Movement of Desis is going to compete for the first time ever at World of Dance Finals this July! This is our first GoFundMe in over 10 years of existence. We are asking for your help so we can share our passion for Desi dance, music, and culture on a new, global stage.

Who are we?



Desi (pronounced: “they see”) generally describes the people and cultures of the South Asian subcontinent and diaspora. “Desi” is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning "land” or “country".

Movement of Desis is a Chicago-based dance collective that fuses authentic Desi dance styles (such as Thappan Kuthu, Bhangra, Bollywood, semi-classical) with global street styles (such as Hip Hop, Chicago Footwork, House, Afro). We are proud to represent a huge variety of Desi immigrant and Desi American experiences through our members and our dance.

What do we do?

The MOD Project was started by a group of friends to perform at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s India Night 2014. Now called Movement of Desis, we have evolved into a vibrant celebration of South Asian heritage with a competitive Desi Fusion dance team, local community workshops, cultural performances, fundraisers, and events spanning dance, music, fashion, and art.

Over the past decade, our team has performed at over 25+ competitions and won numerous awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placings, Best Costume, Best Mix, and Crowd Favorite awards. We placed 2nd at both of the biggest Desi Fusion national competitions: Bollywood America (2016, 2017) and Legends Dance Championship (2017). More recently, we have become one of the only Desi Fusion dance teams to have placed at renowned hip hop competitions like World of Dance Chicago (2022) and Prelude Midwest (2022, 2024).

Here’s a recent competition performance:

Prelude Midwest 2024 - 2nd Place

World of Dance Qualifier 2023

World of Dance Finals: They (Will) See Desi

We are asking for your support today to fund our team’s dream. After our last World of Dance Chicago performance in November 2023, we were offered the rare opportunity to compete with the best hip hop teams from the USA and the world at World of Dance Finals in LA this July. This would be the biggest and most important stage our team has ever danced on. We would get to share our unique style with a global audience, many of whom may have never seen Desi Fusion dancing before.

We qualified for World of Dance Finals once before, but our team of 30+ could not afford the trip, which required costumes and set pieces, air travel to/from LA, housing in LA for up to 6 days of competition, and registration fees for every dancer.

So we are turning to GoFundMe to humbly ask you to help us realize our dream of sharing Desi culture and dance at World of Dance Nationals. Any donation will make an impact. Even if you are unable to donate right now, a quick share with your friends and family will help as well!

To keep up to date with our journey, we invite you to follow us at social media platforms.

Instagram - @movement.of.desis

TikTok - @movement.of.desis

PS: If you want to learn more about joining MOD, attending MOD events, doing a workshop with us, work with us for a private performance or event, or to just wish us luck ☺, please email us or send us a DM on one of our socials.

THANK YOU for your time and support!

- Movement of Desis