Jun 15, 2015
Bhangra Empire, a California-based dance group, has been promoting the Punjabi folk dance across the United States of America for the past nine years. From White House to halftime acts at Golden State Warriors Game, they have been everywhere and were also selected by First Lady Michelle Obama as one of America's up and coming talented dance groups. TOI's Abhishek Singh catches up with the band's founding member and inspiration Omer Mirza to get the real story behind the amazing group. Excerpts: How and when did Bhangra Empire come into existence and who were the driving force behind making it a reality? Bhangra Empire was formed in 2006. It started out as a group of friends from different backgrounds coming together to compete at Bhangra competitions in North America. Though there have been many members through the years that have contributed to the success of Bhangra Empire, the two people who have been there leading the group since the beginning are Puneet Mirza and I (Omer). Why Bhangra? For many of the members on the team, Bhangra is a way to reconnect to our culture and heritage. It keeps us in touch with our roots. Growing up in North America, there are many different influences we are exposed to. By starting a group that focused on Bhangra, we are able to express our identity in a way that bridges both North American and Punjabi influences. Bhangra, as a dance form, is also very energetic and entertaining. Most people who are exposed to it are immediately interested in the art form. How would you describe your nine-year journey? We have had many trials and tribulations. These have helped strengthen us as a group and have motivated us to keep doing what we do the best that we can. We started out by just wanting to make it at competitions at a national level, but we quickly saw that we could play a major part in helping spread Bhangra all over the world. Once we realized this, our focus changed from competitions, to making a conscious effort to bring Bhangra to a mainstream audience that had never seen it before. What problems did you have to face to reach this level? Was there any point when you almost decided to call it quits? In the beginning we had some hurdles that we had to overcome. For the first two years, we went to many competitions and did not do as well as we would have liked. We were a young team that was still trying to form its identity. There were competitions that we applied to that we didn't even get accepted to. In that two year stretch, there were times when we wanted to give up and move on. However, we worked extremely hard, practicing many times a week for hours at a time to help bring our team to a greater level. We saw that as long as we kept to our identity as a team, and worked hard, we gained many successes at competitions all over America and Canada. Favourite moments? We have been fortunate enough to have many opportunities to spread Bhangra all over the world. Over the years, I would say that our favorite moments would be: - Performing at the White House for President Barack Obama at his first State Dinner - Being the first Bhangra team to perform on America's Got Talent and making it on national television and to the final 100 acts - Being hand selected by First Lady Michelle Obama as one of America's up and coming talented dance groups and being featured in Harper's Bazaar Magazine. - Traveling to London and performing at The Bhangra Showdown - Performing as the sole halftime act at the Golden State Warriors Game for the past 5 years How would you describe performing at the White House? It was an unforgettable experience. We got to perform in the same lineup as A.R. Rahman, Jennifer Hudson, and the National Symphony. The audience had many high profile guests of both American and Indian backgrounds. We got a meet-and-greet with the President, and he also did a few moves with us. The performance itself went really well, and we had many guests tell us that we were the highlight of the event. Have you guys performed in India? Any plans of visiting? We have not performed in India yet. We would love to visit and perform if the opportunity presented itself. We have been invited a few times to perform at concerts and festivals in India, but those fell through at the last minute. We have a great following in India and many fans there. We would love to perform in front of all of them and hopefully can do that in the future sometime. How is the support for you guys from the Punjabi community? The majority of the Punjabi community is extremely supportive of us. Locally, we hold classes in California where teach the youth and adults. It is our way of helping spread Bhangra as well as pass it on to the next generation. People here love to participate and have their kids learn Bhangra because it helps them learn more about their culture. Are you guys planning any tour like other major bands or stars do? In the last few years, we have performed in London, Bahrain for the F1 Grand Prix, and Kenya. We currently do not have plans to start a tour, but would love to in the future. All of our members are full time students or working professionals. They do Bhangra as an extra curricular activity on the side in their free time, so sometimes it is hard to get the necessary time off to do something like a tour. What are you plans for the 10th anniversary next year? We normally have a yearly reunion that we started at the 5 year mark. For the 10 year anniversary, we hope to do it bigger and better if possible. Over the years, we have had nearly 100 members participate with the team, and we really would like to reward those people for helping keep Bhangra Empire alive.