Last December, a group of 22 strangers gathered in the basement of Snyder Hall. They came to dance, although the majority of them, including their two choreographers, weren’t dancers.
They came so they could share their heritage at the 22nd Satrang, an Indian culture show. But above all, they came to make friends.
“(The dancers) didn’t come in with a group of friends,” said Rupal Patel a premedical junior, one choreographer for Satrang’s gypsy dance. “But everyone was really open to it. It wasn’t learning about how to dance, but the people you were dancing with. These were people I’d never seen before in my life, and now they’re on my speed dial.”
The group of 20 students — 10 men, 10 women — will perform the gypsy-style dance from 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Wharton Center during Satrang 2010, “Gaurav: The Revival.” The culture event will showcase mainly dance numbers varying from traditional folk styles to lively Bollywood to fusion dances incorporating Indian and American styles of dancing. The evening also will include video clips of how India’s culture has spread worldwide and a musical ensemble performing several famous Indian songs. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend, some coming from as far away as Chicago, New York and India.
“It has grown in to a big tradition year after year, and it gets better and better,” said Rahil Dharia, a psychology senior and Satrang’s show coordinator.
The event is the largest show for the Coalition of Indian Undergraduate Students, or CIUS. The organization — about 550 students strong — helps promote Indian culture around campus and provides a community for Indian students.
Patel, who was raised in India and moved to America seven years ago, found the environment during practice gave her a sense of belonging she had missed.
“I went to high school where there wasn’t really cultural diversity at all,” Patel said, “Here, it was really nice to have that sense of belonging.”
The group also works to ensure international students who are in the U.S. for their first time feel at home. Dharia said they provide new students services such as picking them up from the airport and providing them with names and contact information of other CIUS members who are willing to help new students’ transitions. But Satrang practices, which have met on a weekly basis for the past four months, provide a regular time and place for the group to meet.
“We worked so hard,” Lingnurkar said. “It’s amazing to see how our little dance became so good and how each member is part of the dance.”
Outside the weekly dance rehearsals, the group has created a bond Lingnurkar said “definitely” will extend beyond Saturday’s performance.
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