Inside Vancouver

South Asian Festival on False Creek, Sawan Mela Aug 17-18

by Remy Scalza in Events on August 16, 2012

Photo credit: VIBC | Flickr

Ready for some butter chicken, Bollywood and Punjabi beat-boxers in one of the prettiest outdoor settings in downtown Vancouver?

The 10th Sawan Mela festival is coming to the Plaza of Nations on the False Creek seawall this Friday and Saturday, a celebration of all the cultures that make up Vancouver’s vibrant South Asian community.

The festival is a sensory overload of tastes, sights, aromas and sounds from the region. An army of food trucks will be on hand, serving up butter chicken, tangy dosas and other local specialties (No word yet on whether celebrity chef Vikram Vij will bring his Indian-themed truck, Vij’s Railway Express).

Sawan Mela is also packed with live Bollywood performances, bhangra singing and dancing, belly dancers, beat-boxers and Desi-rockers. Continue reading:
South Asian Festival on False Creek, Sawan Mela Aug 17-18

Bhangra star Dalvinder Singh at Heritage Hall, June 5

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on June 4, 2012

The eighth annual City of Bhangra Festival (May 31-June 10) is in full swing across Vancouver this week, celebrating lively bhangra music and dancing from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. With high-energy, infectious songs and colourful dance routines, bhangra has caught on across North America and especially in Vancouver.

And one of the biggest stars in contemporary bhangra, the UK’s Dalvinder Singh, is coming to Heritage Hall on Main Street on Tuesday, June 5. If you’re a bhangrahead – or just a fan of great world music performed at the highest level – this is one show you shouldn’t miss.

Bhangra music has its roots in traditional songs from the Punjab region. But it actually originated in Britain in the 1980s, when Punjabi immigrants took those folk sounds and incorporated contemporary rock, R&B and – later – hip-hop – instruments and beats. It is in many ways a music of identity and protest – focused on affirming a positive sense of self and Punjabi culture.

Continue reading:
Bhangra star Dalvinder Singh at Heritage Hall, June 5

Wanna dance? City of Bhangra Festival, May 31-June 10

by Remy Scalza in Events on May 23, 2012

Photo credit: jay8085 | Flickr

Ready to bhangra? A lively form of folk dance from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, bhangra has swept North America in the last decade. The high-energy music and colorful dance routines have popped up in Hollywood hits like Slumdog Millionaire, hip hop videos and even celebrity fitness programs.

Vancouver, with its rich South Asian population, is an epicenter of bhangra culture in North America. And this summer, the city will be showing off its bhangra pride at the eighth annual City of Bhangra festival, May 31-June 10.

International and local talent takes the stage in dozens of performances and dance competitions across Metro Vancouver. Meanwhile hands-on workshops offer visitors a chance to try out bhangra for themselves. Here are a few highlights:

Continue reading:
Wanna dance? City of Bhangra Festival, May 31-June 10

Vancouver’s Secret Bollywood Connection: The bhangra dancing story

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on August 31, 2011

If you’re a fan of Bollywood films or have seen the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, you know bhangra dancing. The lively Indian music and dance form originated in the 11^th century in the northwestern Punjab region. Local farmers would celebrate each harvest with elaborate, jubilant steps. Over the centuries, bhangra grew to be a pivotal piece of national culture – celebrated in pop music and film soundtracks and exported around the world by Indian expats.

And among the more unlikely places where bhangra took root was on the extreme west coast of Canada in Vancouver.

Continue reading:
Vancouver’s Secret Bollywood Connection: The bhangra dancing story