Coachella. Growing up, senior Bhajneek Anand said he knew little of this annual music concert venue held since 1999 in Indio, Riverside County.

But all of that changed for Anand last year in April.

A junior at the time, he said he not only got the chance to go for free to watch such acts as K-pop’s Blackpink, Hip hop duo’s $uicideboy$ and rapper The Kid LAROI, but he also performed on one of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s stages on Saturdays, April 15 and 22.

“Attending Coachella was fun,” the senior said. “There were a lot of celebrities that we got to see, but that wasn’t the highlight I was looking forward to.” 

Anand said he and his younger brother, then-freshman Manveer, were part of a group of 20 hand-picked dancers from the dance academy, Got Bhangra. The team had the opportunity as background dancers to join Indian singer and songwriter Diljit Dosanjh on the Sahara stage on those two April Saturdays.

Known as a popular singer and actor from India and a Punjabi artist, Dosanjh became the first Indian musician to perform at Coachella, making the Anand brothers a part of a historic event for their culture.

“My mom and my dad are both into Diljit and when I was younger, I’d listen to his songs; I’d keep listening to him over the years on YouTube,” Bhajneek Anand said. “He’s like the Drake of our community.”

HOW DID IT ALL START?

In 2016, the brothers performed for their uncle’s wedding in India, and after returning to the U.S., they started taking professional classes, Manveer Anand said.

“The love for the art [inspires me to dance] and how it brings us back to our culture and our identity,” Manveer Anand said. “It’s also the smile on other people’s faces when you build a set and dance well.”

Another uncle, Guransh Singh, noticed their newfound interest and introduced them to Got Bhangra, where they danced from August 2019 to December before COVID-19, resuming August 2021 after the pandemic.

Based in Southern California, the Anand brothers’ dance academy performs bhangra, a folk dance from Punjab, a region in northern India. Traditionally performed by farmers during harvest season, the dance consists of a variety of kicks, leaps and bends of the body, according to Britannica.com.

The academy performed with Dosanjh at his Los Angeles concert the year before on July 27, Bhajneek Anand said.

At the beginning of March 2023, the connection compelled the artist to contact Got Bhangra’s manager, who then picked out the best dancers in the group based on their stamina, stage presence and dance form, the senior said.

To his disbelief, the older Anand brother said he and Manveer Anand ended up being among the dancers selected to perform with Dosanjh. When his family and friends found out, the senior said they couldn’t believe it and felt happy for him.

“I kind of thought it was a joke, and then I was really hyped,” Bhajneek Anand said.

After the artist finalized his team members, the chosen dancers had 20-30 days to choreograph and practice before the two performance dates, he said.

The performers met twice weekly, practicing without Dosanjh for two-three hours to prepare for Coachella, the senior said. The day before their first show, the performers met for one final practice.

“I got home that night at I think 2 or 3 a.m. [the next day], and then I had to wake up again at 4 a.m. because we had to leave for the show,” the older Anand brother said. “The night before, we all got … like two hours of sleep.”

Despite the lack of sleep, Bhajneek Anand said he was determined to represent his culture well on the Coachella stage. 

THE DAY OF THE HISTORIC MOMENT

As the music started, Dosanjh stepped onto the front of the stage, the senior said he felt nervous as he and his fellow dancers started moving to the beat. In all, they performed 10 out of 20 of Dosanjh’s songs, including “G.O.A.T,” “Clash,” “Lemonade,” “Peaches,” “Vibe” and “Patiala Peg,” turning and swaying their hands behind the main artist while Dosanjh sang, the senior said.

“The environment was very exhilarating and very exciting,” Bhajneek Anand said. “It was crazy — a completely different atmosphere because you would see people of all different races and cultures and backgrounds together listening to a very unique type of music.”

At the end of their performance, the senior said he and the dancers took a team photo and spent the rest of the day catching other acts at the festival.

“I kind of told everyone, ‘Congrats,’” Bhajneek Anand said, “And they said, ‘We did it,’ like as a team.”

Most people knew of such a historic moment this was for Punjabi culture and were shocked because of it, the senior said.

“I felt proud for my nephew. I truly felt he had done something phenomenal that was also historic,” Singh said in reaction to the brothers’ performance. “Means a lot to the family!”

Even during the second weekend, the senior said he couldn’t believe he could perform again, as his hypothetical goal to dance with someone famous came true.

“The dream wasn’t meeting him; it was more wanting to dance with him,” he said. “Dancing next to him was the dream in itself.”

The audience at Coachella also participated in the historic event, as they experienced what the Anand brothers’ culture was like. 

“[The crowd’s response] made me feel proud of what I was showcasing onstage and proud to put our culture onstage for everyone to see,” Manveer Anand said.

MORE DANCING POST-COACHELLA

The older Anand brother said he has continued to pursue dance, competing in other events with different dance teams and even appearing as a backup dancer for Dosanjh’s music video, “Case,” which premiered on YouTube on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

“At the music video shoot, I talked to [Dosanjh]; I kind of asked him in my language, ‘Do you remember me from Coachella?’ the senior said. “And he was like, ‘How could I forget?’”

Despite such recent success, the older Anand brother said he doesn’t plan to make a living out of it. Instead, it will remain as a hobby, as he wants to pursue a career related to business.

As of Saturday, May 11, the senior said he hasn’t committed to any colleges yet, though he’s considering a major in economics at the University of California, Davis. 

The dancer said he’s interested in making his culture more well-known and that the two Coachella performances were ways to let people know who he is and where he’s from. His inspiration to keep dancing comes from a desire for others to learn about his culture.

“A lot of people don’t know what Punjabi culture is, or who Punjabis are,” Bhajneek Anand said. “Dancing keeps me tight with my culture, my language and my heritage.”