Bhangra is a blend of various folk dances from all across the region of Punjab. Many of them trace their roots far back before the existence of the term Bhangra in the late 1800s. These dances include Sammi, Giddha, Jhummar, Luddi, Dhamaal, Sialkot, and many more. Sialkoti originated in the region of Sialkot and is performed with one leg in the air. While Jhummar, from Jhang-Sial, traces its roots back to the Aryan period and consists a 16-beat dhol cycle. Sammi is a dance devoted explicitly to singing about a fabled girl. After some time, communication between villages and Punjab regions drastically increased due to sovereign movements across the area. These dances were shared freely, both in times of celebration and to soothe in times of hardship. The Bollywood industry also began to depict Bhangra in the movies. At the same time, celebrated Bhangra pioneers emerged to actively spread and share the dance form with other creed and people as well. As a result, Bhangra music is now entirely mainstream throughout India, and even in the world!

Although receiving enormous fame in such a short amount of time, controversies also surrounded the Bhangra circuit. Some believe that the boundaries of the dance have been pushed to the modern line too far. As per them, the dancers have to return the dance to its more traditional and folky roots. While others believe that, as Bhangra has already modified so much throughout time, it should be enabled to continue developing naturally and without restriction. Keeping aside these varied ideologies, the dance form resulted in a rich diversity throughout the world. Bhangra teams take pride in their individual style, whether they reflect themselves modern, traditional, in between, or neither, and many competitions feed toward particular techniques. All Bhangra performers agree that it is a dance of strength, potential, energy, and grace. Amid the self-discipline, one is needed to complete a full routine. Bhangra comes with a feeling of complete freedom and passion that encourages the course to unfold and flourish.

The Bhangra aerobic dance involves perpetual, rhythmic body movements that are designed to raise heart rate, strengthen the lungs, and work out all the major muscle groups in the body like the legs and buttocks. This workout is done to music with a pulsating beat to set the tempo. When one pursues the Bhangra workout, the body muscles demand more oxygen-rich blood and give out more carbon dioxide and other toxic wastes. This makes the heart beat quicker to keep up. Over time, with regular workout, the heart grows more potent and can meet the muscles’ demands with little effort. The Bhangra workout also helps to avoid chronic diseases such as heartdisease, hypertension, and even stroke. It also lowers blood pressure, makes bones strong, and helps control over-weight. A 45-minute Bhangra aerobic dance burns 500 calories.

Meanwhile, it is a beautiful dance form which helps one to mingle up with heart-felt people. In general, people of Punjab origin are referred to as free-will high energy people. And dancing with them also brings out the grace and fun in you. It’ll help one to come out of shyness and depression.