Kaotix
Multicultural Dance Group Struggles For Recognition
A self-described “ragtag” bunch, Kaotix dance crew is a group of MU students that practices and performs modern interpretations of South Asian dance. The group welcomes anyone interested, regardless of ethnicity or prior experience. Sapna Khatri, the group’s founder, is applying for Kaotix’s official student organization status, but until then, Khatri and other longtime members have had to overcome limited publicity to recruit new dancers.
By Hudson Kyle
The dancers arrived in groups of two or three, straggling in every few minutes.
They gathered in clusters and talked amongst themselves as they piled coats in the corners of the room. Most of the men wore athletic shorts, hoodies and tennis shoes. The women dressed in leggings and short-sleeved shirts. Their chatter grew to a sustained murmur, and some stretched their legs as they gathered in the center of the room.
Sapna Khatri, the group choreographer, checked her phone one last time before putting it down.
“Okay, let’s dance!”
“A ragtag group of people”
Kaotix (kay-AH’-tiks) is a group of MU students that practices and performs modern interpretations of South Asian dance at various venues around campus.
The members of Kaotix are a “ragtag” bunch, said Evan Townsend, an MU junior who has been involved since the group formed about two years ago. Kaotix’s membership is multicultural and varies in experience.
Townsend is not of South Asian descent and, until he joined Kaotix, had limited dance experience. Khatri, the group’s founder and current leader, encouraged him, and other members, to explore Indian music, dress and language.
Without promotion from MU, Khatri and Kaotix’s other longtime members have been left to recruit new dancers on their own: a task that is both time-consuming and repetitive.
Khatri is currently in the process of applying for Kaotix’s official student organization status. If the group is approved, she said their diversity will represent the university accurately.
“[Mizzou is] a place where you have people come in from all places around the globe. Kaotix definitely feels as though it’s important to represent that diversity on the Mizzou campus,” Khatri said. “It helps showcase what Mizzou is really like.”
After almost two hours of practice, the room reached a steady roar. But the contemporary Indian music blaring on loop at the front of the room muffled the conversation and laughter.
Gradually, everyone fell to talking. Some sat on the tables or the floor. Others absently mimed sections of their routine.
After a few moments, the dancers bundled back up and squeezed through the door in a thick mob. Steeling themselves to confront the November cold, they walked towards their first dress rehearsal for their biggest performance of the year.
“Sapna was a part of the South Asian Student Association, and she was trying to get a group together to dance for International Night my freshman year,” Townsend said. “I decided to give it a try and really enjoyed it.”
MU sophomore Sawyer Wade, who began breakdancing in high school, quickly found that his experience didn’t completely prepare him for the Indian-style dances Kaotix performs.
“Doing Indian dance is totally different from what I do,” Wade said. “I was learning along the way with other people.”
Kaotix has built a chemistry that relies on an open-minded approach from all members, regardless of ethnicity.
“Something that I wasn’t expecting was the way that people who didn’t speak Hindi came in and were willing to dance to [our] songs,” Khatri said. “The guys who had no idea what the lyrics were all tried to lip-sync from day one.”
Lack of Recognition
Because MU does not officially recognize Kaotix as a student organization, the group is prevented from advertising around campus through posters and flyers. Kaotix must go through the Cultural Association of India, a recognized organization, to advertise. These publicity issues have led to low recruitment.
