The South Asian Student Association (SASA) hosted the Bhangra Blowout Dec. 8 in hopes of introducing students to traditional Indian music and dancing.

After noticing that there would be one fewer dance this school year, SASA officials decided to host one as a fundraising event. “The winter dance got cancelled and so we thought it would be a good idea to use this as an opportunity to introduce students at Gunn to a more cultural type of dancing,” senior club vice president Haley Knaap said.

After realizing students enjoyed their performance of Bhangra, a style of traditional Indian dancing from the region of Punjab, at International Week last April, SASA officials thought it would be a good idea to let their peers dance to a different type of music. “It’s exciting because before we only had food sales and movie nights,” senior club president Akila Subramanian said. “The dance is a good way to let students be in on the fun and be more part of the culture.”

The dance, held in the Student Activity Center, was chaperoned by club advisor Jessie Hawkins and seven other teachers. It was limited to 150 people due to the smaller space. All of the money raised went to the Red Cross. “The nice thing about SASA is that it allows us to explore a rich, diverse, fascinating culture while we still make charitable contributions to people all over the world,” Hawkins said.

SASA will continue to host events throughout the school year. “I’m not sure if we’ll be holding another dance,” Subramanian said. “But we’ll be having food sales and performances, so SASA will definitely be doing things around Gunn.”