Texas Mohini holds courage, hair flips and energy inside their DNA — or at least that’s what they chant before every performance. Dancing across America, Texas Mohini, UT’s oldest all-girl Bollywood fusion team, declares itself as a front for female empowerment and cultural identity.
Founded in 2006, Texas Mohini became UT’s first dance team to compete in the Desi Dance Network — a collegiate championship circuit of more than 150 dance teams throughout North America. Blending classical Indian dance forms with hip-hop and contemporary, Texas Mohini captures the versatility of South Asian dance, pushing themselves physically and artistically. Last semester, the group competed at the Legends Dance Championship, placing third.
“(The Circuit is) not the most favorable to all-girl teams,” Anshu Lakshman, a senior economics major and team co-captain, said. “Last year, us going to the championship for the first time was inherently impactful for us, and we’ve heard it was impactful for all the other girls’ teams in the circuit.”
Following their success, Shreia Sunder, senior biology major and team co-captain, said she hopes to keep the team on an upward trajectory.
“There’s a huge trend of teams that go to Legends for the first time (and burn) out after that year and (fall) off,” Sunder said. “Our main goal is to make sure that doesn’t happen with our team.”
Each dance production packs moving set pieces, costume changes and sound mixes that weave cinematic plotlines into a performance with more than four songs. Building the set pieces themselves, the group performs a 10-minute set before breaking them down for the next competition.
“Bringing all our ideas back to life on stage is probably one of the hardest parts,” said Pari Agarwal, a junior marketing major and Mohini’s social media chair. “Translating it from practice and the vision that we have to exactly what we want in front of an audience and on television is not easy.”
To prepare for competitions, the team practices up to 12 hours a week, but their proximity and competitive spirit bring the team together, fostering relationships that go beyond practice.
“Our team wants to be successful, … so we use that to motivate them,” Lakshman said. “At the end of the day, if you’re spending this much time in practice and you’re spending a lot of your personal time (together), you don’t want it to be for nothing.”
Starting from the first practice, the team promotes camaraderie and cultural pride that stay with dancers even after graduation. Despite outside pressure to westernize their routines, Texas Mohini sticks to classical moves that reflect their childhood roots.
“Most of our roots come from Kathak and Bharatanatyam,” Sunder said. “Showcasing that through our set is something we love doing.”
