Meet KPU’s new and revived clubs
The Music Club and Bhangra Club are ready to have events for students this spring semester
A new Music Club is coming to KPU, and the Bhangra Club (right) was revived for the new year. (Submitted)
The Kwantlen Student Association approved a new KPU Music Club and revived the Bhangra Club for the new year.
Jiwanjot Singh, president of the Music Club, created the club because of his interest in music. He wanted to create a space for “like minded people who have interest in music” to share their talents.
The club is still in the planning stages so events are being arranged for February. Singh says the club is looking into having a music competition for the first event.
A music club is important to Singh because he finds music to be a useful and enjoyable activity when taking a break from studies and a tool to help manage the stress of life. He believes everyone enjoys music, so it was important for him to create a club the university did not already have.
The club is easy to join. All Kwantlen Polytechnic University students need to do is provide their student number and email.
While the Music Club is planning for their event in February, there will still be meet ups with members and karaoke sessions. With 45 club members, Singh is looking forward to growing the club even more and creating more activities to accommodate new members.
The KPU Bhangra Club is another club at the university that follows the music theme. Before the pandemic made all KPU classes and services migrate online, there was a Bhangra Club that flourished. Since the pandemic, the club has been defunct and it wasn’t until Mansukh Sidhu, current president of the club, saw a video of the former club performing and decided to revive it.
Bhangra is a historical cultural dance from Punjab, India and was originally seen as “a celebratory folk dance” performed during the harvest season. With its mix of energetic music, the dance has grown over the years. In various parts of the world, the dance has been performed in competitions and used for fitness classes.
Sidhu says the Bhangra Club is something the KPU community was missing.
“It’s all about having a sense of community. The main aim was to have the students [do] different things because they already have too much academic stress. [This dance will be] a medium to reduce the stress and gather along, and have a sense of community,” he says.
Sidhu says with KPU’s large population of international students, the culture is different from his country. He sees the club as a way for students to express themselves.
No events have been planned yet for the club, but they are aiming to have something ready for students in the spring semester. Students can reach out to the club on their Instagram or email kpubhangra@gmail.com.
“It doesn’t really matter that you [are part of] the Punjabi community or any kind of community to be part of this club. We are open to everyone who is here at KPU,” Sidhu says.
He also encourages people who have no experience or knowledge about the dance to come to the club and learn together.
“This is the right place for all those who want to take part in something … socialize and make new friends. All of us are learning and we are here to learn from each other and develop our skills.”
