Bhangra dancer from Yukon travels to northern Ontario to spread joy

Gurdeep Pandher arrived in Canada 17 years ago from Punjab, India. He became a social media sensation during the Covid-19 pandemic by bringing joy to his thousands of followers with his Bhangra dancing in natural settings.

It all started where he now calls home in Yukon Territory.

“I became very motivated when pandemic started so at the time there was a lot of sadness in our country and everywhere and people were looking for ways to find joy,” said Pandher.

“So I decided I could create some joy, some happiness by sharing this gift of dance and also spreading messages of joy and positivity to social media."

Last summer he launched his country-wide tour to build cross-cultural bridges by meeting with Canadians in person. It began on the east coast and this summer, he's in Ontario.

“When you talk to people you learn how wonderful they are cause sometimes we stay in our own zones, in our own boundaries or traps with the information we sourced from some rumours, some other sources but that information may be incorrect," said Pandher.

He's recently found his way to northeastern Ontario and so far has visited: North Bay and Moose Factory Island.

“It was wonderful to see that how two cultures from two different part of the world, they can connect and they can form friendships," said Pandher.

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While in Timmins, he visited the Gurdwara and said it's heart-warming to find a community of Sikhs in a remote location.

His new friends told CTV News they were happy to meet him.

"A person who promotes our culture it’s automatically you love that person," said Jaskaran Singh, a Timmins resident.

He also chatted with people at Gillies Lake Conservation Area from who he learned about the Hollinger open pit lookout and that was where he felt the desire to dance.

“We need more joy, we need more positivity, we need more hope,” said Pandher.

“Also we need to understand each other a lot more so that when we understand each other more that also creates joy."

Pandher said he feels polarization in many places he visits and that's why he said he'll continue his tour of joy, hope and positivity. His next stops are Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

@gurdeep.pandher #canada ♬ original sound - Gurdeep Pandher