When bhangra won the world

Gurnaaz Kaur

It has been an exciting and overwhelming experience for these students of Chandigarh University, Gharuan, who participated in the 11th edition of Dance World Cup 2018; exciting because it was the first time students competed at the world-level and overwhelming because they did not only participate but also won the competition!

Held between July 1 and 8 in Montreal, Canada, the competition was hosted by International Dance Council (CID). While the first round saw performances by 27 teams, only 13 teams were short-listed for the grand finale.

Spring in step

For the Chandigarh University team, this competition meant showcasing bhangra on a world stage. “Once our entry was accepted, we had around 40 days in hand and we practiced for hours every day till we reached the finals. It was a huge platform to perform. The experience of holding the world cup was out of this world,” says Gurmandeep Singh Gill, BSC final-year student. He was the leader and singer of the team. The team comprised 11 members, including a teacher and dholi.

For lead dancer Harprabjot Singh, a mechanical engineering student, the fact that Bhangra won the award surpasses all highs. “There is no bigger joy than representing your traditional dance on a world stage and winning the show. What I am happiest about is that bhangra was the choice of the foreign audience. It was the audience that voted for us for the overall performance trophy. This means something,” he says.

Nothing comes easy, and like any other competition, there were challenges in this one too. “After we performed to clear the entry round, we got to know that the same performance could not be repeated for the second round, which was also the finale. We just had one night before the final performance and we created a whole new show in just one night. We practiced throughout that night,” shares Jassanpreet Kaur, a PG diploma student.

Global stage

For these students, it was not just a chance to perform but also know about different cultures and each one of them made the most of it. “We interacted with people from other countries, got a glimpse of their cultures and lifestyle. It was quite a learning experience for us,” they echo.

Chandigarh University won gold medal in the open category and lifted the overall World Cup Dance trophy since their performance was also adjudged the best dance.

“All the teams danced on recorded tracks; ours was the only live performance. Then, we scored for covering the whole stage and using props; the third criterion was presentation and synchronisation, and last was timely completion of dance. We scored well in all of them and thus the trophy belongs to us,” shares a joyous Harprabjot.

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