thumb|Dandiya Raas dance by children during Navratri in Bangalore
Raas or Dandiya Raas is the socio-religious folk dance originating from Indian state of Gujarat and popularly performed in the festival of Navaratri. The etymology of Dandiya-Raas is in Sanskrit.</blockquote>
Etymology
thumb|Dandiya
The word "Raas" comes from the Sanskrit word "Rasa", an aesthetic Indian concept related to emotions and feelings. Kapila Vatsyayan argued that the aesthetic theory of the Rasa gives the underlying unity to the Indian arts.
Forms
Dandiya Raas, Gopgunthan Solanga Raas and Mer Dandiya Raas are the popular forms of Raas. In Saurashtra, Raas is performed by the men and the dance performed by women is called as Raasda. Element of dance is more prominent in the Raas while music is more prominent in Raasda.
Collegiate Garba-Raas
Garba-Raas, more commonly known as Raas, is a combination dance style consisting of mainly Dandiya-Raas and some Garba. Garba-Raas emerged as a competitive dance style due to the efforts of the Federation of Gujarati Associations of North America (FOGNA). The Garba-Raas competitive dance style was further developed in the early 2000s by first generation Indian-American college students. Furthermore, a cohesive national organization for Garba-Raas was established in 2009 called Raas All-stars (RAS). As of 2023, the organization consists of almost 50 actively competing collegiate Garba-Raas teams nationwide, out of a total of 66 recorded teams.
Competitive Garba-Raas
Garba-Raas is traditionally a recreational social dance form that is done in large groups. Bid competitions are required to have at minimum five judges (two Choreography, two Execution and one Artistic Element) but ideally have more than one judge per category, with the highest number of judges being nine per panel (three per category). The theme of the competing team's performance is assessed, including the creativity of the theme and the execution in regards to the set, props and various gimmicks a team may perform. The rubric includes prompts such as: "Does the theme incorporation seem to naturally fit with the team's performance without taking away from the dance or does it seem forced?" Additionally, music is assessed regarding its tempo, rhythm and appeal within the performance. Historically, thematic judging is more nuanced than other elements because of personal opinions a judge or elder members of the Garba-Raas community may have.
Choreography is judged via a similar rubric, however the judges for this element are required to have significant experience and are vetted properly by the RAS Executive Board prior to being given the position.