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5
SATURDAY
Born in India as dance music accompanying harvest celebrations, bhangra has rapidly transformed over the yearsfirst into wedding music incorporating violin and tabla, and then into a dance-club genre in which house, hiphop, and reggae rhythms, as well as Western-style dancing, play as big a part as high-pitched vocals and now-sampled sitar and strings. While the older forms are still occasionally heard, anticipate more of the new at the fourth annual “Bhangra Blowout.” This intercollegiate dance competition features teams from 10 East Coast universities, including last year’s champs, Harvard. The schools’ hybrids of South Asian, African, and American movement will be judged, à la ice skating, on both artistic and technical merit. At 7 p.m. at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. $7. (202) 994-6800; includes an after-show party with four bhangra DJs at 9:30 p.m. at the Sphinx Club, 1315 K St. NW. $12. (202) 337-2523. (Steve Kiviat)