UF group GatoRaas will take its traditional Indian dance moves to Jacksonville today for the third annual Night of Asia festival.
GatoRaas, an official dance team that performs the Indian dance Raas, has been competing on a national level since 2006. This is the first time it will go to the Jacksonville festival.
Although Raas retains its religious value, the dance has become a way for Indian people to express their culture, said GatorRaas team captain Devarshi Desai, 21.
The dance includes men and women adorned in brightly colored outfits and holding painted bamboo sticks called dandiya as their main dance prop. The dance steps are fast-paced and synchronized, requiring the dancers to constantly move and twirl their dandiya.
Desai, a UF biology senior, has been working to prepare her team for the performance, which will be the last act at the festival. She has participated in more than 20 performances since joining the team.
"Raas is my happy place," Desai said. "I love to instill the same passion I have for Raas into my teammates, and that’s the best part about being captain."
GatoRaas placed first in Tampa Fest and Diwali Dhamaka, both in-state competitions.
Manali Patel, a 20-year-old applied physiology and kinesiology senior, joined the team about three weeks ago. She said the festival in Jacksonville will be her first performance in front of a large audience.
"Everyone has been so welcoming since I first joined the team. It feels like I am dancing with my family rather than a dance team for school," Patel said.
Richard Rose, dance associate professor, said the hypnotic dance conveys messages to the audience.
"This kind of dance challenges us from a different perspective," Rose said. "Modern dances tell us the story of humans, but Raas tells us the story of superhumans."
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 9/26/2014]
