Dance & Art from India

Offered in 3 different Residency (5 day, 3 day, 2 day) formats (in a 45-60 min classroom session =’1 contact hour’), & also assembly performance (gym), & Teacher Training

Bhangra is actually pronounced as Bhungrha while saying ‘Bhung’ as in ‘lung’ and then rolling your ‘r’ really good with your tongue.

The Bhangra dance has traditionally been associated with the spring harvest festival Baisakhi, and it is from one of the major products of the harvest—bhang (hemp)—that bhangra drew its name. Bhangra is performed indeed on any festive occasion now.

The beat of the drum and leaping bodies soon make the pulses race, till the onlookers too jump into the ring of dancers and join them. In a typical performance, several dancers execute vigorous kicks, leaps, and bends of the body to the accompaniment of short folk songs which are small couplets written in the Punjabi language called boliyan and, most significantly, to the sound of beat of a dhol (double-headed drum) which is struck with a heavy beater on one end and with a lighter stick on the other.

All forms of Bhangra singers employ a high, energetic tone of voice. Participants learn to move with passion and relaxed muscles and use lots of energy. The dance moves involve raising the arms above the shoulders.

The vigrous exercising of the body through multiple range of motion movements at shoulder and hip joints combined with constant bouncing on the ball of the feet in five basic methods e.g. tap, hop, sway, Panjab and Peacock has proven mental and physical health benefits.