Meet Colorado Bhangra Team of Denver, CO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colorado Bhangra Team

Hi Colorado, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The team’s main goal is to spread awareness about the beauty and joy of bhangra through performances, competitions, workshops, and camps, and to challenge the notion that one would have to be of a certain age or demographic in order to learn and excel at bhangra. We are a growth-mindset team that firmly believes that no matter how experienced or skilled you are before joining, you can always develop you abilities and become an exceptional dancer.

The Colorado Bhangra Team started off as a high school team in 2013, and eventually became a college team that consisted of students from various schools in Colorado including CU Boulder, UCCS, and CU Denver. Throughout that time, the team has performed at a variety of cultural events throughout the state of Colorado as well as various other types of events, including TEDxMileHigh, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the World Culture Festival in Washington D.C. in 2023. The team has also hosted various workshops and camps for kids and adults to learn a bit more about the dance and introduce them to a new hobby. The Colorado Bhangra Team has now grown into an adult team that continues to spread awareness about bhangra around Colorado through these same efforts, and we are slowly starting to create a new identity as a team and are always looking to expand.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were definitely some challenges that came our way during our time as a team, but these were challenges that ultimately helped us build a strong foundation for our team and allowed us to create a new identity. Back in 2022 while we were still a college team, we ran into some internal conflicts amongst our members, which ultimately led to us having to end our season earlier than expected, and have our roster size significantly reduced to a point where we weren’t sure if we’d be able to continue as a team. This was especially a challenge for us because we relied heavily on having students on our team to recruit other students, which was our strategy in previous years, but we ended up only having 1 student left on the roster then. Given this challenge, we had to re-think our recruiting strategy a little bit and find a way to build the team back up given the disadvantages we had at the time. Although we encountered these challenges as a team, however, we never wavered in terms of building our team back up. We knew that despite whatever challenges came our way, we had the capability to build a strong foundation for our team, and we made sure to dedicate as much effort as we possibly could in re-building our team back up so we could continue to do what we set out to do and give people an opportunity to be exposed to an amazing dance.

The following academic year, we did encounter some early struggles with recruitment as we had some people express interest in the team, but we still weren’t quite getting enough engagement for practices. Even though this was happening, we remained persistent, and we continued to expend our efforts in re-building the team. Eventually, we were able to get more engagement in practices, more interest in our team, and be able to perform again and build a much stronger foundation for our team, which has led us to continue to do what we do to this day.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The Colorado Bhangra Team is a statewide adult bhangra team aiming to spread awareness about the beauty and joy of bhangra through performances, competitions, workshops, and camps. We perform bhangra at various events around the state of Colorado, and we also teach other about the dance so they can get an introduction to a new hobby. We’re mostly known for our performances at a number of Indian cultural events around the Holi and Diwali holidays, for the workshops we host around the community, and for the various competitions that we perform at around the nation on occasion. We’re proud of the fact that we are able to bring joy and excitement to whichever event we perform at and show people that you do not have to be of a certain demographic or age in order to enjoy and excel at bhangra. We love that people can count on us to make their events more memorable, and it’s an amazing privilege to be able to do what we do. What sets us apart from others is that we are driven to contribute to our mission despite whatever adversity comes our way, the fact that we are a growth mindset team and are always looking to expand upon our horizons, and the fact that we keep an open mind for whoever wants to learn more about the dance.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Some things that we like about the city of Denver is the influx of funding and support for non profit organizations within the arts and culture sectors. We love that Denver is becoming a more vibrant city when it comes to cultural diversity in the arts, music, theatre, and performing arts.

A few things that we don’t like about the city is the desire for more visibility and recognition of the diverse cultures within Denver. While the city offers some exposure to different cuisines, languages, and traditions, it could definitely do more to celebrate the smaller, local festivals that reflect the everyday lives of the people in these communities.

These cultural enclaves often contribute to the city’s unique character, and amplifying these celebrations could help foster a greater appreciation and sense of connection among residents. Highlighting local events more prominently would not only showcase these communities, but also bring a richer, more inclusive experience to everyone in the city.

Pricing:

• Performance Fee-$200

Contact Info:

• Website: https://coloradobhangrateam.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradobhangra/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradobhangra/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coloradobhangra3625