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Yukon dancing sensation back in town with virtual class at Uptown

A Yukoner whose videos of dancing in the snow in front of his remote cabin have enthralled home-bound internet users for the past year is back on Vancouver Island and conducting a virtual class today at Uptown shopping centre.
Pedro Arrais
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Yukon-based internet sensation Gurdeep Pandher, centre, does an impromptu dance in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel on Thursday, joined by passersby, from left, Bal Sidhu and son Jordan, Colin McDougall and Pat La Breche. ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST

A Yukoner whose videos of dancing in the snow in front of his remote cabin have enthralled home-bound internet users for the past year is back on Vancouver Island and conducting a virtual class today at Uptown shopping centre.

Pre-pandemic, Gurdeep ­Pandher was doing contract work as an IT specialist for the Yukon government and teaching dancing on the side.

Then ­videos of him joyfully dancing the bhangra, a traditional dance in the Punjab region of India, went viral, seeming to resonate with people stuck at home during the pandemic.

“It’s like energy that works both ways — I send out joy and positive energy and the people, in turn, send it back to me,” said 43-year-old Pandher in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel, where he was shooting a video on Thursday.

Now spreading joy, as he puts it, is his new job, with major ­corporations paying him to dance and give their employees a motivational speech.

“It’s like they, post-pandemic, understand the value of joy and good vibes at the workplace,” said Pandher, who was born in the Punjab and moved to the Yukon nine years ago.

Ever since his breakout video, his popularity has grown exponentially.

He estimates he now has about 300,000 followers on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Three-quarters of them are from Canada.

He produces at least one new video a day, dancing wherever he is visiting. He uses up to three cameras on tripods or gets a friend to help record a session accompanied by music on a wireless speaker.

Once the music starts and he flings his arms up and hops from foot to foot, people stop to watch — or join in.

“This is what it is all about,” said Colin McDougall from Nanaimo, who joined in at the Empress.

“It feels good to stir it up.”

Others squealed with pleasure as they recognized Pandher and dragged their children to join in.

“It’s nice to see so many people just happy,” said Bal Sidhu. “I have been following him [on social media] and I think it’s great that he shares the culture.”

Total strangers were happy to kick up their heels with Pandher in public.

“It’s inspiring that he just wants to spread joy,” said Pat La Breche, who was visiting from North Vancouver.

This was Pandher’s third visit to Victoria, with the first one in 2019 to teach his moves to members of the armed forces at CFB Esquimalt. He returned last year, travelling to Tofino and stopping in communities along the way, an itinerary he plans to repeat this weekend.

His dance class today is virtual, but he is open to people joining in the background if they like.

His regular classes are ­pay-what-you-can, with 25 per cent of the proceeds donated to charities that offer COVID-19 relief and mental-health programs.

While he won’t say if his new career pays as much as his old one, he maintains the universe is calling him to follow this path.

“It’s important to create connections and recognize the importance of cross-cultural bridges,” said Pandher.

Today’s dance lesson starts at noon at the Uptown street mural.

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