Tufaan 2014 Storms the Windy City

Chicago IL: Tufaan 2014 is one of the longest standing Filmi/Fusion dance competitions in the Midwest! Tufaan Entertainment is a student-led non-profit entertainment company aiming to raise awareness of South Asian culture in the US and promote education through the arts abroad. Dance is an integral part of South Asian culture and it is a great way for South Asian youth in America to connect with their roots. Tufaan 2014 showcased the talent of such youth to inspire an interest in the South Asian arts in a wide audience. Education in the arts, such as dance, is essential for a child’s holistic development, which is why Tufaan Entertainment supports Shanti Bhavan, a K-12 school in rural India providing a world-class liberal arts education for socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

The winner of Tufaan 2014 received a bid to compete in Bollywood America, another national competition that is comprised of teams who have won other bid competitions.

The event coordinators were Natasha Ramanujam and Aditi Kothari – both are Co-Executive Officers of Tufaan Entertainment.

A large audience of 850 attended this event at Cahn Auditorium, located in Northwestern University, Evanston, IL on March 22nd, 2014.

Shivam Patel and Anandu Dileep were the MC’s of this program.

Tufaan 2014 started on Friday March 21st. All nine teams arrived throughout the day and in the evening, there was a mixer event where teams got to know one another;On March 22nd the actual competition was held.
Judges for this competition were: Ravi Shah, Austin Lim, Bhagya Nagesh, Eilleen Mallory, and Supna Jain

The program started with Indian and American National Anthem which was sung by Brown Sugar (Northwestern’s South Asian Accapella group)

The Top three teams received awards. First place went to SLU (St. Louis University) [$2,000], Second Place went to UCSD Zor[$750], and Third place went to UIUC Fizaa [$250]

Natasha Ramanujam, Co-Executive Officer of Tufaan Entertainment briefly spoke about Shanti Bhavan- the charity they are supporting through this event.

Sponsors of the show were: Buffalo Wild Wings, Vita Coco, Uru Swati, Potbellys,

170 dancers from nine universities participated in this dance competition.
The Competing Teams were : OSU Genesis, BU Jalwa, UCSD Zor, WashU Chaahat, Michigan Manzil, UCLA Nashaa, UIUC Fizaa, TWU Chingaarii and SLU Shakti

“The nine teams that competed at Tufaan 2014 are some of the most elite teams in the country and we loved hosting them. In addition, our organization could not be prouder to support a charity like Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project. 100% of what we raise will be donated to them so we want to thank our audience members as well as competing teams for helping us make this happen”, said Natasha Ramanujam.

This is the third year Tufaan Entertainment is supporting Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project. Shanti Bhavan is a unique institution serving children from India’s lowest caste – The Dalits or “untouchables” – who are routinely victims of social segregation and discrimination. These children live on 50 cents a day, often in abusive situations. Shanti Bhavan strives to build a future for these children beyond the limitations of their social class. The programs at Shanti Bhavan address the holistic development of a child; their multi-faceted approach focuses on emotional health, intellectual stimulation, physical fitness, artistic expression, and cognitive growth, carefully developed within a strong moral foundation.

Teachers and volunteers follow a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum, providing children a competitive English-medium education in sciences, mathematics, languages, business and the arts, which prepares Shanti Bhavan Students for advanced studies. All 14 students from the school’s first graduation class of 2010 were accepted into top colleges in Bangalore, all of which are considered among the best universities in India.
Shanti Bhavan creates immediate benefits to both its children and the private sector in India. Having received high levels of academic achievement and unparalleled success, its children will take a significant leap in their personal and professional lives, allowing for a permanent break from the cycle of poverty. Graduates of the program will support their households and contribute to the development of their communities in long-term and self-sustaining ways.

In the private sector, Shanti Bhavan immediately provides an avenue for corporations to exercise social responsibility through support of projects, and extends a proven education model to poor communities. In the long term, replication of this model will contribute high educated, productive employees to India, who are able to thrive both domestically and internationally.

The Shanti Bhavan model, if scaled, offers an opportunity for the private sector to achieve what the public sector has yet been unable to accomplish – the dream of a socially equitable society and a vibrant economy through the creation of meaningful opportunities for historically deprived communities in India.

Upcoming events:
Dance World 2015 (Date TBA) – Northwestern University
Tufaan 2015 (Date TBA) – Northwestern University

Executive Committee:
Natasha Ramanujam & Aditi Kothari: Co-Executive Officers, Ashik Desai: VIP Relations, Monica Mehta & Parth Dalal: Sponsorship/Fundraising Chairs, Rishi Shah: Social Chair, Seth Kelley & Shivani Chanillo: Media & Design Chairs, Karan Goenka: Logistics Chair, Nikhil Bhagwat: Hospitality Chair, Pooja Patel: Registration Chair and Neha Govindraj: Marketing/Publicity Chair