The kids got out their wiggles, and some of their parents and guardians got an early jump on a likely New Year’s resolution to get more exercise Sunday at the Eugene Public Library during a Bhangra dance class.
The fun, rhythmic, bouncy dance is from the Punjab region of India, and the instructor, Sat Pavan Kaur Khalsa, gave a very brief overview of her story and the history of the dance before getting straight to the active part.
The 30 or so children who gravitated toward the middle of the room to participate were joined by about half as many adults, and the rest of the people at the well-attended afternoon workshop watched, often tapping their feet to the up-tempo music and taking photos of their kin.
India has an estimated population of 1 billion, and the people living in the state of Punjab are only about 2 percent of that, the 38-year-old Khalsa said.
“In order to survive as a minority, you have to have a lot of pride,” she said, indicating a possible reason that much of the dance centers around strong shoulders and big arm movements.
The dance is traditionally done by male farmers, with many movements depicting the harvest, and should demonstrate pride, joy and confidence in yourself, Khalsa said.
In modern times, Bhangra dance is popular among men and women in India. But in the United States, as with most forms of dance, it is mostly females who learn it, Khalsa said, noting that she would love to see more males in her classes.
She teaches classes for adults and children each week at Yoga West in south Eugene and brings groups of students to perform at events such as the Asian Celebration and Dance for a Reason on Jan. 25 at the Hult Center.
Amalie Valle-Wuite, 9, classically trained in ballet, has been learning Bhangra with Khalsa for four years, since Khalsa started teaching at Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School, where her own daughter, Jivan Jot Khalsa, 10, is also a student.
“It’s really fun,” said Valle-Wuite, who had also recently performed in “The Nutcracker” with Eugene Ballet. “It’s creative, and you get to do all sorts of things.”
Her mother, Jenifer Wuite de Valle, said she has recently been recruited to start learning the dance, too, and said one thing she likes about it is that it leaves a lot of room for improvisation.
The girls, Valle-Wuite and Khalsa, performed a few times for the group on Sunday. The pair did routines designed for larger groups, winging it as they went.
There was a portion of the workshop when students were able to go to the center and do whatever they pleased. Often the people in the larger circle mimicked the moves of the soloist or pairs in the middle, but the instructor Khalsa said in an interview that the main reason for that part of the class is for people to gain confidence.
“I want the kids to have their own individuality and express themselves,” said Khalsa, who has been doing Bhangra for 30 years, since she discovered it as a student at a boarding school in India. “I don’t want anyone to walk away with a strict way of looking at things.”
Parent Hollie Vanzandt, 31, of Creswell brought her daughter Gracie Vanzandt, 9, who is interested in dance, and the two mostly watched. Hollie Vanzandt did take a turn in the middle, holding a small boy, to whom she is a nanny, and said she enjoyed the class and learning about a dance from a different culture. She also liked that the kids who knew the dance well didn’t seem like they were obligated to be there and genuinely were content and having fun.
“It seems really cool,” Vanzandt said. “I only know how to Zumba, which is nothing like this.”
The class was part of the free, family-oriented events that the library offers each Sunday, and Khalsa, who has lived in Eugene since 1997, has led the workshop numerous times at the library over the years.
Upcoming Sunday family activities at the library are:
Skipping Stones Stories, Jan. 6;
Kids: Dots and Lines Art, Jan. 13;
Build a Birthday Cake, Jan. 19; and
Five Senses, Jan. 26.
The activities start at 3 p.m. at the Bascom-Tykeson room of the downtown branch, at 100 W. 10th Ave.