East Side Alliance

Check out ESA’s second vlog where the girls talk about...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:35:14 -0500

Check out ESA’s second vlog where the girls talk about their experiences on ESA so far and about NYC practice.

Watch ESA’s second interview with Harkiran (HK) Kullar,...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:20:00 -0500

Watch ESA’s second interview with Harkiran (HK) Kullar, founder and coach of Pehchaan Apni Nachdi Jandi (PANJ).

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:48:00 -0500

““Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.””

- - Henry Ford

ESA's weekend in NYC begins!

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0500

All the girls from ESA are getting together in NYC to practice! From 7am to 11pm, girls will be arriving in NYC and heading straight to practice. Stay tuned for our ESA in NYC vlog coming out soon :)

Also, although we announced this on BTF, just in case people did not know ESA has a new member, Pamela Singh representing George Mason University!

ESA did its first interview with Bharathi Sandhu, founder and...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:21:00 -0500

ESA did its first interview with Bharathi Sandhu, founder and coach of Jawani Bhangra from Vancouver, BC. Check out her interview and make sure to comment!

Hailing from a classical background, Bharathi’s love of bhangra started with lessons at age 14 and she later started teaching at age 16. She danced on and off and finally founded Jawani Bhangra in 2004, focusing on a more modern style of bhangra. Bharathi and her team have successfully competed internationally and danced with renowned bhangra artists and appeared in several music videos. Over the years Bharathi is proud to have helped to shape and mold the next generation of female bhangra dancers in the Vancouver area and focuses on discipline and physical fitness as huge factors in Jawani’s success. She enjoys coaching as much as she once enjoyed dancing and looks forward to the future of the bhangra scene in North America.

Four of the girls from ESA (Sumjit, Neha, Manveer, and Jasu)...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:02:00 -0500

Four of the girls from ESA (Sumjit, Neha, Manveer, and Jasu) got together to practice and have a fun weekend in Toronto! Check out their trip and hope you all enjoy ESA’s first vlog!

ESA Vlogs are a fun way for all of us on the team to document for ourselves, friends and others what we’re up to as we prep for VPD.

Make sure to come watch ESA perform at Virsa Punjab Da (VPD) on February 25, 2012. http://www.vpdncsu.com/vpd2012/

Practice: ESA in Toronto

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:23:57 -0500

Four of the ESA girls (Jasu, Sumjit, Neha, and Manveer) met up in Toronto this past weekend to practice, make changes, and work on the set some more. Shout out to SGPD for letting us use SGPD’s House of Bhangra academy to practice!

Check out ESA’s official logo designed by Danny Singh...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:20:58 -0500

Check out ESA’s official logo designed by Danny Singh (also a member of Anakh Punjab Di).

Make sure to “like” his page: http://www.facebook.com/DannySinghDesignStudios.

Congrats to the girls on SMD for getting the Wild Card bid for...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:17:22 -0500

Congrats to the girls on SMD for getting the Wild Card bid for Elite 8 Bhangra Invitational!

“Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:41:30 -0500

“Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.”

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Preview: Video Interviews

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:12:48 -0500

As part of our blog, we thought it would be fun to do a series of video interviews with girls on ESA and other girls in the circuit. Stay tuned next week for a few video interviews with familiar bhangra dancers and coaches from Vancouver!

Debate: Chaadre vs. Salwars

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:07:00 -0500

Within the Bhangra community, especially amongst girls, there is a constant debate around chaadre vs. salwars. Share your opinions with us! Here are some views from the girls on ESA:

Navi [SMD]: “I definitely say chaadre. They make you look so much stronger as a dancer.”

Neha [DCBC]: “I think chaadre and salwars have their pros and cons. Salwars really accentuate foot and leg movement which allows girls to look energetic and most importantly, clean. Chaadre give a folk quality and they make girls look powerful in a different way than salwars do.”

Reeda [RU]: “I think a dancer looks more powerful wearing a chaadra. However, I do think that Salwars look really feminine and nice on stage. They accentuate the height and movement of our legs in a way chaadre don’t.”

Comment on the post with your thoughts or message them to us!

Happy New Year!

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:54:03 -0500

We wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year! :)

ESA [Mariam] - How Did ESA Form?

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:37:00 -0500

[Mariam Afzal] from Toronto Allstar Girls (TAG) talks about how the concept of East Side Alliance came about. Mariam is an active member of TAG and current captain of Anakh Sherniyan Di (ASD).

Big Apple Bhangra 2011. Afterparty. Dheerja, myself and Soorya realized that dancing together at the after party just wasn’t enough. Little did we know that our casual conversation on the dance floor about doing a collabo would actually develop into something more!

Three weeks later, emails were flying from Michigan to Florida. Sumjit. Neha. Navi. Shreya. Shama. Manveer. Jaskirn. Aditi. Reeda. The list of 3 grew to a full roster of 12 in no time. We tried to group together girls based on region, talent and leadership. Our group of 12 may not be the perfect selection of dancers from the East Coast and there are many girls we all feel should be a part of this collaboration, but there was no way to get everyone. Whether by name, team or relation, every girl invited to join the team accepted and jumped right in. In a matter of weeks, we had formed a one-time collaboration between 12 female dancers - East Side Alliance.

A collaboration between 12 girls from all over the East Coast is no easy task. We use multiple forms of communication to stay in touch and run our team: group texts, listservs, private forums, Facebook, Skype, phone, text, Whatsapp, and more. With Swi, “Swizzee” making our mix, every region choreographing a section, and sharing videos over Youtube, our set started to come together.

We tried to keep the collaboration a secret for as long as possible but with 12 girls on one team, the news was bound to spread. Also, who knew if the crazy idea of a coastal collaboration would really work? I think I can speak on behalf of all of us on ESA when I say that we are extremely thankful to have received so much love and support from the Bhangra community. I personally hope that through sharing our experiences and this blog we can give/receive advice and provide resources to other girls in the circuit. Most importantly, this blog is our team’s chance to highlight other girls in the circuit who have paved the way for all 12 of us as well as the girls who are taking Bhangra in a new direction.

- Mariam

Watch our intro video! Come and see ESA perform at Virsa Punjab...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:30:00 -0500

Watch our intro video!

Come and see ESA perform at Virsa Punjab Da 2012 on February 25, 2012. Check out their website at: http://www.vpdncsu.com/vpd2012/

Why a blog?

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:57:00 -0500

East Side Alliance (ESA) derived from the thoughts of a few and became a new beginning for many. All of us on ESA have competed against each other, heard of one another, are friends or may have been frenemies. For some of us, ESA was a chance to compete one more time for others it was a chance to dance along girls who they have admired, learned from, or respected.

Most importantly, ESA gave us all a chance to share our experiences, learn about one another, and develop a vision together. We may not be the top 12 dancers or best female dancers the Bhangra circuit has but we have the unique opportunity to voice our opinions, reach out to others and showcase the evolution of the female Bhangra dancer.

Why a blog?

1. Plain and simple: for fun :)

2. We see ESA less as an exclusive team of 12 dancers and more as one example of how people in the Bhangra circuit can come together for a common good. If in having fun together we can challenge the competition and rivalry which dominates the Bhangra circuit, then why not?

3. Give everyone an inside look into ESA and how we work. A collaboration on this scale has never been done before. We happen to be the 12 girls brought together by connections, name, or friendship that are dancing together. If we can document our journey together and with others, we feel it can only be of benefit.

4. Bring up issues that we feel are pertinent and important as female dancers.

5. Highlight the female dancers on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest that we feel are part of our greater collaboration and give everyone a chance to join in on our discussion and experience.

Who is East Side Alliance (ESA) ?

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:06:00 -0500

East Side Alliance (ESA) is an all-female bhangra team bringing together the talent of the East Coast. The team consists of dancers from VCU Bhangra, D.C. Bhangra Crew (DCBC), Shaan Mutiyaaran Di (SMD), Toronto All-Star Girls (TAG), Michigan State University (MSU) Bhangra, Rutgers University (RU) Bhangra, and Punjab Di Asli Pechchan (PDAP).

Despite coming from different teams and states, we aim to be an example of unity within a circuit increasingly driven by competitiveness. Through hard work and passion, every member of ESA has helped their respective teams achieve new heights and hope that together we can redefine the image of the female bhangra dancer in today’s age. We hope that everyone will enjoy, appreciate, and support the girls of ESA in our attempt to showcase the ultimate collaboration.

Check out our ESA Roster!

Mariam Afzal (Toronto Allstar Girls -TAG and Anakh Sherniyan Di - ASD)
Jaskirn Dosanjh (Toronto Allstar Girls - TAG and Apna Virsa Academy - AVA)
Manveer Sandhu (Toronto Allstar Girls - TAG)
Reeda Saleem (Rutgers [RU] Bhangra)
Sumjit Bajwa (Michigan State University [MSU] Bhangra)
Neha Singh (D.C. Bhangra Crew - DCBC)
Shreya Kanth (Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU] Bhangra)
Soorya Namboodiri (Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU] Bhangra)
Shama Barot (Punjab Di Asli Pehchaan - PDAP)
Aditi Nim (Shaan Mutiyaaran Di - SMD)
Navi Sandhu (Shaan Mutiyaaran Di - SMD)
Dheerja Kaur (Shaan Mutiyaaran Di - SMD)