After a week of long practices, SACS president Kavin Ramesh (12), dancers Jiya Nayak (12), and Srija Sengupta (12), along with 50 other seniors from multiple schools, were prepared for their last South Asian Culture Show (SACS) 2K25 “Dancing with the Sitaare” performance at Del Norte High School, May 24-25.
The show ran smoothly according to Nayak, and the SACS 2K25 “Dancing with the Sitaare” was able to raise thousands through ticket sales for Akshay Patra, a non-profit organization based in India that feeds underprivileged children.
During the show, many traditional Indian dances, as well as Western-Indian fusion dances, were performed.
Bhangra is a traditional dance from Punjab, and is a very energetic and high-energy dance.
“Bhangra was really fun but super tiring since it’s a very physically demanding dance type,” Sengupta said. “But, Bhangra is always the most fun because there is so much energy, and the crowd loves it.”
Classical is a traditional dance that takes inspiration from Kathak and Bharatanatyam, which both use swift footwork. The senior dance is a mix of dance styles that only seniors participate in.
“The senior dance was extremely bittersweet, but the energy is always really high for this one,” Sengupta said. “I remember thinking that I had to have very high energy for this one since it would be the last dance I’d ever perform with SACS.”
All-girl and all-guy is also a mix of dance styles.
“All-girl was really good this year and I loved the songs and choreographies they chose,” Sengupta said. “I loved being able to dance next to my friends, especially the very last dance in all-girl which was this cute friendship dance.”
Although the show was a success, according to Ramesh, the usual two-day SACS performance almost got reduced to just one day because of a problem with getting enough approved advisors.
“Last year, we had people with level two clearance from the district, so parents, special-ed teachers, and substitutes,” Ramesh said. “But, this year, the district said that [those with level-two clearance] weren’t allowed to supervise, and that we needed a teacher. Because of this, we almost had a one-day show.”
However, despite the initial difficulties, the show ran smoothly, and they were able to host their regularly-scheduled two-day show. Thanks to the efforts of all of the members, SACS seniors were able to finish their last season strong.
After all of the dances concluded, each senior got their own moment with the senior slideshow. This brought Ramesh back to when he first joined SACS his sophomore year to pursue his passion for dance.
“I became vice president in my junior year, but because people didn’t really know who I was, I spent that whole year proving myself. I was going above and beyond for every choreography, every mix, every dance formation, every commercial,” Ramesh said.
Sengupta joined SACS because her sister was a choreographer for SACS, and because she wanted to join something that made her feel closer to her culture.
“Just the feeling of being on stage with everyone, knowing that everyone in that room, whether you’re in the audience or are a showrunner, is just as excited about the culture as you are is what I was most excited for,” Sengupta said.
As the SACS seniors sign out, they hope to see growth as well as continuation of the diversity in SACS.
“Whatever race, whatever ethnicity, SACS is not an exclusive club, it’s inclusive,” Ramesh said. “It’s amazing, it’s beautiful, you’re going to meet a bunch of friends, and it will truly be the time of your life.”