The Raas Chaos dance competition, a two-decade-old dance competition organized at George Washington University, recently returned for its 23rd year.
The event was hosted at the campus’s Lisner Auditorium and sponsored by the GW South Asian Society, a non-profit, socio-cultural organization developed to promote unity and cultural awareness among South Asian students at the university.
The GW competition was also the season opener for the Raas competitive season. The 2024 edition of the competition saw participation from six universities across the US, including Stanford University (Stanford Basmati RAAS), Northeastern University (Northeastern NakhRAAS), University of Virginia (UVA HooRAAS), Virginia Tech (VT Dhamaal), Michigan State University (MSU RAASParty), and the University of North Carolina (Taar Heel RAAS).
While the Northeastern NakhRAAS team secured first prize at the event, UVA HooRAAS secured the second spot.
The Northeastern NakhRAAS are the university’s premiere competitive Garba and Raas team. The group aims to educate Northeastern students about the traditional dance forms of Garba and Raas, compete in the nationally competitive Raas circuit, and have fun along the way.
“This dance form was a way we could all spend time together as well as do something culturally relayed that we all enjoy,” a member of the group told New India Abroad, adding that they wanted to find a way to stay in touch with the Indian community.
“Our increased competitiveness has led us to gain a lot more exposure outside simply Northeastern’s South Asian diaspora, and has allowed us to engage and build relationships with student organizations across campus!” the NakhRAAS member said
The team participates in three to four events every year intending to make it to the nationals. “There are a bunch of schools we compete against!” they further pointed out
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