Colorful dresses whirl in concentric circles throughout the Titan Dome on Oct. 24 at the annual North Shore Garba night, a joint effort by South and North’s South Asian Student Associations (SASA). 

Garba is a traditional Indian folk dance that originated in Gujarat, India, typically performed during Navratri, a nine-day Hindu holiday celebrating good over evil and honoring the Hindu Goddess Durga, the embodiment of female power, Sejal Schullo, Social Studies Teacher and South’s SASA sponsor, said. Garba is also performed at weddings and secular occasions and is often performed barefoot, as a sign of respect to the Earth, she added. 

“Women tend to wear really colorful, long, flowy skirts that spin and twirl,” Schullo said. “Men wear long tunics over pants. It is a very joyful, colorful celebration.”

In addition to South students, members of SASAs from nearby high schools like Stevenson, Deerfield, and Highland Park came as well, Schullo said. It’s a very family-oriented event, so there were people of all ages, from little kids to teenagers to adults. 

“It was great to see lots of generations celebrating a cultural event,” Schullo said. 

Tickets were sold to pay for the DJ and food, but some of the food was donated by local Indian restaurants, Schullo said. Twenty percent of profits went to two different charities: Apna Ghar, which translates to “my house”, which works to end gender violence, and Ekalvidalaya, which is an international organization dedicated to providing education to young people in India, Schullo said. 

“Last year, we sent them $1,200, which sponsored 30 students to go to school for a whole year,” Schullo said.

The dance only has a few easy steps, Schullo explained. It is similar to line dancing, where you learn the steps once and repeat them, adding variations to make them fancier, she said. The outer circles are slower and simpler, while people in the inner circles dance faster and with more complicated movements, Schullo said. 

“It’s not a dance performance you’re going to watch, but one that you’re going to participate in,” Schullo said.