The University of Texas’ Bhangra team competes at the sixth annual Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz at McFarlin Auditorium Saturday. (JOSHUA PARR/The Daily Campus)
Some people might mistake R2B2 for a “Star Wars” convention, but they would be wrong.
The sixth annual Raas Rave and Bhangra Blitz (R2B2) brought 12 Indian dance teams to compete at McFarlin Auditorium Saturday.
The event was put on by SMU Program Council.
“I think it really brings culture to the campus,” Program Council R2B2 chair Ashmi Patel said. “R2B2 is nationally recognized and it’s really cool that students can experience South Asian culture because dance is such a huge part of it.”
The program was hosted by junior Trigg Burrage who performed magic tricks during dance routine breaks.
“I thought it was great. All of the teams were so talented that there really wasn’t a slump in the excitement. The event was clearly well organized, and Trigg Burrage did a great job as emcee. All in all, just a fantastic show,” junior Alex Ehmke said.
The show consisted of two types of Indian dance. Raas is a dance that originated from the state of Gujurat, India, involving dancing with sticks called Dandiyas. A Bhangra is a type of dance originating in Punjab, India.
The teams that make it to the competition go through an application process involving audition videos that are ranked by Program Council. There were 30 to 40 teams that applied to R2B2.
The 12 teams that made the cut came from many different universities to compete. The teams practice around three hours a day all year and travel around the country to compete at dozens of other Indian dance competitions.
The teams are judged on formations, choreography, stage presents, facial expressions and innovation.
The University of Texas team came in first place followed by Washington University in second for the Raas category. In the Bhangra section, Michigan State University took home first followed by the University of Michigan. Each first place team received $1,500 and each second place team won $1,000.
“I think we are so lucky to have these different wonderful cultural events available, free to our students,” said junior Seth Dennis
