By Khalida Sarwari
On the warm summer evening of Aug. 18, dancing bodies replaced the usual row of cars parked in the lot next to Wells Fargo Bank on Big Basin Way. Hundreds of attendees poured out into the lot, decked in their finest Indian clothes for the fifth annual Bollywood Dance party.
The event featured hours of dancing, music and food catered by Chaat House, according to event coordinator Sushama Thakker.
“It went really well,” Thakker said. “We had some nice performances.”
DJ Alok, who is well known in Saratoga’s Indian community, kicked off the festivities and spun Bollywood tunes throughout the evening for those attempting to re-enact dance scenes from their favorite Bollywood films. An instructor of a Bollywood dance class at the Saratoga YMCA was on hand with a group of other instructors to teach dance steps to the timid.
One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by students in the Indian Cultural Awareness Club at Saratoga High School. Another was a henna artist who applied designs on attendees’ hands.
Among the guests were vice mayor Emily Lo and Mayor Jill Hunter, who also serves as chairwoman of the Saratoga Village Development Council, the sponsoring organization. Hunter said that about 400 people attended the event.
“We had a fabulous night of dancing, fun and camaraderie,” she said.
The SVDC created the event five years ago to promote downtown Saratoga businesses and as a way of attracting people to the area, Thakker said. Earlier this year, the city council allocated $1,300 in community event grant funding to SVDC to hold the event.
Hundreds turn out for Saratoga’s fifth annual Bollywood dance
