SASH holds its Fall Show, Sashpocalypse

It may be still quite a long ways to Dec. 21, but the students of South Asian Students at Hopkins (SASH) were already thinking about the end of world.

For those who managed to completely avoid the Breezeway last week, SASH held its annual Fall Show last Friday night, entitled “Sashpocalypse.”

The entire event was based on the premise that the world was ending, and the audience was taken on a journey with emcees Neel Sangal, Prith Roychowdhary and Nirali Chauhan as they explored Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal while they still had the chance.

The concept gave the audience the opportunity to really brush up on its general knowledge of the culturally rich South Asia, as it “travelled” alongside the emcees throughout different countries and regions (including the Punjab and Gujarat) to learn about the cultural practices distinctive of each.

Throughout the event, the audience was treated to a variety of cultural performances, including several different styles of dance, a cappella singing and even poetry recitals!

There were 13 acts in total, but classical Indian dance group Shakti was definitely one of the highlights of the night.

The ladies performed the bharatanatyam dance. The choreography depicts the story of how Lord Krishna conquered the demon snake king Kaliya. The dance culminates with the traditional “Kaliya Narthana” in which Krishna dances on top of the snake’s hood. This particular bharatanatyam dance was choreographed by Sindhoora Murthy and Suchi Akmanchi.

The entire audience was enthralled by their intricate dance moves, exquisite facial expressions and impressive ability to maintain a high level of energy throughout the whole routine.

Masti, Hopkins’s only Bollywood/fusion dance team, also shone on the stage.

Beat-laden Bollywood music (songs from favorites Ready and Desi Boyz) blended surprisingly well with Western pop — especially when Justin Bieber was thrown into the mix.

It was Hareepa that brought the house down with their bhangra moves. The group got the crowd roaring in support for them from the moment they stepped out onto the stage, costumed in their distinctive bright blue turbans. Their energetic choreography amazed everyone in the audience.

The event wasn’t all about dancing though the night, however: Kranti did a great job of representing the a cappella world.

Being the only a cappella group on campus that fuses music from Bollywood films and contemporary Western pop, the group proved that they could effortlessly intertwine the two types of music together.

Soloists Kishore Bharadwaj and Swati Goel blended Rascal Flatts’s “What Hurts the Most” and Vishal Shekhar’s “Tu Jahaan” quite nicely, while Anuja Shah and HyunJong Lee brought down the house on a mix of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and A.R. Rahman’s “Mukala Mukabula.”

The group’s incredible beatboxing really elevated the standard of their performance.

Student groups from other universities visited Hopkins to perform at Sashpocalypse, including University of Maryland — Baltimore County’s Adaa (a Bollywood fusion group) and the national raas champions from George Washington University, Raas.

Both performed pretty solid dance routines as they sashayed and stomped across the stage n sync to catchy Bollywood beats. Rutgers University Punjabi dance group Bhangra, University of Virginia Bollywood fusion dance team Sharaara, and Stony Brook University fusion a cappella group YUVA were invited, but unable to attend the event because of Hurricane Sandy.

In short, SASHPOCALYPSE was a jam-packed program that left the audience exhausted after the entire show — but it was worth it for the energy and exhilaration of the performers in and of itself. Assuming the world doesn’t end this year, it’s exciting to imagine what surprises are in store for the SASH Spring Show next semester.