Namita Kansal has been known as “glowing” and “that girl who is so popular!” Her radiant happiness spreads to all who come in contact with her, and many will recognize her from the Freshman Dance during Awaaz, which she helped choreograph and lead. Orchestrating the twirling and spinning of dozens of freshman takes talent and an extensive knowledge of dance, which Namita has plenty of. The freshman from Northern Virgina has had extensive dance and choreography experience, which began in her hometown, teaching 3-12 year olds traditional Bollywood dance. Thus, it was only natural for her to seek an outlet for her passion here at Duke and join Dhamaka, an Indian dance group on campus.
Namita applied Early Admission to Duke, not only because her older brother goes here and she had visited countless times, but because she loved the mentality of Duke. “I love the work hard, play hard motto,” she says, “because it shows that Duke students are passionate in all areas of their life.” This theme perpetuates Namita’s life as well. In addition to being a perspective Neuroscience major and possibly pre-med, she is involved with the Girl’s Club, which gathers elementary and middle school aged girls to talk about obstacles they may be facing, and CHANCE tutoring, which tutors high school kids from Durham.
However, one can see how passionate Namita is when she takes the stage during a Dhamaka show. The style of dance is Bhangra, a folk dance from Punjab, a northern region in India, and it utilizes wooden slinky-like contraptions that clack when the dancers open and close them. The style of dance is invigorating, energizing, fun, and full of historical and cultural meaning for Namita and her fellow dancers. “We practice three times a week and have had performances at UNC and Awaaz so far this year, so our team is really close,” she says. They also have an upcoming performance at JMU. One interesting fact about the team is that not everyone that has danced with Dhamaka has been Indian. “There is a lot of diversity on Dhamaka because we cross-collaborate our choreography with other groups around campus; we even consult with dance teams from UNC.”
Duke has been extremely progressive and receptive to the arts program on campus, especially in a world filled with biomedical and biochemical engineers, economics majors, and premed students. But Dhamaka is an excellent example of how diverse Duke is, and how a culturally rich, rewarding and fun activity can unite so many people from different backgrounds.