The Maintenance Shop was filled with bass-thumping, hip-shaking music Tuesday night when the Indian Students’ Association performed a dance for members of the ISU community.

The organization, which is currently comprises more than 200 members, decided on this performance early last week.

The dance was first performed by the organization last April for Malaysian Night and carries musical beats similar to those found in hip-hop songs.

“Many of the dances performed are a combination of hip-hop music and Indian medley,” said Ankit Patel, sophomore in computer engineering and Web developer for ISA.

When the dance was first performed last April, the dancers practiced for about six to eight hours for two weekends. But due to the late notice of this performance, the dancers only practiced for three hours the last two days.

The dancers, Isha Labhasetwar, sophomore in chemical engineering, and Nidhi Shah, freshman in biochemistry, danced for approximately 10 minutes to a remix of three Indian songs. Afterwards, they encouraged the crowd to come up on stage and learn some of the moves.

Patel said he hopes that events such as these will continue throughout the semester and that more people will become active in ISA.

“I hope that students become more diverse, and will get involved in more cultural activities,” Patel said.

Members of the audience were excited to see music so similar to what they listen to be danced to with such complex moves.

“It was really surprising – I didn’t know those dances were part of the culture,” said Benneh Massaquoi, freshman in pre-landscape architecture.

Members of ISA said they hoped that as a result of this performance, people will become interested in learning about cultures other than their own.

“[We hope] to spread the culture . so people know the type of culture we have and the dances we do,” said Swati Narayan, freshman in biology and member of ISA.

In addition to smaller events, ISA has also performed in and conducted several events including Diwali Nite, Independence Day festivities, Dandya Nite and has taken part in international events on campus such as International Week, and Global Food Festival, according to its Web site.

ISA’s mission is to “foster a sense of camaraderie, and to positively impact the quality of all students’ experiences as well as those of the members of the larger university community by creating opportunities to appreciate and understand the rich cultural heritage of India,” according to its Web site.