Registration
Don’t miss your Chance to Compete against the Best!
Thank you for your interest in the Boston Bhangra Competition. After the phenomenal success of our competition the last 21 years, we look forward to bringing an even better competition to you this year! Teams from these competitions have deemed us one of the “best competitions” in the country, and we look forward to living up to that title again this year.
This year’s competition will be taking place on Saturday November 15th, 2025 @ the historic Strand Theatre in Boston. The BIG update for this year is that we will have a Live category and a Music category, each with their own respective judges and with each category having their own prize money. This is a first for Boston Bhangra and we're VERY excited about these updates for the upcoming competition! Learn more about judging below.
The regular registration deadline is on Friday, August 29th, 2025 and the late registration deadline will be Friday, September 26th, 2025. Please be sure to review the registration packet for further details. By applying before August 29th, your team will save some money. Please keep in mind that all registration should take place through our Online Application which is the easiest way to register for the competition!This year’s competition will be taking place on Saturday November 15th, 2025 @ the historic Strand Theatre in Boston. For the 22nd year, we will have the following benefits:
Benefits for Regular Registration (By August 29th):
- Pay just a $100 non-refundable application fee.
- We will accept a limited number of teams on a rolling basis. If you apply early, and can convince us of accepting you, we will take you early!
General Registration Information:
- For late registration, the non-refundable application fee is $130.
We will be placing 1st ($2,500), 2nd ($1,000) and 3rd ($0) in both the live and music categories. However, more importantly than the ranking, we promise to bring the best competition and proper organization to Bhangra. Our goal is to promote our South Asian culture and our love of Bhangra in the US, and through proper organization, creativity, and planning we believe this event will help us reach that goal.
If you have any questions, please contact us @ info@bostonbhangra.com.
Judging
Ensure Integrity for our Rich Dance
We understand that teams are always concerned about qualified judges and having an appropriate scoresheet that will fit their style. We go through many means to ensure that our scoring and judges are well qualified for the Boston Bhangra Competition.
Our scoresheet puts the emphasis on creativity and difficulty. Those are the areas that have always differentiated the champions of Boston Bhangra. Our emphasis is on looking for the BEST team of the night irrespective of your style. We want modern and traditional teams and a good mix of male, female and co-ed teams. We want all different styles to compete against one another to showcase which is the best that night. Bottom line to teams is that you have to BRING IT with your style! We want our qualified judges to have a TOUGH time based on your performances. Below is the rubric that we have aligned with our judges:
| Criteria | Points |
|---|---|
| MUSIC CATEGORY | |
| DESIGN | |
| Creativity in Choreo | 15 |
| Difficulty of Choreo | 10 |
| Opening | 5 |
| Ending | 5 |
| Formation Design | 10 |
| EXECUTION | |
| Team Synchronization | 10 |
| Individual Dancing Form | 15 |
| Formations | 10 |
| Stage Presence/Nakhra | 10 |
| Consistency of Energy | 10 |
| OVERALL IMPACT | 15 |
| LIVE CATEGORY | |
| DESIGN | |
| Folk Elements | 20 |
| Opening | 5 |
| Ending | 5 |
| EXECUTION | |
| Team Synchronization | 20 |
| Formations | 10 |
| Stage Presence/Nakhra | 10 |
| Consistency of Energy | 10 |
| Band | 15 |
| OVERALL IMPACT | 15 |
JUDGES
Below is a listing our esteemed judges. This list may still change, but these are all the confirmed judges in alphabetical order:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| MUSIC JUDGES | |
| Guransh Kaler | Guransh started his dancing career in 2014, dancing with Bruin Bhangra where he later captained the team from 2016-2018. After graduating, he co-founded and captained Farishtey, placing at 5 consecutive competitions. Since retiring from dancing, Guransh has judged competitions across the country, most recently at Bruin Bhangra and Bhangra Blowout. He also makes bhangra mixes under the artist name Kalerity. |
| Harmeet Singh | Harmeet’s love for bhangra and music came from his late father, Ravi Dhaliwal, who had a deep love for Punjabi music. Harmeet’s love for music and dance led him to becoming one of the original founders of Apna Bhangra Crew (ABC) from Seattle in 2006. Harmeet went on to compete with ABC from 2007 - 2019, winning numerous bhangra competitions across North America. His love for kids, and helping them grow through bhangra, is what led him to start teaching bhangra in 2009. Since then, Harmeet and a few close friends formed ABC Dance Center in 2017, which is now home to over 300 kids and adults of all ages. He has coached the all-girls ABC team to success by placing at all 8 of the competitions they competed in. Keeping the Punjabi culture alive, in a fun and healthy way is at the core of Harmeet’s values. Harmeet has also had the honor to judge at various bhangra competitions over the years, such as Bruin and Boston Bhangra various times. |
| Ram Mahalingam | As a founding member of First Class Bhangra, Ram transformed a high school passion into one of the most dominant forces in the Bhangra circuit. His 11-year competitive career included over 50 competitions, showcasing his comprehensive experience in every aspect of Bhangra. With over 20 podium finishes and an unparalleled four-year streak of consistently placing in the top two (from 2014-2018, with a single exception at Bruin 2014), his record speaks for itself.He has a proven track record of choreographing winning sets, producing mixes, and judging at prestigious competitions like Bhangra Blowout. He's also mentored a successful juniors team whose alumni have collectively participated in over 70 competitions and earned over 20 placements on their respective teams. Additionally, he has hosted podcasts that cover competition reviews and the importance of cultural topics like the role of the dhol in Punjabi culture and dance.Now, he is excited to bring his extensive expertise to Boston Bhangra. |
| LIVE JUDGES | |
| Birinderjit Singh | Passionate and seasoned Bhangra professional with several decades of experience in performing, teaching, and judging folk dance. He learned Bhangra Basics during school age, During Graduate studies at Khalsa College Amritsar. Former captain of Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana Bhangra Team, ( College of agriculture) with a rich history of victories in national competitions. Birinderjit has extensive training under world-renowned Ustaads Master Janak raj ji and a successful transition to fusion Bhangra in the United States, where he has established a coaching center and served as a judge in prestigious competitions. He was captain of the PAU Ludhiana Bhangra Team, 2003-2004. He led the team in the Inter-college Folk Dance Competitions, North Zone Inter-Varsity and Inter-Agri University Youth Festivals throughout India. He was nominated the Best Dancer of University, 2004. He has judged various school and college-level Bhangra competitions, including Boston Bhangra, Motorcity, Boiler Bhangra, Flower City Bhangra, Queen City Bhangra and BCB competition. Birinderjit currently teaches for Furteelay Dance and has instructed over 100+ students across various age groups in traditional “Folk” Bhangra. |
| Gagan Malhi | Gagan started bhangra from school level competition in 2004 and participated until 2009. After that, he competed in 2011 from Govt Mohindra college. Gagan then competed for Punjabi University, Patiala from 2012-2015. He has won 2 Gold medals and 1 silver medal in inter-zonal youth fest. In 2016, he migrated to Canada. He has competed for Waris Virse de in 2017, and 2018 in Flower City Bhangra and Bit6 comps. He competed in BABG comp (California, USA) twice. Last but not least, Gagan competed in BIT6 in 2019 for the India based team Folk-Loverz Bhangra academy. Gagan got best dancer award in Bit6 (Canada) and BABG (USA). He also judges the Flowecity Luddi Competition in 2024. He looks to bring his extensive experience to his judging at Boston Bhangra this year. |
| Jotparkash Singh | Experienced Bhangra Instructor, Jotparkash participated and competed in various zonal, interzonal youth festivals, national and international folk festivals bringing laurels to his school GMSSS Sector-47, Chandigarh and College SGGS College (Khalsa college) Sector -26, Chandigarh. His school and college won numerous prizes under the guidance of Ustad Ajit Singh and Ustad Kuljeet Singh. Coming from such a folk background, he gained immense experience and knowledge about various folk dances of Punjab such as Bhangra, Luddi, Jhumar, Jindua, Malwai Giddha etc. Jotparkash then migrated to Canada and contributed his services in the field of bhangra as a performer & judge. He competed for Punjabi Lok Nach and won Flower City 3 years in a row with his team. He’s also been nominated for best dancer 4 times in his career! This is what led him to judge several competitions along the way. Bhangra is in his blood and he will always support bhangra and will keep supporting bhangra until his last breath. |