It could be the easiest or hardest three credits for some SFU students, depending on how you look at it.
Their course grade will largely depend on natural dancing ability and sheer enthusiasm.
Simon Fraser University is the only post-secondary school in North America to offer bhangra classes for university credit.
The class is called, “Introduction to Contemporary Popular Dance Forms: Modern and Traditional Bhangra.”
Bhangra is a traditional folk dance that originated hundreds of years ago in the Punjab region of India.
Nowadays, bhangra music often gets fused with Western pop to produce catchy tunes and high-energy routines.
Fifty students have registered to attend the class so far, and more than 20 are on the waiting list.
No formal dance training is required, but course instructor Gurpreet Sian tells his students to be ready to sweat in his class.
“There is lots of big movements, lots of jumping and kicking. You will get a good workout, you will get into shape, you will learn to dance, and you will also learn a little bit about India.”
Sian says it just so happened there are no South Asian students in the class this year. In fact, most students in his class are of Asian descent.
He says his students will start with some basic steps, and will build their repertoire of moves throughout the course.
“We will add some modern elements, a little bit of acting, hip-hop or Bollywood music,” he says. “It is open for interpretation a little bit, but there are some basic fundamental movements , there is a history to the dance so we do stay true to that history, but we also adapt it to the times.”
Sian says Vancouver has some of the best bhangra dancers in North America.
“It is something really big in Vancouver. Vancouver is probably the hub of bhangra dance outside of India.”
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