More than a dozen Carnegie Mellon University students have been staying up nights into the early morning, sweating over a centuries-old tradition.

But the growing popularity of bhangra has transformed the South Asian style of music and dance into a melange that incorporates hip-hop and reggae into its Punjabi origins.

The CMU students have organized the region's first bhangra competition, set for Nov. 3-4 at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. Called "Bhangra in the Burg," it will feature 10 bhangra teams from colleges and the Pittsburgh area competing for $5,250 in cash while raising money for the Homeless Children's Education Fund of Allegheny County.

"Bhagra's been pretty popular in Pittsburgh for a long time," said Pooja Godbole, the CMU sophomore who's coordinating "Bhangra in the Burb."

"It's a very energetic, lively dance. It's almost like the Indian version of hip hop."

Ms. Godbole's interest in bhangra, like many other Pittsburgh residents, had its roots at the Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville, where pre-teens from the area met and participated in cultural performances. A native of Upper St. Clair, she ultimately began dancing bhangra at the Pittsburgh Folk Festival.

That's how she met Shiv Dua, now a senior at Emory University in Atlanta and captain of Three Rivers Bhangra, a team made up of students still in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Mr. Dua, a graduate of Shadyside Academy, has been dancing bhangra since he was 12. Many of his friends are now at schools up and down the East coast, including Georgetown, Columbia and New York universities. The captains of the bhangra teams at those schools are all from the Pittsburgh area, he said.

"The Indian community here is not necessarily huge but it's very well-knit," said Mr. Dua, 21. "It seems to be the right time now for bhangra to grow. It's reaching its apex around the nation."

Mr. Dua's team is made up of between 13 and 15 active members. The team's routine will include traditional bhangra elements but also a number of modern touches, including incorporating a Geico car insurance commercial into the performance.

Despite bhangra's modern permutations, including intricate choreography and hip-hop rhythms, it remains a very traditional dance, hearkening back to its origins in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.

Some say it began during the time of Alexander the Great around 300 B.C.; others say its beginnings are from the mid-1400s when Punjabi wheat farmers danced during spring harvest celebrations.

For the upcoming competition, teams' male and female dancers will wear colorful costumes while dancing to both taped music and live traditional instruments. The CMU men's and women's teams have been practicing six hours a week, but that will ramp up to three hours a day in the week leading up to the competition.

In order to find large enough space to practice, the CMU teams have been practicing from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the campus' Rangos Hall. On Tuesday, Kunal Desai, captain of the CMU men's team, was sweating with his 13 teammates through routine after routine.

Mr. Desai, 19, a sophomore, said he has been dancing bhangra since he was a 10-year-old growing up in the Findlay area. He played golf, tennis and ultimate Frisbee in high school, but didn't continue them in college. Instead, he dances bhangra for its "rhythm, the commitment and the stamina, which is something I don't have enough of right now," he laughed.

"It's really fast but it's a really great workout," he said.

He and Smita Kumar, a 19-year-old sophomore who captains the CMU women's team, began developing their choreography in September.

"Our goal was to preserve the Punjabi tradition and at the same time bring unique choreography and new steps to the dances," said Ms. Kumar, of Butler. "It's nerve-racking, but things are definitely getting done."

College teams from NYU, Rutgers, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, Drexel, and Northeastern will be among those competing. A panel of three judges will determine the winning team after the Saturday, Nov. 3 competition concludes. The first-place prize is $3,000.

"Bhangra in the Burg" is part of CMU's International Festival.

For ticket information, contact www.bhangraintheburgh.com.