Last Saturday, 1,100 eager fans flocked to the Strand Theatre, cheering at a volume comparable to major sporting events. They were there to watch nine Bollywood fusion dance teams, many of which flew in from across the country to compete for a $5,000 prize.

The 16th annual South Asian Showdown is the only Bollywood fusion dance competition in New England. Founder Rohit Bhambi created the competition because he noticed a lack of South Asian cultural events in his community. But over the last 16 years, the Showdown has become massive in its own right.

“There wasn’t a Bollywood scene in Boston back then. We basically created it through this competition,” Bhambi said in an interview with The Beacon.

The nine competing teams this year represent schools all across the country, including Washington University’s Chaahat, University of Connecticut’s Surya, and New York University’s Dillagi. This was also the first year with Canadian representation, from the University of British Columbia’s Junoon.

“You’re not going to see Bollywood fusion dance at this caliber anywhere else in New England,” Bhambi said.

Bollywood fusion is a loose category of dance styles similar to those in Bollywood musicals, combined with different global dance styles, including contemporary, hip hop, ballet, and Latin. Performances, which last around 10 minutes, are theatrical and often encourage costume changes, props, and electronic backgrounds.

Performances revolve around a theme, usually derived from the plots of popular Hollywood or Bollywood movies. At this year’s competition, some of the themes included the movie “Rio,” Stephen King’s “It,” and the young adult franchise “Divergent.”

The first place prize was won by the University of California, Irvine’s Zamana, whose routine was based on SIX: The Musical, adapting the story of King Henry VIII’s six wives and their famous deaths.

The audience award went to Desi Dhamaka from King High School in Tampa. Their performance was based on an original story of two sisters searching for El Dorado, as greed divides them along the way.

“My expectation is always quite lofty: I want to sell out the Strand. We were pretty close to that this year,” Bhambi said. “The teams put on a great show, and the audience was nice and loud—my expectations were definitely met.”

South Asian Showdown was not Bhambi’s first time successfully creating a cultural event. Bhambi at Boston University and his brother Amit at Northeastern University were rival captains of teams specializing in Bhangra, an Indian folk dance style,when they decided to create a way to dance together.

The brothers founded Boston Bhangra in 2000, an event where dancers compete in the Bhangra style. With these two events under their belt, Bhambi and his brother eventually founded South Asian Nation, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving South Asian culture in the Greater Boston area.

Prior to the South Asian Showdown competition, Bhambi held a mixer for dancers from different teams to meet one another. Additionally, an after party was held at the Middle East nightclub for dancers to celebrate their victory together. Bhambi believes community-building events like these are just as essential as the competition itself.

“Our events are not just focused on South Asians—we really want and expect people from other cultures to come out,” Bhambi said. “Everyone’s gonna enjoy it, because it’s very upbeat and it’s a lot of fun to watch. If they want to see something that will keep them moving, these events are no-brainers.”