What’s more exciting than watching dedicated dance enthusiasts jump in the air to a jam that can’t help but get you moving? Add a little bit of culture and a competition into the mix and you have yourself: Bhangra Blowout. If you’re not familiar with the term Bhangra, it is basically an upbeat form of dance that originated in the Punjab region of Southeast Asia. The region extends over part of Northern India and Northeastern Pakistan. For centuries individuals have come together to dance as a form of culture and celebration. Most schools in the US now offer Bhangra teams to anyone who loves to bhangra or would love to learn how to Bhangra. At this particular competition, schools from across the region came together to compete, in what was a definite successful turnout of fun, and major talent at the Warner Theatre.

Schools included: the University of Connecticut, University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, New York University, University of Rochester, Stanford University and the University of Virginia.

There was not a dull moment in the room that night, as the audience came to support their favorite teams and dancers, adding hype to all the excitement. The host of the evening definitely contributed to the hype and lightened the mood with laughter. Lilly Signh, also known as “Superwoman” and a hit on YouTube kept the audience captivated and much involved.

The results:

3^rd Place – University of Miami

2^nd Place – Carnegie Mellon University

1^st Place – University of Virginia

Overall, the event was exhilarating and all the teams put a substantial amount of hard work and effort into their routines. Judging these teams couldn’t have possibly been an easy task. Good Job to The George Washington University’s South Asian Society for putting together an awesome event.