Over 400 people gathered to witness the talent of youth in Illinois, Saturday, Aug. 27, when the Association of Indians in America, Inc., Illinois Chapter, hosted the Group Dance Competition Youth Talent Show at Harper College in Palatine.

High-voltage dance performances were presented by 19 top teams from Illinois which included youth and a talented group of elders between the ages of 60-65.

Program commenced by Beena Patel, the first female president of the AIA. She introduced additional AIA members, including Vice President Neal Patel and Chairperson Santosh Pandey, Past President Salil Mishra, Secretary Harish Kolasani, Joint-Secretary Dr. Hina Patel, Treasurer Sujata Sharma and Joint-Treasurer Nipa Shah.

Patel, in her welcoming speech, announced that as per tradition, AIA will present three different events in 2016; the AIA Dance Competition; the Gandhi Jayanti celebration and a celebration of Asian-American heritage month. She thanked Vice Presidents Santosh Pandey and Neal Patel for helping organize the events.

Likewise she also thanked Secretary Harish Kolasani and Dr. Hina Patel for their eagerness to do whatever it takes to complete the task. Equally pertinent members Nipa Shah and Sujata Sharma received congratulation due their efforts in promoting this event. Gratitude was also extended to Hina Trivedi’s and Lucy Pandey for their hard work in making the appreciation certificates for the participants. Patel also introduced members at large: Dr. Asish Sen, Lucy Pandey, Heena Trivedi and committee members: Om Dhingra, Sujata Sharma, Lucy Pandey, Prem Mehrotra, Manoranjan Mishra.

Santosh Pandey served as emcee. He is also the vice president and the brain child behind this show. Throughout the show, Pandey kept the audience entertained. Sidharth Karnam began the program with “Shree Ganeshaaya Dheemahi.”

Patel then extended congratulations to choreographers, or Gurus, of dance schools participating in the dance competition. Last, but not the least, she acknowledged and thanked the college students from Loyola University, who participated with a cappella singing during intermission. All the performance team where given a participant certificate from AIA which was designed by Lucy Pandey.

At the end of contest, the three top winners were announced. Beena Patel invited all the participating groups on stage and commended their performances. She said it was difficult for the judges to decide who was the best. Due to the very close and fierce contest, the judges took more than 20 minutes to decide the winners. Each performing group had a unique style and presence and the variety of dance represented all of the colorful, vibrance of India.

Neal Patel from Medstar Laboratory presented the trophies and the cash prizes to the following winners:

• Frist prize: $750 to JAL-Soorya Dance School, Jinno Varghese

• Second prize: $351 to Agni-Bollywood Rhythms, choreographer Bhagya Nagesh

• Third prize: $151 to Nache Mayuri Dynamites, choreographer Mayuri Rajesh

Sponsors of the event were Neal and Raj Patel from Medstar laboratory; Mafat Patel from Patel Brothers; Salil Mishra from Millennium Bank; Prem Marhotra from General Energy Corporation; Anil Sharma from Insurance World Agency, Inc.; Ghanshyam Pandey, Papa Johns Skokie; State Farm Agent Esha Patel; Maya Patel from Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows; Hina Trivedi Chicago Indo U.S. Lions Club president; Dr. Hina and Hemant Patel; Dr. Ritesh Patel; Kishore and Deepika Chugh and Hema and Shashant Bhatt; Harish Kolasani from NRI Seva Foundation; and Santosh Kumar from Metropolitan Asian Family Services.

Judges were Monica Kapoor, Madhra Sabe, Swapna Pula, Chandrasri Das and Devi Annamalai.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Secretary Harish Kolasani, who thanked the dance Gurus for continuing to provide dance education for children and to the parents for keeping and nurturing the culture for years to come by instilling traditional values in their children. Harish Kolasani also thanked the sponsors and media.

The Association of Indians in America is the oldest national association of Asian Indians in America. It was founded in 1967, after the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act during 1965-66, repealing the Asian Exclusion Act of 1917.

AIA is the grass root national organization of Asian Immigrants in the United States, fostered on the democratic principles of “one member one vote,” with chapters and membership spread across the United States.

AIA represents the hopes and aspirations of those immigrants who are united by their common bond of Indian heritage and American commitment.

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