Decades-long friendship leads to Sask. ladies recording video with Yukon viral bhangra dancing sensation | CBC News

Pandher is an instructor and bhangra dancer whose dancing videos have gone viral online. 

Jan Klippert is one of nine friends who all graduated together from Yorkton Regional High School in 1969. Yorkton, Sask., is about 170 kilometres northeast of Regina.

Klippert now lives in Whitehorse and invited the other eight women up to visit. She decided to surprise them with an instructional class at Pandher’s place.

She told them she was taking them to a bush party. When her friends saw Pandher they couldn’t contain their excitement. 

“It was just laughter and squeals of joy and excitement. They were just beyond themselves,” said Klippert.

Long lasting friendship

After graduating together in 1969, the group reunited at a high school reunion 21 years later. 

The women enjoyed seeing each other and decided they wanted to keep doing so. For 20 years the group, now all in their 70s, have continued to get together every other September. 

Barb Chapman said that even if it has been years since they last connected, when they meet up it doesn’t feel like much time has passed.

“Everybody is just awesome,” Chapman said. “It’s a lot of talking, a lot of laughing, and a few tears.”

Dancing with Pandher 

Pandher said meeting the women was an amazing experience for him. 

“I did not expect they would be so excited, so happy, so joyful, just by seeing those smiles on their faces, excitement in their hearts, it just made my day,” he said. 

Pandher went on to create a bhangra video with the group. He instructed them on how to do different dance moves, breaking them down into smaller instructional pieces to make it easier to understand. He also modified the dance a bit to make it easy to follow along with. 

“I think they did a pretty great job,” he said. 

Pandher said the women were able to follow along well, and when they were dancing it was a happy moment. 

Special bonds

Klippert said it was really special for her and her crew to have this dancing experience. 

“The girls were ecstatic, and definitely it was a mental stimulation, some physical workout for us,” she said. 

She said it was an amazing event, and that she’s glad Gurdeep welcomed the group into his yard. 

Gurdeep said he felt the value of friendship when he met the women. He said it was quite powerful and moving for him to celebrate their special bond through the use of dance.

Shona Hudson, another member of the group, said getting together ‘never gets old.’ She said when the group reconnects they can talk about anything from politics to personal issues. 

“We can say anything to each other and everybody understands each other. It’s hard to explain, but I know we have something special,” she said. 

The group plans to connect again two years from now in Yorkton.