A man who is spreading happiness across Canada through his cool cultural dancing videos is overjoyed by the response of his cross-county neighbours.

The fast-paced cultural dance that originated on farmers' fields called Bhangra sticks out against Gurdeep Pandher's snowy Yukon background, but that is exactly the point. He dances to spread happiness, but also to inspire cross-cultural relationships, including by dancing with people such as an Indigenous chief and Celtic dancers.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, I started making videos to spread joy and positivity across Canada and beyond," Pandher says. "I felt at that time I needed to do something to contribute positivity."

The viral dancer with more than 24,200 Tiktok followers and 17,600 YouTube subscribers began filming his Bhangra moves close to 10 years ago in the cold territory that he calls home for friends and family. 

"The snow actually created a wonderful emolument in my dancing because my dance is high energy dance, it requires a lot of stamina," he says. "With white snow and with this cold weather it created this very beautiful symbol: high-energy dance and snow and cold."

His desire to spread positivity through his fancy footwork spread like wildfire in the past two years. On Tuesday, he posted a video about this, racking up more than 77,000 views in less than 24 hours.

@gurdeep.pandher #positivity #fyp #tiktok ♬ original sound - Gurdeep Pandher

"It made me really, really happy that the work that I have been publishing on social media is creating a positive impact."

Ten years ago Pandher found himself on a cross-Canada tour, exploring what his country has to offer. During his travels, Pandher found himself in the area of Kwanlin Dün First Nation (Whitehorse), Yukon. 

"When I came to the Yukon I was really touched by the natural beauty of the territory and the community sense there. On the very first day of my arrival, I started knowing people. We ended up having a gathering."

Now, Pandher's community stretches across Canada.

"I am feeling very touched and I feel the love too," Pandher says, saying he gets kind letters and messages from people who have seen his videos. "The thing is that a social media post, even one post, is creating an impact on other people."

Pandher has used dance to connect with people of different cultures.

"I dance to spread positivity and also to spread cross-cultural bridges, promote cross-cultural bridges in our country and our communities," Pandher says. "I would say love your neighbour, love your community, love everyone."

The dancer is hoping to go on tour in May. He will be making stops across Canada, including in Winnipeg.