DESI DANCE NETWORK, INC.
Desi Dance Network, Inc. (DDN) is a non-profit organization that I have been able to contribute to for over 6 years. It is a national community of collegiate and alumni dancers and performing artists that compete and collaborate throughout the year. DDN is centered around South Asian culture and performing arts including dance, music producing, photography, videography and graphic design.
My largest contribution to the organization was co-founding Desi Dance Convention (DDCON) in 2016. I was a Director for the first two years, followed by Programming Chair and a Steering Advisor for DDCON 2018 and 2019. The purpose of this convention was to invite competitive dancers across North America to come together to collaborate in a safe and inclusive environment. The weekend was much more than solely a dance event. With informative panels covering topics including mental health, graphic design and live DJing, we opened our doors to such a large pool of creatives eager to learn and network.
(DDCON 2017, Rosemont, IL)
This event strongly focused on community, inclusion and collaboration for dancers building their network creatively and professionally. DDCON grew at an exponential rate, all while staying true to the event's mission. DDCON 2019 marked record-breaking attendance - housing nearly 300 guests, including a diverse panel dance instructors from across the country, and supported by a strong board and group of volunteers to run the event.
DDCON was an event that forced me to become a leader - and that too, fast. I played a key role in creating and establishing our event on social media over the years. I teamed up with our branding specialist to design graphics, promotional posts and digital posters to gain event exposure. In addition, I was responsible for inviting and coordinating logistical details and building contracts for our invited dance instructors and media team. I worked to build media partnerships with local organizations, along with a broadcasting network called TV Asia.
(DDCON 2017 Official Instructors & Panelists poster)
My work with DDN didn't stop with the convention. In Spring 2018, I had an exclusive opportunity to help produce season two of Zee TV's reality TV show, Dance America Dance. My role as a story producer required me to facilitate interviews and work with videographers on potential b-roll footage opportunities. My intention was to get footage that would entertain an audience interested in dance. I was flown out to Chicago, IL for a weekend to assist at one of the partner competitions for the Bollywood fusion national championship competition called Legends Bollywood Dance Championship. I was really excited to be on this team because it combined my passion for dance and journalism to create a final product that would reach thousands of viewers worldwide.
(DDCON 2017 promotional poster)
Where are we now?
After 4 phenomenal years of Desi Dance Convention weekends, the Steering team and I decided to put the event on an indefinite hiatus. There were many factors that contributed to this decision - the biggest being wanting to ensure that the event's integrity was maintained with as leadership continued to change - and that too, at a sustainable rate. While it was a difficult decision to come to, we believe that the DDN community has other aspiring leaders within that will be able to pick this event back up and create a new version of what my colleagues and I built. Hear from me and the team here. ----->
Learn more about our work as an organization and as a collaborative experience for dancers at ddcon.desidancenetwork.org.