By Teresa Cheong
The Undergraduate South Asian Student Organization (UTSAV) fused sketch comedy with dancing that thrilled a full house at Blackman Auditorium Saturday night.
The show was the 19th rendition of Nataraj, a students’ talent show, and attracted about 1,000 students, alumni, families and friends to the two-hour South Indian Culture display.
“Our theme this year is modern fusion,” said Amrita Chabria, UTSAV vice president. “In the show, we combine the traditional dances with the American music.”
Chabria said the group had been preparing the show since December and all the performers were volunteers, devoting their hearts and time to promote their Indian roots and American hearts.
“Most of us are the second generations of Indian families. We grew up here and we want to have a showcase for the parents to know what their kids had done,” Chabria said.
The show was the last event UTSAV will put on this academic year.
“It is our finale this year and a party for all of us,” said Rishi Palriwala, UTSAV co-president.
With about 100 performers, the show consisted of 13 acts. In between, there were pre-taped anchor shows and news, which entertained the audiences, winning rounds of applause.
The anchor shows were inspired by David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey, and included the now infamous couch jumping act of Tom Cruise at the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005.
For the rest of the show, it was all dancing: from the traditional Indian welcoming dance, Bharatnatyam, to the Bollywood mass dance.
“It’s amazing. The show was excellent and it’s perfect. We love the crowd’s response,” Palriwala said afterward. “There are some glitches but it’s in every show. The show was even better than our expectations.”
Integrating modern dance with traditional Indian roots, the new fusion dancing team, Naach, was one of the show’s highlights.
“The Naach dance is my favorite,” said Michelle Bechtold, a freshman marketing major. “[The show] is really involving and the dancing is good. Everything else is great.”
Her friend, Ute Wenkemann, a freshman communication studies major, said she came to support her roommate who was the choreographer of the show. Wenkemann said the show was “a bit too long” but “really entertaining.”
“The dancing was really good. It’s funny and a good event. I will come next year,” she said.
One of the strongest crowd reactions was for the fashion show, which presented a collection of ethnic and modern attires, winning rounds of applause and whistling from the audience every time the model posed.
Sejal Parikh, a senior nursing major, and Shivani Rametra, a junior pharmacy major, choreographed the fashion show and said it was a huge success and “a show-off of the Indian culture.”
“It’s a good exposure to everybody,” Parikh said. “I have friends who are Indians and it is good to learn culture.”
Niki Patel, a senior in nursing as well as a performer in the Sen Yaars dance, said this year’s show was “bittersweet” for her.
“I love it, but it is my last one. All my friends are here and we dance our hearts out,” she said. “We have diversity of [performing] groups this year, which made the show more diverse and cultural.”
Shaily Shah, a junior pharmacy major, said the show was “wonderful.” It was her third time performing in the show.
“I am from Chicago and my parents are from India. It is difficult to carry over the culture but participating in the show makes you want to be part of it,” she said.
To some audience members, the finale was their first exposure to Indian culture.
“I have never been to the show before. It’s cool,” said Kelly Madigan, a freshman majoring in physical therapy. “I came with my roommate and it really opened up my world.”
