Kaur 1

Amandeep Kaur
Ms. Hamby
URWT 1101 028
15 October 2014
Life from the eyes of a Bhangra Dancer
All right, here we go, 5,6,7,8! yelled the captain. Everyone began to dance, each
Bhangra dancer was coordinated with one another. There were big smiles on their faces as if they
were having the time of their life. Before I begin to talk about all the aspects behind a Bhangra
Dancer, I should probably explain what Bhangra is first. Bhangra is a traditional folk dance that
originated from northern India in a state called Punjab. The specific moves of Bhangra reflect the
manner of in which villagers farmed their land. This musical art became synthesized after the
partition of India and refugees shared folk dances to other individuals in different regions. This
hybrid dance became known as Bhangra. With the high-energy exhibited in each performance,
this dance shows pride of their culture and explain it through each movement of this dance.
Bhangra was part of traditional Punjabi festivals, like Vaisakhi, but now it has moved into
mainstream culture which allows different Bhangra teams that compete against one another at
Bhangra competitions held all around the nation as well as small performances at any local
festival. It was started in the West Coast but slowly has been traveling all around the nation
earning respect and recognition throughout its journey. Bhangra has also been recently apart of
diverse occasions like weddings, birthday parties, and graduations to celebrate happiness. A
Bhangra dancer can be as old as they want as long as their physical health is good enough for
them to do Bhangra and as young as 8 years old when they start understanding what Bhangra
requires. They can be of any gender; there is no specifics just a love for Bhangra. The experts are

Kaur 2
those that Bhangra dancers call judges. Judges are those that judge every competition and
choose a winning team at the end. They are people that have been dancing their whole lives and
have been a part of so many occasions that they have experienced it all. They have the
knowledge of each aspect that should be accounted for when performing a Bhangra dance and
therefore they are known as the experts of Bhangra dance. Bhangra dancers are a discourse
community because there are specific words, phrases, and moves that play a part as being a
Bhangra dancer. They have a specific goal, which is to express their love they have for their
culture and tradition through high energy dancing. One needs to have Bhangra training from an
experienced professional to learn each aspect of the dance including the many instruments and
movements used in this dance form.
Methodology
As part of my research I wanted to interview my own Bhangra dance coach but he could
not fit time into his schedule, so I came upon a Bhangra dancer who is also captain of my
Bhangra team and has been in the Bhangra circuit for many years and has slowly made its way
into a position as captain on his Bhangra team, name Rohit Bulchandani. I interviewed Mr.
Buclhandani and what he thought of Bhangra dancers whether he thinks that this is a discourse
community or not. Asking him questions was not as hard as I thought it would be because he
was very open to each and every thing I asked him making sure he was giving enough detail to
each question. He had also mentioned social media that each Bhangra team had, therefore I
looked some up on google and came across many facebook groups, twitter accounts, forums, etc.
For more research and observation I attended one of my team Bhangra practices as an outsider. It
was interesting to see how we acted and ran practices from another view rather than being part of

Kaur 3
the team as a captain. It was a little hard to be unbiased throughout the paper because I am a
Bhangra dancer myself, but I tried to state facts more than opinions.
Some limitations were scheduling a time with my coach, but I found another dancer who
was kind and free enough to give me some time to answer questions. I had to find social sites for
the teams but had to avoid any messages that are personal from teams because those to each team
are confidential and critically only for the team members to see. I had to make sure that each fact
was true and unbiased in my opinion and strictly based on observation and research rather than
my own input.
Analysis/Observation
With very detailed and clear answers given by Rohit Bulchandani in the interview, we
came to a conclusion that yes Bhangra dancers are most definitely a discourse community and
along with that I learned many other things about Bhangra dancers. I went to a practice of a
Bhangra team, Gajjdi Jawani, to check out how they hold practices and each communicates to
one another. I observed that coming into the studio they practice in, each person comes in with a
water bottle and places it on the stands, takes off their shoes, and proceeds to the open area. One
by one each dancer walks in, does the same, and starts to stretch their arms and legs. When the
practice start time hits they all take their positions and there is a captain and coach that start
talking to the dancers. They speak with authority and make sure each dancer understands what
they will be practicing or going over today. Then they play music on the computer when their
dholi is not present at their practices. The coach would stand on the side and watch while the
coach would take turns dancing and helping the coach watch. Each dancer begins to dance and
every dancer does the same moves in different formations. They displayed high energy
throughout the entire routine which lasted eight minutes with each face lit up with expressions

Kaur 4
that make them seem so happy and not tired at all while they dance. Once they finished the eight
minutes, they breathed for 3-5 minutes while the captain and coach would critique each
individual and begin to dance again. They only get one break in three hours for water because the
coach claims it helps build better stamina which is what Bhangra is all about. At the end of
practice they all do a huddle and the captain talks about upcoming performances and any specific
announcements that relate to the next few practices or even competitions or events a month in
advance. Then they do a loud team cheer with their hands in chanting their team name and head
home. There was so much positivity through the whole practice coming from each dancer. There
was definitely team spirit throughout the practices that held each member together throughout
the practice. The motivation I saw in each member was to look like the best Bhangra dancer in
the entire practice as well as whatever upcoming event they were practicing for. I feel as though I
went to this practice at a time that they had an upcoming competition or performance and they
may not act the same way if they had nothing coming up for them in the near future. This
Bhangra team was a team that I was a part of for the longest time so it was easy to get access to
their practices and even though in this observation I was a fly on the wall, I have been part of this
process as a Bhangra dancer myself.
After interviewing a Bhangra dancers and observing a Bhangra dance practice, I have
realized that you need dedication and hard work to be a part of this discourse community. You
can be of any age and gender, but you need to have the knowledge of each movement, rhythm,
words, phrases, and especially a great instructor that is experienced and knowledgeable in every
aspect. There needs to be a positive vibe that is set during practices to make sure they run
smoothly and motivate each member to dance well and feel each part of the music. Mr.
Bulchandani said, There needs to be technique in each dancer to transition from one step to

Kaur 5
antother and pay attention to their formations at the same time. This shows that there has to be
skill as a dancer to multitask while dancing. There is dedication evident because each dancer
walks in on time and immediately starts to stretch. Also from both the interview and the dance
practice I learned there are very specific websites that are used by Bhangra dancers. Bhangra
dancers now have sort of assimilated into teams of their own in the area they are settled in and
travel to competitions held by professionals in parts of the country or even outside. To keep up
with performances, competitions, teams, music, etc., they used a forum that each individual from
any Bhangra team can make an account and post anything that relates to the Bhangra circuit.
Each Bhangra team has their own Facebook page where they post their recent videos or mixes
for everyone to share and look at. They have twitter accounts to keep every fan updated about
what is going on at the moment with their team. There are dholis that are individuals that play
a large drum with a two sticks for both sides and Bhangra dancers due moves according to the
beat of the drum, which was mentioned during the practice. They have certain move names like
chaal, jummar, phumaniyaan, dhamaal, etc. All of these moves are reflections of the hard
work farmers did in the fields of Punjab. To each other they speak friendly and use these words
at competitions especially at an event called the mixer. The mixer is held the night before
the competition between the teams where everyone introduces one another and gets to know each
team, which usually ends up in long-term friendships between the teams. At the mixer there are
dance offs, prizes, and many other games that each team plays to open up their comfort zone and
talk more about their team and where they are from. Bhangra dancers talk to one another in a
more carefree tone where they speak what their heart feels about Bhangra dance and take
importance in entertaining their audience. They make eye contact with the audience and express
their happiness through facial expressions also known as nakhre. They give importance to

Kaur 6
every dancer in the discourse community because they are only expressing their love of Bhangra
to everyone. One can recognize a Bhangra dancer if they are wearing a Bhangra t-shirt. Most
teams have their own t-shirts that have their name written on it along with a small quote or
saying related to Bhangra. When one Bhangra dancer sees another Bhangra dancer wearing the
same t-shirt, there is an automatic friendship that is created right there because each one knows
that they both are here to spread the tradition of Bhangra dance and have fun. This shows that
this is a discourse community.
Conclusion
Bhangra dancers is a discourse community because there are specific words, phrases, and
moves that play a part as being a Bhangra dancer. They have a specific goal, which is to express
their love they have for their culture and tradition through high energy dancing. One needs to
have Bhangra training from an experienced professional to learn each aspect of the dance
including the many instruments and movements used in this dance form. This is a very unique
discourse community and one will not understand the terms used as a Bhangra dancer unless you
are one yourself.

Kaur 7

Kaur 8