Bhangra – Dance of Punjab (For MC)
NOTE: ONLY MC SHOULD READ THIS
6:30 PM – 7:00: Before Concert Bhangra Music
by Yukon Arts Centre sound tech team
7:00 PM (Sharp) – Show Starts with Inauguration by MC Jacob Zimmer
Who: Invitation to The Commissioner of Yukon Hon. Madame Angélique Bernard to stage.
Activity: The Commissioner Madame Bernard will make a one-minute speech show opening speech.
MC ONLY:- Bhangra – Dance of Punjab: Bhangra is the folk-dance of Punjab. Before Britishers made India their colony, Punjab was an independent Sikh country with its capital in Lahore under the king Majaraja Ranjit Singh. In 1849, Punjab became a part of India and it was the last territory to fall under the British rule. The dance is pure reflection of Sikh and Punjabi culture and traditions for centuries. Due to this culture’s strong connections with agriculture life, so this dance has roots in farms, crops, and villages. After harvesting their crops, after all their hard work, after they were done with everything, people in Punjab used to dance this (to show) a sense of accomplishment and happiness. So, for hundreds of years, due to hard-working farming life of that time, this dance had been developed as a hard-core tough dance to showcase strength and immense joy. Due to this element, nowadays a lot of people dance bhangra for high-energy workouts and rigorous physical exercises. Originally it was a purely men’s dance, however with the time women also started embracing it and nowadays men and women both dance it. It is heavily present in the Sikh and Punjabi culture, weddings, parties, and all kinds of celebrations. With passing of time, bhangra has evolved from farming life and villages and reached everywhere to big cities and modern metro life. Nowadays, bhangra music and dance is also seen predominantly in Bollywood movies and other kinds of big musical fusions. Many people go to bhangra sessions just to stay healthy, fit and as the best alternative to gym. Despite the evolution with time, bhangra succeeded maintaining the core elements of the dance of joy, the dance of happiness, dance of good health, and the dance of productivity.
7:03 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer
Who: Invitation to Gurdeep Pandher to say a few words
Activity: Gurdeep will say a few words in just one-minute with Hello, Bonjour, Sat Shiri Akaal and Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh by acknowledging that we are on the traditional territory of Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and say very briefly about the bhangra dance form/brief history and will thank to sponsors, volunteers, students and Yukon Government.
Kama Sava
7:05 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (SONG: Vanjhali Vaja)
WHO: Gurdeep Pandher and Véronique Lachance
Activity: Group Bhangra Dance
¶¶ Song/Music: (01) Vanjhali Vaja [Van-jh-lee Vaja]
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- (The opening song is based on a branch of bhangra, which is known as Jhoomar (Informally known as slow bhangra). Bhangra dance from Punjab has many branches, which allow for the expression of every kind of feeling. So, Bhangra in the Jhoomar style is danced in order to express the intensity of emotions and often love feelings. In this song, there is a reunion of lovers which takes place in the beginning of the song. Later on, the dance evolves to reflect pure joy. Jhoomar, originally from Sandalbar, Punjab, comprises an important part of Punjab folk heritage. It is a graceful dance, based on a specific Jhoomar rhythm. Dancers circle around a drum player while singing a soft chorus. In this song, Gurdeep and students are going to dance jhoomar on a popular Punjabi song Vanjhali Vaja. This song was sung by famous Punjabi singer Amrinder Gill. Along with Gurdeep Pandher, student from his school of bhangra dance group Veronique will perform in the group dance.
7:10 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Crooked Folk, Highland dance, Bhangra Dance, SONG: Atholl Highlanders)
Who: (Crooked Folks Group Jerome McIntyre, Keitha Clark, BJ MacLean and Simon Crelli) with Brianna Heal doing highland dance (Gurdeep Pandher and Kultej Singh Gill will do Bhangra)
Activity: Irish Music, Highland Dance and Bhangra will be fused together.
¶¶ Song/Music: Atholl Highlanders
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: This is live music)
MC ONLY:- The idea of creating fusion of Bhangra with Irish/Scottish music was born at a downtown Whitehorse kitchen. When some musicians were playing the Irish/Scottish music, Gurdeep spontaneously started dancing bhangra to those tunes. Some other friends joined him too. That whole setup/combination looked so great and well synchronized that all of them decided to carry that on. Now that newly born baby in that kitchen in the late fall of 2015 is two-year old and has grown up as Scottish/Irish – Punjabi Bhangra fusion. They also thought that this cool blending of two sides of the world would also connect east and west together. The traditional Irish and Scottish set Music will be played by the band Crooked Folk with members with members Keitha Clark/ Simon Crelli with fiddle, Jerome McIntyre with bodhran/cajon, and Bj MacLean with guitar.
7:15 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Bhangra on the song Pagg by EMYS)
Who: Extremely Moving Youth Society
Activity – Bhangra by ONLY Extremely Moving Youth Society students
¶¶ Song/Music: (02) Pagg
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- Bhangra connection with Extremely Moving Youth Society originated during Clare Ness’s wedding in 2916, when the dance teacher Michelle FisherMayr invited Gurdeep Pandher to teach bhangra to her young students at Leaping Feats. After just one class, the connection became solid enough to continue this journey for longer terms. Then Gurdeep trained them to for the Go Nuts 2017 show, where they performed awesome bhangra at Yukon Arts Centre stage. Now bhangra at this bhangra show is second round of this great awesome Gurdeep-Extremely Moving Youth Society connection.
7:20 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer will announce Lianne Cranfield and Gurdeep Pandher Song.
Who: Gurdeep Pandher and Lianne Cranfield will sing the song. Audrey Sawyer, Véronique Lachance, Panya Lipovsky, and Lorraine Donovan will do Bhangra dancing to the song.
Activity: Both will sing a live song “When Folks Dance Bhangra” and Gurdeep students will dance Bhangra to the Tunes.
¶¶ Song/Music: (03) When Folks Dance Bhangra (instrumental song)
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: This is half live and half recorded. You guys will play the instrumental song)
MC Note:- Usually Bhangra songs are in the Punajbi Language, but Gurdeep Pandher and Lianne Cranfield created a Bhangra song in English. The name of the song is “When Folks Dance Bhangra”. Today, they both are going to sing the song together and Gurdeep’s some of dance students will dance Bhangra to the song.
First Video: Watson Lake Students Dancing Bhangra on Pink Shirt Day
7:25 PM PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (SONG: Mela by bhangra dance students)
Who: (Audrey Sawyer, Véronique Lachance, Panya Lipovsky, Lorraine Donovan, and Gurdeep Pandher)
Activity: Group Bhangra Dance
¶¶ Song/Music: (04) Mela [Maila]
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- Mela is a beautiful cultural song which means “festival”. So today is a day of fesitval because we all gathered to celebrated the beatiful Bhangra dance.
Second Video: Bhangra Can-Can Video
7:35 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Bhangra and Can-Can Dance Mix)
Who: Gurdeep Pandher, Kultej Gill and Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Can-Can Line.
Activity: Yukon’s Can-Can Dance and Bhangra Dance will be fused together.
¶¶ Song/Music: (05) A-CanCan Donne-Moi une Vie-with-BHANGRA
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- This happens only in the Yukon, Canada! Gurdeep Pandher and “Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Air North Can Can Line” created a breathtaking fusion of two famous dancing forms “Punjabi Bhangra” and “Can Can Dance”. The video also aims to bring the cultures of the world together.
Originated in France, the can-can (or cancan as in the original French) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originated in Punjab (or Panjab before the British-India era) as the folk-dance of Punjab, Bhangra also is a high-energy and physically demanding dance, which was originally developed by Sikh-Punjabi farmers. Bhangra nowadays is a popular dance form in the Punjabi and Bollywood music-movies scene, parties and Sikh cultural or wedding celebrations.
7:40 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (The Hibernation and Bhangra)
Who: Jordan Patrick, Sarah Waters, Jerome McIntyre, Anne-Marie Lemaire from The Hibernation Band. Gurdeep Pandher and Audrey Sawyer from Bhangra Team.
Activity: Bhangra Dancers will dance to Live The Hibernation Band music.
¶¶ Song/Music: ———————
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: this is live music)
MC ONLY:- The Hibernation is a local eclectic mix of bilingual multi-instrumentalists: leg-shaking modern folk, rock, and melodic acoustic ballads. They bring together the colourful sounds of guitar, accordion, traditional and modern percussion, flute, bagpipes, and harmonized vocals. It is first time, there will be Hibernation and Bhangra coming together.
7:45 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (SONG: Soorma, Bhangra Students and Extremely Moving Youth Society will dance together)
Who: (All EMYS Students/ All Bhangra Students: (Audrey Sawyer, Véronique Lachance, Panya Lipovsky, Lorraine Donovan, and Gurdeep Pandher)
Activity: Group Bhangra Dance on song Soorma.
¶¶ Song/Music: (06) Soorma.
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- Next song is a golden song. Everyone loves the song due to its nice dancing uplifting beat. The dance of absolute joy and pure happiness. The name of the song is Soorma which means ‘a brave person’ in English. Along with its beautiful beat, this song also offers a great message to stay strong in diffculties. Also, the song explores other traditions of richness in Punjabi culture in a unique musical way. This song was made on two beautiful Punjabi musical instruments Sarangi and Dhol, which produce joyous beat, perfect for bhangra dancing. Famous Punjabi singer Diljit sang this song.
The bhangra dance is part of his Sikh and Punjabi culture, and he was born into it, so on and off, Gurdeep has been dancing bhangra for his whole life. Jacob Zimmer and Gurdeep will have some brief and funny discussion on stage before the beginning of the song.
7:50 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Bhangra by Yukon College Students)
Who: Gurdeep Pandher, Kultej Singh Gill, and Manpreet Singh
Activity – Students from Yukon College will dance Bhangra.
¶¶ Song/Music: (07)-Hu Haal Ve-Kamli-Combined
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
(Third Video: Dawson City Video)
7:55 PM – MC Jacob Zimmber will announce intermission which will start at 7:55 PM
INTERMISSION for 15 minutes (from 7:55 PM to 8:10 PM).
8:09 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer will come on the stage to invite everyone to rejoin.
8:10 PM – MC will ask Mayor Dan Curtis make his 2-minute speech.
(Fourth Video: Hockey Bhangra)
8:15 PM – Hockey Bhangra
Who: Whitehorse Minor Hockey Team (With Coach Mike Nemeth, Coach Kirk Price, Hockey Students and Good Deeds Yukon) and Gurdeep Pandher
Activity: Whitehorse Minor Hockey will dance Bhangra with Gurdeep Pandher
¶¶ Song/Music: 08-Ice-Hockey-Bhangra
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- Team work by Whitehorse Minor Hockey (PNW Group) and Gurdeep Pandher for Good Deeds Cup and bringing/celebrating diversity together via bhangra in Yukon has been created many good deeds! They danced together to collect cultures on the ice-rink. Their collaboration Hockey-Bhangra video has been watched 150,000 times via YouTube and Facebook combined. Today their are all going to dance Bhangra together tonight on the stage.
8:20 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Crooked Folk, Highland dance, Bhangra Dance, SONG: Star of Munster (Jerome on Bodran) and Drowsy Maggie (Jerome on Dhol)
Who: (Crooked Folks Group Jerome McIntyre, Keitha Clark, BJ MacLean and Simon Crelli) with (Gurdeep Pandher, Shyloh van Delft, Audrey Sawyer, Véronique Lachance, Panya Lipovsky will do Bhangra)
Activity: Irish Music, Highland Dance and Bhangra will be fused together.
¶¶ Song/Music: Star of Munster and Drowsy Maggie
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: this is live music)
8:25 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Bhangra and Can-Can Dance Mix)
Who: Gurdeep Pandher, Audrey Sawyer, Véronique Lachance, Panya Lipovsky, and Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Can-Can Line.
Activity: Yukon’s Can-Can Dance and Bhangra Dance will be fused together.
¶¶ Song/Music: 09-B-CanCan Can Can-with-BHANGRA
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
8:30 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (SONG: Smile, Yukon College Bhangra)
Who: Shyloh van Delft and Gurdeep Pandher.
Activity: Bhangra by Yukon College Student to dhol drum music.
¶¶ Song/Music: 10-Smile
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC ONLY:- In January 2017, Yukon College decided to host Gurdeep Pandher’s bhangra classes during lunch hours, which continued until now. Those classes allowed Yukon College students to have some wonderful understanding of the world of bhangra dancing. When Yukon College students learning bhangra dance, when why not they should not perform at the stage? So, all this started the exploration of idea of the College participants performing at the stage. And here you go.
(Fifth Video: Sometimes Days are Long, Sometimes Nights)
8:35 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (SONG: Pagg Dian Pooniyan)
Who: Gurdeep Pandher and Véronique Lachance
Activity: Group dance to the song “Pagg Dian Pooniyan”.
¶¶ Song/Music: 11-Pagg-Diyan-Pooniya
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: you guys will play this)
MC NOTE:- Pagg Dian Pooniyan is a beautiful Bhangra song. There is joy, cuteness, and love in the lyrics and they also talk about cultural traditions. Turban is a very important part in the Punjabi and Sikh culture, so the song talks about how his beloved would help him to put it on.
8:40 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (The Hibernation and Bhangra)
Who: Jordan Patrick, Sarah Waters, Jerome McIntyre, Anne-Marie Lemaire from The Hibernation Band. Gurdeep Pandher and Panya Lipovsky from Bhangra Team.
Activity: Bhangra Dancers will dance to Live The Hibernation Band music.
¶¶ Song/Music: ———————
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: this is live music)
8:45 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer (Punjabi-French Short Play “Titanic-2”)
Who: Gurdeep Pandher and Véronique Lachance
Activity: Entertaining Mini-Play in Punjabi, French and English
¶¶ Song/Music: (1) Punjabi-French-Play-1-French-Music, (2) Punjabi-French-Play-2-Bollywood-Music (3) Punjabi-French-Play-3-Titanic-Music
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: There is a folder named “Titanic-2-Short-Play” where you will see 3 files. You will play these 3 files according to the acts in the play)
(Sixth Video: EMR Bhangra Video)
8:50 PM – Punjabi Dhol Drum, Bagpipe, and Bhangra
Who: Jerome McIntyre (with Punjabi Dhol Drum) Jordan Patrick (with Bagpipes), and Gurdeep Pandher with Bhangra.
Activity – Bhangra and Punjabi Dhol Drum, Bagpipe, and Bhangra
¶¶ Song/Music: This is live music by musicians on the stage.
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: this is live music)
MC ONLY:- You will be surprised by learning the fact that bagpipes are a great part of Punjabi cultures. It started when the British empire made Punjab its colony. Before and during the First world war, the British Government hired a lot of people from Sikh community in their army. They created a special regiment called “Sikh Regiment” and took Dhol drum from Punjabi culture and combined it with Bagpipes. Both are very loud musical instruments. So, experiment worked. So, today we are going to bring Jerome McIntyre (with Punjabi Dhol Drum) Jordan Patrick (with Bagpipes), and Gurdeep Pandher with Bhangra to bring back old Punjabi culture on the stage.
9:00 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer will invite Yukon’s Deputy Premier Hon. Ranj Pillai to make a 2-minute speech.
Who: Deputy Premier Hon. Ranj Pillai
Activity – The Commissioner will make one-minute long speech.
¶¶ Song/Music: No Music Required.
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: No Music Required.)
9:05 PM – MC Jacob Zimmer will invite all the performers and The Commissioner, The Minister and The Mayor, and Elizabeth Hanson (Opposition Leader in the Assembly) to the stage. There will be brief all-performers and guests dance dance on the stage. Audience will be requested to dance along. Photographer Christian Kuntz will take group photos and Gurdeep Pandher will be the MC for last two-minutes!
Closing thank you to all!
Activity: Closing thanks by Gurdeep Pandher and the people will be requested to join the dance party in the Arts Centre lobby.
¶¶ Song/Music: Virsa
¶¶ (NOTE TO YAC SOUND TECH: You guys will play this song when all-performers are dancing)
9:10 PM –🕺💃 DANCE PARTY 💃🕺
(With DJ Daniel Ashley)
Click here to buy the tickets
MC: Jacob Zimmer (Artistic Director from Nakai Theatre)
DJ: Daniel Ashley AKA DJ DASH (Dash Music)
Stage Manager: Jeff Wolosewich (From The Dark Fruits)
Photography: Christian Kuntz Photography
Videography: Naomi Hajian
Videography (Second camera): Marten Berkman
YAC Sound-Tech: Mike Wilson – mike.wilson@yac.ca
YAC Sound/ event Coordinator: Josh Jansen – josh.jansen@yac.ca
Lights: Christopher Ross
Presenter/Producer: Gurdeep Pandher
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