Two fourth-year students, Banat Khural and Rishita Paruthi, have started UW Dhamaka, the University of Waterloo’s first Bollywood dance club.
“We’re UW’s first Bollywood dancing club created to bring together the community of South Asian dancers and fuse Bollywood music and dance culture into the community,” Paruthi said. “With a large population of international students from India and even Canadian citizens with Indian ethnicities, this club aims to create a dance space that will teach traditional and fusion Bollywood dancing and eventually compete with other similar university groups.”
Khural and Paruthi came up with the idea of starting this club after teaching a hip-hop routine on a Bollywood song at a session organized by the UW Hip Hop club in 2021.
“The response was amazing and sparked the idea of starting our own club which would be about Bollywood dancing and all its different elements,” Khural said. “Both of us have extensive training through Bollywood dance schools in our respective hometowns and we wanted to replicate that community within UW.”
UW Dhamaka offers a range of drop-in sessions, including beginner and intermediate classes. Sessions, which are taught by the club’s choreographers, will cover a number of Bollywood fusion styles such as Bolly-hop and Semi-classical.
“We also hope to partner with other cultural communities on campus to host events and performances,” Paruthi added.
Students are invited to attend drop-in sessions and weekend workshops organized throughout the rest of the term.
“We have an exciting weekend workshop in July with collaborations with existing cultural clubs on campus. This workshop will incorporate a diverse range of Indian dancing styles and allow us to showcase our professional training,” Khural said.
The club is open to all UW students, with no membership fee associated.
“With this being our first term and a new club idea in the UW community, we would like students to give our club a try whenever they can! Our club is completely free, financially and commitment-wise, so we encourage anyone in the community to try a new dance form, make some friends, and help us to grow our club,” Khural said.
If you’re interested in becoming a member or choreographer, you can sign up with the form found in their bio @uw.dhamaka on Instagram.
