By Khalida Sarwari
For some, the Bollywood dance party in downtown Saratoga may have ended just a tad earlier than they would have liked. Fortunately, another opportunity to throw on a dress or kurta and dance to traditional Indian music is on the horizon.
The fifth annual Saratoga Dandia, taking place Oct. 11, will be just the event to relive the night.
For the second year in a row, the event will be held at the West Valley College gymnasium. And similar to the Aug. 18 Bollywood dance, much of the evening will be devoted to dancing and eating, said Seema Kumar, the lead on the Saratoga Dandia organizing committee. Most importantly, this cultural event is open to everyone, she said.
“The whole idea of starting this was to bring the community together,” said Kumar. “Everybody who comes participates.”
A live band will perform traditional music, switching between tunes for dandia and garba, another type of dance that consists of various hand and foot movements. The youth tend to gravitate toward the former type of dance, while garba is the preferred style for their parents, said Kumar.
“Dandia is a dance with sticks,” explained Kumar. “Most young people like to do the dance with sticks, and traditional folks like to do the hand dance.”
To get into the festivities, most choose to dress up in Indian outfits–women in long Indian skirts, a blouse and long scarf and men in kurtas, consisting of a long, loose shirt paired with loose-fitting pants.
Food and refreshments, catered by Chaat Bhavan, will be available for purchase. The menu consists of Indian vegetarian fare and non-alcoholic drinks. Attendees are encouraged to bring cash; credit cards will not be accepted.
Previously, Dandia was held at Redwood Middle School, but as the event attracted more and more attendees over the years, so organizers decided to move it to West Valley College, where last year around 1,000 people attended.
About $20,000 in proceeds were raised at the event, with half allocated to the Saratoga High School Foundation and the other half donated to the Saratoga Cares Foundation.
This year, the proceeds will go toward the construction of the future Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, Kumar said. The temple, which currently uses the St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church to host its bigger events, is expected to move into a home of its own within the next five to 10 years.
Dandia will be held Oct. 11 from 7 p.m. to midnight at West Valley College in Saratoga. Tickets–$15 for anyone over age 5 and free for those 4 and under–can be purchased online at saratogadandia.org. A limited number of tickets will also be sold at the door if the event isn’t sold out beforehand.
