This weekend, East Lansing was the host city for Raas Revolution, a nationwide competition for raas teams across the country. The competition took place in the Wharton Center.
Raas is a traditional Indian dance that originates from the northern Indian state Gujarat.
Marketing freshman Sonica Patel , a member of the Raas Revolution marketing team, said dozens of collegiate teams across the nation spend months practicing and perfecting a dance routine to use for the competition season each year.
Beginning in January, the teams travel to different universities, bringing their best dancing feet.
At each competition, the teams win points for placing first, second or third.
The eight teams with the most points received an invitation to Raas Revolution — the final competition.
MSU’s team, RaaSparty, made the bid for the final competition this year.
Finance and economics junior Omkar Vale, a member of RaaSparty, said the ?team competed at four different competitions in Ann Arbor, Texas, Maryland and New Jersey to get the bid for Raas Revolution.
However, University of Houston’s team took home the title.
Usually the final competition is held in Texas, but this year was the first time it took place in East Lansing.
On Saturday, the eight teams, their family members and supporters all gathered in Wharton Center to watch.
The atmosphere was full of energy as the audience loudly chanted for each team.
“When you compete in front of a home crowd, your family and friends, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Vale said.
The show opened with a combined performance where all of the teams danced together in a show of camaraderie.
This is when the audience was first introduced to the flashy, bright and colorful Indian clothing that dazzled the audience all night.
After the introduction, MSU’s reFRESHcru’s hip-hop team took center stage before the three-hour competition kicked off.
Each team had a performance that was centered on ?a theme. Themes included “Harry Potter,” a cursed mirror and a day at the beach.
The themes dictated props and often provided a storyline to each routine.
In addition to the theme, the teams were judged on the ?choreography, the overall performance, enthusiasm, outfits, the music mixes, stage props and technique with dandiya sticks, a regular tool used in raas.
RaaSparty emerged on stage in glittering yellow and red outfits and brought a magical “Harry Potter” dance theme to the audience.
Before and after their performance, the crowd erupted in a “go green, go white” chant.
Mechanical engineering junior and former member of RaaSparty Feny Patel said this year was his first time sitting in the crowd at a raas competition.
“(Watching them) makes you want to be on stage and dance with them,” he said .
For some members of the audience, it was their first time watching a raas national championship in general.
“I get the chills just watching them perform,” Keyur Patel, ? a computer science senior , said.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct that MSU RaaSparty did not win the national competition last year.
