This year, there’s a new dance team on the block — meet Raasleela, Carleton University’s first-ever South Asian dance squad.
With the Hindu Students’ Society (HSS) launching this September, one of the club’s goals was to create a dance team.
Club members said they created HSS and Raasleela after seeing a lack of Hindu representation in the school’s student groups. The club aims to support the Hindu community at Carleton by providing a supportive environment to engage in cultural discussions and events.
Club member Kshitij Savimavai said the club strives to welcome people from around the world who want to explore Hinduism.
“We just want to help foster a sense of belonging for every student out there who is interested in Hinduism or who is Hindu,” Savimavai said.
HSS co-president Aditi Nahar said the dance team fills a major void for the university’s Hindu community.
“Last year, I came to Carleton and there was no [Hindu] dance team here so I had to go to Ottawa U,” Nahar said. “Now that we created the HSS, our first goal was to create the dance team because that would be a significant milestone.”
More than 50 students auditioned to be part of the team, with 20 making the final cut.
The team is called Raasleela, a word that club members said has many different interpretations, but generally refers to well-known dancers and their love of the art.
Choreographer Siya Sudhi said dance keeps her connected with her culture and identity.
“This is home away from home,” Sudhi said. “To me, dance is what makes this home. Being in a completely different country, dance is what’s going to keep me tied to who I am.”
The dance team is open to many different styles that celebrate Hindu culture and its roots. Various dancers and choreographers with different backgrounds and styles compose the team.
Sudhi said the team will explore traditional styles such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak, which express religious themes and stories. Popular contemporary Bollywood will also be performed.
Nahar said dance in Hinduism is meant to tell a story about faith and convey emotions.
“Every step matches the storyline,” she said. “It’s very different than the Western styles of dance because [theirs] moves to the beat, while ours moves to the story.”
Raasleela performed at the University of Ottawa’s Festival of Lights to celebrate Diwali on Nov. 2. The team has more performances planned for the near future, including a South Asian formal performance.
Nahar said she hopes HSS continues to grow in popularity after a strong start to the school year. She said HSS uses Instagram to promote their club, events and dance team and to connect with the greater Ottawa community.
“We’re really happy and obviously the recognition is there but now we want to get this known to Ottawa,” she said. “Carleton knows about it but now it is time for Ottawa to know about it.”
Featured image by Michael McBean/The Charlatan.
