With a strong love for this dance, the eclectic group of women who make up the Dholrhythms Dance Troupe have become one of the most talked about dance troupes in San Francisco Bay Area. The raw energy & passion which drives this group has helped create a demand for this dance featuring them on some of the largest stages in San Francisco.Led by Vicki Virk's Punjabi heritage, Dholrhythms Dance Troupe concentrates on highlighting the ancestral and ethnic roots of the Punjabi dance forms while pushing boundaries with a contemporary style. The result is fresh and unique performances full of fun, energy, and passion.
PRAVEENA KUMAR
Profession: Clinical Dietitian
Introduced to Bhangra: 2003
Joined the Troupe: Mid 2003
What attracted you to Bhangra: The spirit of the dance, the music, and the energy. It's unpretentious, free-spirited, and it does not require years and years of training so anyone can do it.
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: It's fun, it's a great workout, it always makes me feel happy, and we are able to share this beautiful dance form with so many different people on a regular basis.
Most memorable moment: Performing at Stern Grove
Funniest moment: (Oh there are so many!!!) Performing at the Ethnic Dance Festival VIP Gala - we started dancing and realized that all we could hear was the background music without any vocals. We stopped for a second, looked at Vicki and continued to dance since we were being auctioned off!
Introduced to Bhangra: 2003
Joined the Troupe: Mid 2003
What attracted you to Bhangra: The spirit of the dance, the music, and the energy. It's unpretentious, free-spirited, and it does not require years and years of training so anyone can do it.
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: It's fun, it's a great workout, it always makes me feel happy, and we are able to share this beautiful dance form with so many different people on a regular basis.
Most memorable moment: Performing at Stern Grove
Funniest moment: (Oh there are so many!!!) Performing at the Ethnic Dance Festival VIP Gala - we started dancing and realized that all we could hear was the background music without any vocals. We stopped for a second, looked at Vicki and continued to dance since we were being auctioned off!
CARRIE KROON
Profession: Staff Accountant for the American Lung Association of CaliforniaIntroduced to Bhangra: End of 2003
Joined the Troupe: February 2004
What attracted you to Bhangra: Always have enjoyed dancing as long as I can remember, and when I heard the music, I was hooked from the get go. It has such an infectious beat to it and dancing to it was so much fun that I couldn't stay away.
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: I truly believe that combination of the music, the dance itself and most importantly the heart and soul of Dholrhythms founders, Vicki & Suman for the willingness to share such a wonderful dance and culture with the masses and to allow some of the most amazing women I have met to help them share in their dreams and slowly see them come true is reason enough for me.
Most memorable moment: I have so many moments over the years dancing with Dholrhythms, but the one that still stands out is when we had the opportunity to dance at Stern Grove Festival and have an audience of such diversity and see everybody come together dancing to Bhangra was such an amazing thing to witness from the stage as a performer.
Funniest moment: For me, my funniest moment and one that I probably will never live down was when we went to LA to perform at the El Ray Theater. During our down time, we were just hanging out, I found myself doing a chicken dance while singing "Dinka Dinka Dinka".
MILA RAJ
Profession: Client Services for a financial firm.Introduced to Bhangra: Officially, 4 years. Unofficially since my first Punjabi house party (about 18 years ago).
Joined the Troupe: End of 2006
What attracted you to Bhangra: It's quite simple - I love music and I love to dance. I find it both intoxicating and liberating. Whenever I saw Dholrhythms perform, they brought so much energy and exuberance to the event, I thought to myself "I want to be a part of that". It's such an integral part of me now, I can't imagine my life without it.
What motivates me to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: Did I mention I love to dance? Seriously, dancing with the troupe has taken on a whole new meaning over the last couple of years. I feel what we are doing with bhangra is more than providing entertainment. I feel that through Dholrhythms, as well as Non Stop Bhangra, we have created a movement that is bringing people and communities together. I have never been to any dance party where you can see hipsters, hip hoppers, goths, deadheads and traditional indians dancing together. Our audience defies traditional notions of the club demographic. It's pretty amazing to witness and I'm honored to be a part of it.
Most memorable moment: With the Troupe - Wow, there have been a few. Performing at the Stern Grove Music Festival is definitely up there!
Funniest moment: Again, there have been a few. There was one performance we did at Pier 39 on a slightly windy afternoon. Part way through the performance my dhupatta (scarf) decided to wrap itself around my face. Couldn't see to save my life. I tried to cleverly maneuver in a hand swipe through the choreography, which is a lot trickier than it sounds. Didn't really work so I just laughed and kept dancing. And yes, the dhupatta did eventually let go of my face.
NINA ZUMEL
Profession: Computer Science researcher, small business owner, aspiring writerIntroduced to Bhangra: Sometime in 2005
Joined the troupe: September 2006
What attracted you to Bhangra: The energy and infectious rhythm of the music, the joy of the dance .
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: Because dancing makes me happy, and being around people who love dancing makes me happy, and because Dholrhythms is a very special group of women that I’m honored and grateful to be part of.
Most memorable moment: With the Troupe - Standing on the stage at Stern Grove at the end of “Dhol Jadon Waje” and realizing that the crowd was cheering so loudly that I could barely hear the music. Wow.
Funniest moment: With the Troupe - 6 of us in full matching costumes, wandering up and down Irving St. and into the Starbucks after coming back from the Portola Festival (it seemed natural at the time, but it’s funny in retrospect).
Favorite Quote: “ There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it.” – Martha Graham
LISA HEPPS
Profession: I operate educational travel programs for university alumni associations, museums and academic non-profit organizations in India and the Middle East.Introduced to Bhangra: I've been doing bhangra for four years and I've been with Dholrhythms for three years.
Joined the Troupe: End of 2006
What attracted you to Bhangra: Ever since I can remember I have been a performer, whether dancing, acting or singing; and every since I can remember I have been attracted to all things Indian, whether film, music, cuisine, culture, history or literature, so the opportunity to combine my two greatest passions was, as they say in Punjabi and Hindi, naseeb! (destiny)
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: Because it makes me happy to perform a dance that is an expression of pure joy and as a community dance, it gives me great pleasure to share this joy with so many people! Besides I get to wear lots of sparkly jewelry.
Most memorable moment: Probably my first Bhangra performance which was at the annual Trikone Awards dinner - I was feeling a bit nervous but was luckily distracted backstage by a wickedly awesome Rajasthani drag queen!
Funniest moment: Other than the usual dupatta over the head/jewelry flying into the audience episodes, one of the funniest (or was it most ingenious) moments was when, while returning from a gig in L.A., we discovered that these little Japanese plum wine drinks that we'd become addicted to, were actually contained in bottles that held less than three ounces and so, when shoved into a ziplock bag, could legally be brought aboard the airplane in our carry-ons. Needless to say that was a short, but very memorable flight (for us and the flight attendants, who probably found the whole scenario considerably less 'funny' than we did!).
LANA FARSON
Profession:Acupuncturist and Herbalist
Intorduced to Bhangra: I started dancing with Dholrhythms as a member of the huge crowd at the Stern Grove summer concert in 2007. I was drawn in and got up to dance in the aisle during their whole set. I was hooked. I haven't stopped since.
Joined the Troupe: August 2008
What attracted you to Bhangra: The movements of Bhangra free up my body and help my brain to relax from too much Western, logical thinking. The sound of the dhol goes through me and resonates in a way that feels like I can get in touch with a deeper and more grounded part of myself.
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: Dancing frees my spirit. Bhangra gives it an extra lift since it's so invigorating!
Most memorable moment: I have such great memories of spending 5 days at Kosmos Dance Camp in Cazadero, CA where Dholrhythms was sharing the beauty of Bhangra with hundreds of campers surrounded by nature.
Funniest moment: Zany interactions with the crowd after our Power to the Peaceful performance during summer of 2008.
What attracted you to Bhangra: The movements of Bhangra free up my body and help my brain to relax from too much Western, logical thinking. The sound of the dhol goes through me and resonates in a way that feels like I can get in touch with a deeper and more grounded part of myself.
What motivates you to continue being a “Bhangra-ista”: Dancing frees my spirit. Bhangra gives it an extra lift since it's so invigorating!
Most memorable moment: I have such great memories of spending 5 days at Kosmos Dance Camp in Cazadero, CA where Dholrhythms was sharing the beauty of Bhangra with hundreds of campers surrounded by nature.
Funniest moment: Zany interactions with the crowd after our Power to the Peaceful performance during summer of 2008.
