Bhangra Your Drum | Calendar | Denver | Denver Westword | The Leading Independent News Source in Denver, Colorado
Navigation

Bhangra Your Drum

Bhangra -- a form of party dancing that originated with the Punjabi in India -- has become increasingly popular in recent months, judging from the number of musicians (Jay-Z among them) who have incorporated a bhangra element into their work. “It’s got origins in the agricultural roots that the Punjabi...
Share this:
Bhangra -- a form of party dancing that originated with the Punjabi in India -- has become increasingly popular in recent months, judging from the number of musicians (Jay-Z among them) who have incorporated a bhangra element into their work. “It’s got origins in the agricultural roots that the Punjabi community has,” explains Bollywood West’s Renu Kansal, “so a lot of the dances have to do with harvest or planting, crop seasons, but it’s evolved lately into where it’s more of a mashed-up contemporary dance. What’s fun about it is that the music’s really up-tempo, it’s easy to do, and it’s a wicked good cardio dance.”

What better way to sweat off those holiday pounds? Bollywood West now offers bhangra classes on a weekly basis (Mondays in the Highland neighborhood, Tuesdays in Wash Park and Wednesdays in Boulder). “In the bhangra class, you can come and go; we learn a combination, and it’s something new every week,” Kansal says.

“Because it’s a party, social-style dance, I’ve noticed a lot of people have signed up with friends,” she adds. “It seems like a really fun thing to do as a group. It’s really high-energy. It’s not intense choreography — it’s easy to catch the movement, and the music’s great. We do mash-ups and we play with props. We do all kinds of stuff.”

Bollywood West doesn’t offer drop-in rates, but four-class packages start at only $50 (and Kansal says she’ll throw in a fifth class free if you mention that you heard about bhangra at Westword online). Ten classes cost $115; twenty cost $210. For more information, visit www.bollywoodwest.com or call 303-389-9832.
Tuesdays, 2009

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.