For the first time, three Indian dance style teams at Saint Louis University are competing on multiple national circuits at the same time.
Though the teams, Omkara, Raas and Shakti, have been on campus for more than 10 years, circumstances like lack of members or funding have consistently kept them from performing nationally. Until now.
The groups are also connected on campus, with teams normally performing at the same events at SLU and supporting each other at their competitions and showcases.
“Whenever one of the teams has a showcase or performance on campus, we’ll all go as a team… To show our support,” Shakti captain Suman Behera said. “Whenever one of us wins, it feels like a win for all of us.”
Shakti has consistently been successful in their circuits, regularly making podium appearances, but the same amount of success hasn’t been achieved by the other two teams until this year.
SLU Raas is the university’s premier competitive raas team, dancing in the traditional Northern Indian styles of garba and raas. Following a rebuilding season without competing last year, the team recently had their second competition of the semester, competing in the U.S.’s largest collegiate raas circuit, Raas All Stars.
“We kind of focused more on rebuilding the team, and I think it made us stronger… We have a good mix of more experienced dancers and new members now,” junior Vrushi Patel said, one of the team’s captains.
Their set this year follows the story of Spiderman as he battles against his archnemesis, the Green Goblin and saves passersby from runaway cars. The entire performance runs around seven minutes with multiple segments including one for women and another for men. The performance also incorporates different dance styles, like garba, which uses long sticks of wood called dandiyas.
Sophomore Aasvi Patel said the set this year is a powerful combination of modern and traditional dance elements. Having joined the team last year, this is the first time she has performed this type of elaborate dance competitively.
“I feel like it’s really interesting because it’s not completely Gujarati and we add elements of our theme… It’s how we combine our identities together,” Aasvi Patel said.
The team was excited to be back competing after a year away, with captain Jiya Patel saying SLU Raas feels stronger than ever after their recent competition at UNC Chapel Hill.
“It honestly felt amazing, just dancing on stage… You just have like an energy and adrenaline where everything just feels great,” Jiya Patel said.
SLU hosted its annual raas competition called Gateway to Raas on Feb. 15. The competition saw university teams from around the country coming to St. Louis to compete against each other. The teams were graded on execution, artistic elements and choreography, with Virginia Tech’s Dhamaal taking first place at the end of the night.
Each Indian dance team is part of competitive circuits where they apply to different competitions and score points based on their performances. The teams that end their season with the most points will compete in group finals with the hopes of leaving with gold. Each team follows this process but focuses on a very different dance and format.
Omkara is another Indian dance team at SLU that focuses on dance in Indian classical styles, mixing old techniques from all around the Indian subcontinent, like Tamil Nadu’s Bharatanatyam and Uttar Pradesh’s Kathak. Their current competition piece follows the story of Victor Frankenstein, mixing different dance styles and traditional Indian songs to portray a beautiful interpretation of the classic novel.
“We’re following the main characters of the scientist and the monster throughout, and the big question we’ve based the piece around is ‘who is the real monster?’” co-captain Arya Ramdas said.
This new performance is much different from their set piece last year, which followed the story of an Indian princess who became a freedom fighter.
The team spent the last seven years as an exhibition team, meaning they didn’t perform on a competitive circuit. But following a transition, the team is now in its second year competing in the Origins Championship with the season fittingly being called “Omkara 9.0.”
“We used a lot of inspiration from teams we’ve seen compete in the past and that shaped how we wanted to build our group this year,” co-captain Saachi Kumar said.
The switch has been successful, with the team placing second at their first competition of the season, Navarasa at North Carolina State University.
“It’s our first award ever…and just the opportunity to perform alongside these other teams marks the achievement so we’re really grateful to have come this far,” senior co-captain Jessica Michael said.
Currently fourth in the Origins ranking, the team will likely make this a successful season.
Shakti is the third Indian dance team at SLU, dancing on the U.S.’s most popular Bollywood-fusion circuit, Desi Dance Network (DDN) Legends. The teams in this competition combine classic and modern Indian dance styles with a mix of American and Indian music to deliver a passionate story through movement. Shakti’s set this year follows a “Night at the Museum” style performance with different historical figures coming to life.
Following a string of high-ranking wins and podiums in previous years, the team is hoping to continue their streak, and so far the results have been speaking for themselves. At a recent competition in a different circuit, the National Desi Dance League, Shakti placed 3rd at Tar Heel Taal at UNC.
“There was such an adrenaline high from all of us and we were all so hyped, like we couldn’t keep our excitement down,” Behera said.
Behera said the team had gone through a rough patch, running into logistical delays and issues leading up to their competition, so the podium was rather unexpected.
“We were more proud than anything when we heard our name because we as captains had to pull everything together so fast, but all the dancers quickly rose to the challenge,” Behera said.
All the dancers on these teams are dedicated to their crafts, attending practices almost daily, and for hours at a time.
“Usually we’ll have four practices a week… Where we just focus on complex performances, cleaning our set and taking critiques from previous [competitions],” Jiya Patel said.
A common sentiment among all the dance teams is the feeling of family. These groups spend hours together every day, training, learning and competing. This collective time forges strong bonds between the dancers. And while on campus, dancers go to classes with one another, they eat with one another and these bonds tie them together.
“I know I met some of my best friends from this,” Januly Fernando said, a new dancer with The Raas team.
Fernando said it is these connections that make the team special. “Especially coming in as a freshman… It’s just been really nice to have those people you know you can always go to.”
Each team started its competition cycle last semester by recruiting new members and teaching them choreography. A strategy each group used to find dancers was hosting intro workshops.
“The sessions really helped me get my foot in the door… I really liked all the girls too, so I wanted to join the team,” sophomore Preeyom Govind said.
The next few weeks for the teams will be filled with thousands of miles of traveling, days and days of practicing and many moments on stage showcasing their craft for hundreds in person and thousands more online.
The dancers say they welcome spectators at various showcase events taking place this semester. The dates can be found on Instagram at @slushakti, @sluraas and @omkaraslu.
“We appreciate any support we get on campus, and we usually perform at a lot of events here,” Aasvi Patel said.
A previous version of this article used the incorrect name for the SLU Raas captain. We regret the error.
