The unique sound of beating dhol drums offered a new cultural experience for those watching performances of Bhangra at this weekend's Bhangra Resurrection.

More than 300 people got a taste of the traditional North Indian folk dance at the LateNight Penn State event, held at Alumni Hall on Friday.

Jasmeet Bansal, president of the Sikh Student Association and Bhangra Resurrection event coordinator, said Bhangra is popular in India.

"It's very fast type of dance and music," Bansal said. "People sing and dance to it during celebration."

Bhangra originated in the region of Punjab between North India and Pakistan. It is extremely popular among young people around the world, especially in India and the United Kingdom.

"It's more universal because people who don't understand the language can still dance to the beats," Bansal said. "Many people not of Indian decent were dancing."

There were two Bhangra performances by Penn State International Dance Ensemble (PSIDE) and the Penn State Bhangra dance team.

Eliezer Moreta, class of 2006, performed with other members of PSIDE at the Bhangra Resurrection.

"We do different dances from different cultures, and we get someone from that culture to teach us," Moreta said.

He said their choreographed performance was like the "Indian version of hip-hop."

"It's very upbeat and very alive," he said. "It's just very hyped."

Chris Romani (junior-psychology and crime, law and justice) and his friend Amanda Hall (junior-psychology) said they attended the event to experience a different culture.

"I didn't really think I'd have a good time but I totally am," Romani said. "We didn't know what we were going to do."

Romani said they did not originally plan to attend the Bhangra Resurrection that night but were glad they decided to go.

Both said they dressed in traditional Desi style attire with the help of a few of their Indian friends.

"It's different from what we usually do," Hall said. "It's unique."