Passage to India

The hypercharged bhangra beat has them sweating to the dholis.

Camper English

What’s bringing urban club kids and middle-aged Indian immigrants together onto sweaty dance floors, gleefully stomping their feet and raising their arms in unison? Bhangra, a hip-hop reincarnation of traditional Indian music. Its roots lie in a 15th-century Punjabi folk music and harvest celebration dance, both of which are still popular today (think Monsoon Wedding), but the nightclub version layers Punjabi lyrics and the up-tempo beat of a two-sided dhol drum over a backdrop of top-40 rap, electronica, and even reggae.

At the aptly named Nonstop Bhangra party at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop, DJs alternate classic with cutting-edge tracks, while guest musicians join in on the dhol drums and other classic Indian instruments. There, 20-something indie rockers learn traditional dance moves and play air sitar alongside die-hards from the South Bay nostalgic for home.

Rickshaw Stop, Nonstop Bhangra party
10:40 p.m.

THE LOOK
Traditional and funked-up saris or plain old jeans and T-shirts.

THE POUR
Old pros down tequila shots; everyone else rehydrates with water.

THE MOVES
Aerobic-paced side stepping synchronized with hands up in the air.

GET SCHOOLED
Newbies arrive early for a bhangra dancing crash course.

HOMEWORK
As part of the latest dance class fad, NSB founder Vicki Virk teaches at studios around the Bay.

Third Saturdays, Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St., S.F., 415-861-2011

Elsewhere

The scene’s most popular promoters introduce bhangra to young, bouncy clubbers and speaker humpers at Dhamaal. Every other month, Club Six, 60 sixth St., S.F., 415-863-1221.

Hula-hoopin’ Burning Man types groove to tribal and bhangra beats under the gaze of an electric Buddha at the rave-esque Groove Garden. First Saturdays, 2398 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Fairfax, 415-596-2081.

Sugary pop songs from Bollywood movies get a techno makeover, drawing a young South Asian crowd at Avalon’s Bollywood Nights. First Saturdays, 777 Lawrence Expwy., Santa Clara, 408-241-0777.