THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS'
PREMIER RAAS & GARBA TEAM
About Us
UTD TaRaas is The University of Texas at Dallas' premier raas/garba competitive dance team. TaRaas was founded in Fall 2014 by a group of friends who wanted to join together to share their passion for raas and garba. They were soon joined by students from all over UTD to form the first ever raas/garba team at UTD.
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Since then, the TaRaas family has grown over the past two years and has competed all over the nation, leaving their mark in the Raas All-Stars competitive circuit as well as at independent competitions. The 2016-2017 dance season will be their 3rd year as a team and they more than ever ready to continue the UTD TaRaas legacy.
Introduction
Raas and Garba are two complimentary folk dance forms originating from the state of Gujarat in India. The dances are usually vibrant and very energetic.
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While performing these dances, men and women wear colorful traditional Gujarati clothing. The music often consists of high energy beats using dhol, tabla, etc as musical instruments.
Garba
The word Garba is derived from the Sankskrit word "Garbha" which means womb and "Deep" which is a small earthenware lamp. The traditional form of this dance is done in a circle surrounding a centrally lit lamp in the middle and is performed during the 9 day Hindu festival of Navratri, although it also is performed during many other festivals and celebrations.
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Raas and Garba have truly evolved to become the modern versions of the dance forms that they are today. Many non-traditional elements have been added in music, dance style, costumes, etc over time.
To find out more about Garba and Raas, click here!
Raas
Raas (also known as Dandiya Raas) is also performed during the festival of Navratri, but unlike modern Garba, it is performed with 2 decorated sticks called dandiya. Raas originates from devotional Garba, representing a mock fight between the Goddess Durga and a demon-king named Mahishasura. The stick represent swords which is why Raas is also known as "The Sword Dance".