Barefoot and cloaked in an array of traditional Indian outfits, more than 70 people rhythmically moved in a cultural dance, as Garba music pulsated within IM Sports-West basement Friday night.
Asha for Education, a volunteer organization that raises funds for educational projects in India, hosted Tarang, its first fund-raising effort.
The organization borrows its name from a word that means hope in many Indian languages.
Participants learned steps for dances called Garba and Raas during the event.
Asha spokeswoman Sushma Lohitsa spent a majority of the night encouraging bystanders to participate in the Garba dance, which she said is easy to learn.
"The dance is all about mixing it up," the education junior said. "Although it is centered around a lot of arm movements, the focus is primarily on the footwork."
Garba is traditionally danced at night, and participants sing, clap and move in a simple and circular dance around a table to honor the goddess Amba.
Lohitsa said the dance is generally performed at special events such as weddings or festivals, and each gender contributes a different style of movement.
Asha, founded at MSU in 1999, stresses social and economic change in India by supporting basic education for underprivileged children.
Asha's current projects include Muskaan, an organization working for education for underprivileged children in Bhopal and ISDGEI, the Institute of Socially Disadvantaged Groups Educational Improvement, which aims to bring social transformation to deprived groups through education.
Supply chain management junior Sveta Desai oversaw the decorations for Tarang and decorated a table in the center of the room for participants to dance around. The table was adorned with candles, sheer green and orange cloth and four Indian dolls wearing traditional outfits.
"I wanted to decorate the area with items that did not have anything to do with religion and were general to Indian culture," Desai said.
The event included a performance from MSU's Raas team, who were clad in green and white traditional Indian outfits as they incorporated playing sticks, called dandia, in the routine.
Roshni Patel, an economics senior and member of MSU's Raas team, said the six-member group practices at least once a week and tries to get energized before each performance.
"We try to get really pumped up before we perform," Patel said. "The more excited we are to perform, the crowd will enjoy our dance more."
