By Grace Gorsline
Staff Writer
Jersey Jalwa, a Bollywood fusion dance competition between teams from different schools across the nation, is an outlet for culture to be shared and celebrated on the College’s campus. Run by the College’s Indian Student Association, this year’s competition was hype and full of surprises.
“We are proud to host JJ annually, making 2026 the ninth annual competition, which is part of greater network of collegiate Bollywood fusion dance competitions called Desi Dance network,” said Meera Bhatt, 2025 and 2026 director of Jersey Jalwa.
Eight teams competed, including: Temple Agni, Tulane Jazbaa, VCU Ishaara, SBU Junoon, UT Punjabbawockeez, Queen City Isharee, Philly Maza and JHU Zinda. The judges included Rahul Birewar, Pranav Patel and Harsh Agarwal, all of whom were experienced, professional dancers and choreographers who were passionate about every dance.
The College’s’s two exhibition teams, TCNJ Jiva and TCNJ Saathiya, performed as well. The Jiva team took a more traditional approach with their dance, and told a beautiful story of a woman escaping a relationship to find herself. The music that came with it was impactful, filled with passion, energy and light. The love for dance was palpable throughout the stage.
Among those performers, one that stood out especially was first-year Jiva member, but long time Bharatanatyam dancer, Savinaya Rajagopal, a freshman psychology major. Jersey Jalwa has added to her experience at the College and her love for dance. She was a bit nervous stepping back into dance, but was very quickly embraced by the Jiva community.
“Jersey Jalwa gave us the chance to perform, collaborate, and celebrate our love for dance and culture together. Being part of this team has made my TCNJ experience full and meaningful, and it has reminded me why I fell in love with dance in the first place,” she said.
The winners of the competition from first to third were Ishaara at VCU, Queen City Isharee and Philly Maza. VCU’s performance was a retelling of the “Coraline” story and took on a Bollypop style. What made their dance stand out was the contrast between Coraline’s real world and the “button” world.
There was a shift in movement, mood and energy with each transition between worlds that was so beautifully executed and choreographed by the team. The makeup, outfits and color contrast all played a part in making the story told through dance more emotional and exciting for viewers.
Second place team Queen City Isharee told the story of “Hotel California” in their performance and how it was haunted by a “soul keeper” who needed to collect one more human soul to be freed from the hotel. The backdrop music included artists like The Weeknd, and of course, Don Henley, the singer of “Hotel California.”
Due to the story’s Halloween-esque nature and spooky vibe, several of the dances were more rigid and sharp to evoke a bit of fear within the audience to give them the full effect. It was bone-chilling for the viewers as the synchronization was on point.
Philly Maza’s team used a combination of South Asian and Western styles to tell the riveting story of a missing person’s case. Their dance, “The Great Vanishing Circus,” featured music from artists like Billie Eilish and Khalid. Through a mixture of dancing and acting from the performers, the story kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
Despite not placing within the top three, Temple Agni’s performance was stunning. It was based on “Charlie’s Angels” and the performers were filled with pure passion. There was a unique spark to their dance that ignited a sense of heroism within each viewer and dancer.
There was so much light and electricity through each story that charged viewers with passion and admiration for the performers. The finale of the whole competition did not disappoint either as the judge, Harsh Agarwal proposed to his girlfriend in front of the entire crowd. She said yes!
Jersey Jalwa was not an event to be missed. It was filled with passion, emotion and intricacy, and most of all lively competition.
“Given that TCNJ and most universities are [predominantly white institutions] we are thankful for the opportunity to host a large-scale event where we can share our culture and the universal art form of dance with the campus and surrounding community,” Bhatt said
