The possibility of having a Punjabi party without dancing seems very unlikely to almost nonexistent. Any celebration ranging from a baby shower, to a birthday party, a wedding or an anniversary celebration will be accompanied by dancing.
To others who are like me, dancing may be the only reason to go to the party. I won’t eat the food that is offered but hey, they have an open dance floor!
I love to dance. During my high school days I even choreographed some bhangra performances. 
The most common dance performances or dance that takes place is called a bhangra.
According to Bhangra.org, “Bhangra is fusion of music and dance which originates from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. In its earliest form it was a celebratory folk dance which welcomed the coming of spring, or Vaisakhi, as it is known.”
Riya Girotra (sophomore, Business), is someone who is looking forward to perform.
“I would love to perform at our school” Girotra said.
She adds that it is the pace of bhangra that got her involved.
“I just love to dance. It can be any type of dance. I mainly prefer fast beats so maybe that is why I got involved in bhangra,” she said.
Sandeep Kaur (senior, Nursing), started dancing when she was in grade school.
“I used to perform in India and those dances were choreographed by the teachers,” Kaur said.
After grade school, her love of dance continued.
“I started to teach myself, but I haven’t done a performance in America yet,” she explains.
Her favorite bhangra team is Bhangra Empire.
Speaking of that team, I had the opportunity to interview one of their members.
That member was Gurparsad Thind, a.k.a. Gurpy who had joined the team in 2015.
“I joined Bhangra Empire in 2015. The reason I joined Bhangra Empire was because my brother and sister were both on Empire as well, so it just seemed fitting for me to join the team as well, to complete the family tradition I guess!” Thind said.
Empire allows their work to be posted on his YouTube channel and that is one of the reason he is still on the team.
“I have thought about joining other teams, but something about Bhangra Empire makes me stay! I love creating content through YouTube and Empire puts an emphasis on content creation which perfectly aligns with my passion for YouTube! The only way I see myself joining another team is when I transfer to college and join their home Bhangra team,” he said.
Being on a bhangra team helps create new memories and being a YouTuber helps document the experience.
“My favorite memory with YouTube and Empire was probably the vlogs I created for when we performed at the Warriors halftime show! I had such a joy documenting the memories and journey of preparation up to the performance day. I really love vlogging because it’s not only is fun to film and edit, it also has become a way for me to look back on certain moments in my life that I would like to live vicariously through again!” He exulted.
Thind expressed how close knit the team really is.
“Bhangra Empire has become something like a family to me through all the time we spend together and all the crazy adventures we  had. My teammates really motivated and supported me in my YouTube endeavors and they still continue to help and inspire me to this day! Being on a Bhangra Team is a fantastic opportunity that I think everyone should try at least once in their life!” He adds in.
It is not uncommon for people to be scared or nervous when they consider trying something new.
Dance is one of those things that people assume they won’t be able to do, so they get nervous.
Thind offers his advice to combat those fears and it is what I want to leave you all with:
“I would say that don’t be nervous or scared because they really help you out and teach you how to dance beforehand, so don’t let your nerves get the best of you. Just go all out and give your 100%. Leave it all on the stage so you don’t have any regrets after you try out like, ‘oh I could’ve have more energy’ or ‘I could’ve done that move better.’ Most of the time they are just looking for if you have high energy and charisma and are having a fun time! So don’t forget to smile!”