The Belmont Pan-Asian Coalition (BPAC) will hold its first annual BPAC Dance Fest at Town Day from 2:15-3 p.m. on May 21.
It will include live music, as well as Bollywood and Classical Indian dance performances, featuring many Belmont residents.
Introductory music will be performed by the String Beans, a group of Belmont students who have performed at the Belmont Farmers’ Market for 10 years and who play a range of repertoire, from Asian to classical to pop.
The dancers, the dance form they will perform and their associated dance studio are as follows:
Aashi Benegal and Saina Likhi—Bollywood
· Aradhya Siva, Meenakshi Senthil, Sara Raturi and Samyukta Rajaram—Baratanatyam (Samskriti dance school)
Misha Bhandari, Swanandi Pote, Nitika Shorey, Mala Chaurasia, Mona Mitra—Kathak (Mona’s Dance Academy)
· Anahata Davaluri, Anusha Ramakrishnan, Hiya Singh, Rhia Sharma, Srishti Kar, Tanvi Mathura—Kathak (Kathak with Urmi Samadar)
The Belmont Pan-Asian Coalition will also host a BPAC night at its booth with activities, games, prizes and Asian snacks, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Town Day.
Sponsors include TN Beauty Salon, Lord’s Cleaners, Wan Educational Consulting and Cambridge Children’s Dentistry.
An inclusive and grassroots organization, BPAC came into existence in the spring of 2021 in response to a series of local and national anti-Asian incidents. BPAC founding members from across Asia have come together to amplify their voice, increase their visibility and achieve greater representation in the city. BPAC’s advocacy work has included speeches and interviews, written articles, and collaboration with the Belmont Public School administration, as well as involvement with the city government, the Belmont Police Department and community organizations. BPAC also helped develop a community television series, Culture Connection, run by the Belmont High School Asian American Club, the South Asian Club, and the Arab Club. BPAC also organized author conferences, as well as educational forums on applying for government positions.
BPAC’s 2022 Lunar New Year Festival, which included the first Belmont Center Lion Dance among its activities, was BPAC’s first live event.
For more information, visit www.BelmontPAC.org or email [email protected].
