Legends + Shanti Bhavan

Who We Are

Desi Dance Network (DDN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together South Asian artists from around the nation. Through the intersection of performances, arts, education, and civic engagement, DDN seeks to empower South Asian artists by creating and developing safe spaces for artistic and creative growth, while building an empowering community within the collegiate and high school dance circuits.

DDN is proud to host the second annual Legends Bollywood Dance Championship in the Bay Area, CA on April 14th, 2018. Legends is currently the only national Bollywood dance championship that exists, created by dancers for dancers. From 14 partner competitions across the nation, the top 9 to 12 teams will be chosen to compete at nationals, bringing together over 300 artists!

Legends x Shanti Bhavan

Legends Bollywood Dance Championship is proud to take on a new initiative this year as a part of our organization. We acknowledge the freedom our education has provided us with and we hope to use our art, our competition, and our passion for South Asian culture to pass forward our good fortune to those who need it most. This year, we will be supporting Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project, an innovative school in South India that is challenging the status quo by providing a world-class education, completely free of cost, to children from India’s lowest socioeconomic communities. Children from Shanti Bhavan often come from “untouchable” communities where their families are victims of discrimination and social segregation, however the holistic education that each Shanti Bhavan student receives sets them up to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their communities.

Graduates of Shanti Bhavan have gone on to attend top universities in India and now work at elite multi-national corporations, often earning more in their first few years than their parents have in a lifetime. Given the success Shanti Bhavan has generated over the past 20 years, they are ready to spread the impact of their work and open their second school. The new school will be located in South India and will double the intake of students, allowing even more families to be relieved of poverty.

Legends is committed to the cause of helping Shanti Bhavan achieve this goal. 100% of our profits will be donated to Shanti Bhavan, and through our competition and this fundraising campaign, we hope to cover our operating costs in addition to bringing awareness and financial support to the school. Shanti Bhavan represents a new-found beginning and we are proud to support them in their next chapter!