Bombay in the Bay seniors prepare for final performance

Juniors Dance practices in the library.

The Indian Cultural Awareness Club will host Bombay in the Bay on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, a Saturday and Sunday rather than the traditional Friday and Saturday shows. Proceeds from the show will go to Abhyuday, which supports education in India.

The annual Bombay in the Bay event (BnB) will take place in the McAfee Center on Feb. 17 and 18, a Saturday and Sunday, rather than the traditional Friday and Saturday, due to scheduling conflicts.

“The Sunday show might have fewer tickets sold than Friday has in the past few years,” senior ICAC officer Anu Thakur said. “But usually, the show is sold out both nights so hopefully, we get that this year.”

The Indian Cultural Awareness Club (ICAC) will donate the proceeds from ticket sales and advertisements to Abhyuday, a nonprofit organization based in India that conducts welfare projects on education, healthcare and livelihood for more than 400,000 children in over 700 remote villages and slums in India.

The performance will consist of 10 acts, including the all-girls dance (AGD), all-males dance (AMD), freshman, sophomore, junior and senior dances and four specialty acts: tamasha, bhangra, singing and classical dance.

The acts follow an overall skit based on the plot of a Bollywood movie, which will be revealed at the first performance on Feb. 17.

Each year, proceeds from ticket sales and brochure advertisements are donated to a chosen charity. This year’s charity is Abhyuday.

“There’s people in Saratoga that recommended this charity, and they said positive things about it,” senior ICAC officer Avik Belenje said. “BnB has often gone towards the message of helping children and education.”

Belenje is the choreographer for tamasha and AMD. He recalled his first experience with Bollywood dance when he participated in Argonaut Elementary School’s Friday show from 3rd to 5th grade and the local Holi celebration with many of BnB’s current participants and choreographers. He first choreographed for BnB in his freshman year after his mother convinced him to join.

“After that, I think I’ve started picking up more on what to do,” he said. “For everyone else, they’ve seen the patterns of choreography thus far.”

With many acts being captained by seniors, BnB participants look forward to a strong performance.

“Since it’s [their] senior year, a lot of people are very excited,” Thakur said. “I think it’s going to be a lot more energetic from our part this year at the show.”