they were nervous before going onstage, they said the crowd’s energy ultimately compensated for their jitters.
‘We loved the crowd tonight,’ Patel said.
The GW Raas team was selected as the winner by a board of judges gathered from across the country. They received a check for $2001, with one extra dollar for good luck, along with an invitation to the Raas All-Stars National Championships in April.
GarbaFest Paanch has been in the works since September, BUIC President Nirav Bhavsar said. This is the fifth year of the competition.
Dancing is a major part of Indian culture and an expression of art and skill, BUIC’s Cultural Chairman Vikram Eagan said.
‘ ‘All these teams are competing for their own pride,’ Eagan said. ‘Dancing in Hindu culture is extremely important. Dance in itself comes from the soul. It’s a big part of the culture.’
BU’s Fatakada began the evening with an exhibition performance, followed by the competing teams in brightly colored, culturally inspired costumes.
Rutgers University sophomore Isha Vara said she was nervous before her team’s performance, but the team, the music and the adrenaline of performing motivated her.
‘It was a really good crowd,’ she said. ‘It was a lot of fun.’
Vara said she would participate in a competition like GarbaFest again ‘in a heartbeat.’
BU School of Hospitality Administration freshman Dipali Patel said she had seen Indian cultural dancing prior to starting college and wanted to join a team once she arrived at BU.
‘Some people grow up doing it, but it’s hard to develop the rhythm for it,’ she said. ‘Doing an eight minute dance is like running for 45 minutes. It takes so much energy.’
Brandeis University alumna Roopa Modha said she noticed the energy of the dancers and was impressed by all the teams she had seen so far.
‘It almost seems like a cheerleading competition with all the stunts they’re doing,’ she said.
Kunal Patel said he was glad that teams from such widespread locations as Florida, Indiana, New York and Ohio were able to come together and compete.
‘It’s good to see all the different states competing in one location,’ he said. ‘It’s just a great moment.’
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