With dance numbers, a two-act play and two performances by talented student band The Amitabhs, there was something for everyone to enjoy at Desi Dhamaka 2009.

The seventh annual South Asian student talent show was held Saturday in Meany Hall and was put together by the Indian Student Association, Pakistani Student Association and South Asian Student Association, as well as fraternity Sigma Beta Rho.

With Bollywood-style music and costumes, the performers dazzled as they moved to the beat. Each song and dance act was festive, energetic and required immense stamina — many acts lasted almost eight minutes.

One act was particularly impressive: the bhangra performance, put on by the Gajjde Punjabi (Bhangra UW) club. Bhangra is a traditional form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It began as a farmers’ folk dance to celebrate the coming of spring, or “vaisakhi,” but is today popularized in pop music, movie soundtracks and, of course, Bollywood. The student performers, clad in multicolored costumes with the university’s “W” logo on their backs, gave a bhangra performance to remember.

The Pakistani Student Association’s skit, “I’ll Be Your Desi Girl,” told the story of a Pakistani mother struggling to cope with her Americanized son’s lifestyle choices and American girlfriend. In the skit, the trio travel to Pakistan for the summer, where the mother and her friend hatch a plan to try and find her son a Pakistani wife. Things don’t quite go as planned, however, and the play takes an unexpected turn.

The transition between acts was seamless, helped in part by the show’s three emcees, Alok Mistry, Ronak Patel and Rakendu Shukla,

who entertained the audience with their own impromptu songs, jokes and dance numbers.

Other standout acts included the dance groups Desi Ranis, Sherni Di Shaan, Zisha and Dheem Ta Dare. The final act, the Fusion Dance Team, ended the show perfectly — a hybrid performance of bhangra and hip-hop, with costume changes and strobe lights. The high-energy performance brought many audience members to their feet, dancing in their seats.

Reach columnist Katie Paff at arts@dailyuw.com.