On the floor. On the speakers. With a partner or with a group. Bhangra Sutra was all about the moves – dance moves, that is. Carrying on the biannual tradition, this semester’s Bhangra night held its own against the usual slew of activity and proved to be a popular and well-attended addition to Colgate’s Homecoming weekend. Walking down Broad Street last Saturday night, the flurry of activity outside of the Creative Arts House was just the first inclination of the frenzy going on inside of the building. Sponsored by the South Asian Cultural Club (SACC), this year’s event adopted the bold theme, “Bhangra Sutra” and served to live up to expectations. The party offered a chance not only to dance off the stresses of midterms, but also an amazing playlist of songs which is certain to start appearing on the iPods of the many Colgate students in attendance. And, as is true of only really great parties, I was having such a good time that I never even made it to the food.

Although many students may have had to do a double-take when receiving a Facebook invite to the event, Bhangra Sutra lived up to its name. With the dance floor in the Creative Arts House packed, it was undeniable that those attending last weekend’s event were embracing the art of Bhangra in their own way. As a dance form originating dually in India and Pakistan, Bhangra is an expression of culture, and with the event’s name roughly translated to mean “the teaching of Bhangra,” the event fit quite well with SACC’s goals.

“We like to engender diversity on campus and do it in a way that not only imparts information, but is also enjoyable,” junior Uday Islam said when describing SACC’s motivation for hosting events such as Bhangra Sutra.

The efforts of those SACC members involved in making the event a success, including Islam and several other key Colgate students, were well rewarded by the enthusiastic turnout on Saturday night. As Islam also acknowledged, even some alumni on campus showed up to experience Bhangra one more time. A large part of the draw for the evening stemmed from the entertainment, with the posters for Bhangra Sutra proudly advertisting the talents of “DJs D. Vach and Shabibi” prior to the event. Although not immeditately apparent from their DJ personas, seniors Damien Vacherot and Safwan Shabab were actually the masters of music hiding behind the turntable. Playing an eclectic mix of music ranging from European hits like The Ian Carey Project’s “Get Shaky” to more mainstream numbers like Sean Kingston’s “Fire Burning” the night offered a variety of music that pleased the excited crowd of partygoers.

“The DJs did a good job of picking out a selection of music and the students seemed really responsive to it,” sophomore Jennifer Wnuk said, reflecting on the atmosphere at Bhangra Sutra. “It exposed students to a culturally diverse range of music that was fun to dance to!”

Although competing with the draw of frat parties, the Jug and other Homecoming Weekend activities, Bhangra Sutra proved to entice a large crowd and acted as an upbeat and exciting addition to the Saturday night scene. With its great entertainment, laudable goals and high attendance, Bhangra night definitely merited praise on the Colgate social radar. After all, it’s impossible to dislike an event where “Party in the U.S.A.” is played… twice.

Contact Jenn Carey at [email protected].