Duniya De Rang at Buckeye Mela 2019

[angeblah]

Duniya De Rang is proud to present our Buckeye Mela 2019 performance—a celebration of what inspires us to dance.

Our previous performances told the stories of our joy for Bhangra and love for our mentors. This time, we reflected on some moments when Bhangra inspired us to appreciate different identities:

-The first time hearing our friends sing in Punjabi
-The first time learning about different Punjabi instruments
-The first time feeling empowered to be female leaders
-The first time being able to challenge gender stereotypes
-The first time being able to support our LGBTQ teammates

We challenged ourselves to express the spirit of these moments in our set. We dove into Punjabi singing. We explored less popular segments like katos. We celebrated our dholi. We showed the strength of women. We strove to challenge stereotypes. To challenge toxic masculinity. To embrace our LGBTQ dancers through sammi, a traditionally female dance.

And so, for us, Bhangra is more than a dance. It’s that little bit of positivity, that warmth, that reason to keep going in this sometimes troubling world.

We hope you enjoy this work, and we look forward to evolving these ideas in the future!

Front Row:

Back Row:

Balcony: (If anyone has a good view of formations, please send!)

Roster:
Black: Ashley Espinoza, Judy Liu, Yana Garmash
Blue: Alisa Quemado, Angela Luo, Rebecca Ho Van Dyke
Purple: Ace Motas, Brian Chang, Dan Abia, Gustavo Roversi
Red: Brad Rosenblum, Drew Harrelson, Eric McCord-Snook, Jordan Falk
Dholi: Karan Singh
Singer: Jordan Falk

Artistic Directors: Ashley Espinoza, Angela Luo
Choreographers: Ashley Espinoza, Brian Chang, Dan Abia, Judy Liu, Nathan Ellebracht, Angela Luo
Mixers: Teg Hans, Keshav Mantha

Team Manager: Rebecca Ho Van Dyke
Angel/Finances: Sharon Castan

Ashley and I would like to recognize our teammates for their tremendous strength. Preparation-wise, this was our most challenging performance yet. No full roster until 10PM on Thursday, then diving into 30+ hrs of practice and learning formations from scratch. And despite getting 1st in lineup, they pushed through 2-3 hrs of sleep each night. Our teammates handled the situation with grace, and for that, we’re so grateful.
-----

Special Thanks:

Vardiyan: Carolina Indian Arts, CMU, RVD, MOB, Northwestern, Spartan, UNC, UVA
Props: Carolina Indian Arts, Northwestern, Rochester
Stage Markers: Spartan
Pagh Tier / Punjabi Language Coach: Karan Singh

Lastly, shoutout to Mela board and our liaisons Shivani, Sakhi, and Mahin; they absolutely nailed our practice space needs. We also appreciate the constructive feedback from the judges: Cherag, Jindy, and Varan.

Until next time! Look forward to some...big moves.

 

[yomamajama]

God bless Trump

 

[sahab]

throwback.

 

[yomamajama]

View attachment 17088

throwback.

“We shall declare a national emergency until this crisis has been abated”
Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars

 

[Shahrukh]

“We shall declare a national emergency until this crisis has been abated”
Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars

Palpatine the goat

 

[yomamajama]

Palpatine the goat

If you really think about it, Palpatine was the one who brought balance to the force

 

[sumeetj]

you guys show bhangra and the culture a huge amount of respect by the amount of effort you put into not only practicing hard at the dance, but taking time to learn about the language and meaning behind it as a whole. I also think it is great that while doing so, you are using it as a platform to explore other issues like you mentioned. Keep doing cool shit!