Despite limited attendance, Ohio Wesleyan students embraced distinctive cultural dances last Friday in a workshop sponsored by SANGAM, the South Asian student organization on campus.
Senior Krina Patel, SANGAM president, said the event was the first of its kind.
The workshop featured lessons on many quintessential dance forms from the eastern side of the world, such as India’s “Bhangra” and the classical styles of “Bharatnatyam” from more Southern regions.
Senior Priyanka Venkataramen said the workshop came about because high student interest in cultural dances at other cultural events such as Culture Fest and Diwali.
“SANGAM thought it would be a great idea to offer a dance workshop to those who may be interested in learning some dance styles from different cultures,” she said.
The event took place in Welch Hall’s basement and attendance was low.
Patel said she thinks the conflict with Anchor Splash, Delta Gamma’s annual philanthropy event, may have caused this.
“We had posters up for weeks as well as a Facebook event, so I don’t think lack of advertising was the issue,” she said.
However, the Facebook page for the event had been accidently set to “private” until a few days prior to the workshop, which could account for lack of student presence.
Venkataraman said she thought the workshop was successful in the sense that the leaders represented a variety of dance forms from the subcontinent.
“The choreography was provided by OWU students, so it was nice to see how much our very own students know and can demonstrate about their cultures and dancing backgrounds that they belong to,” she said.
Patel said she thinks the low attendance did not detract from the experience.
“For someone who has only been exposed to Bollywood, this event was a great learning experience,” she said.