|| Victory Arts Foundation ||

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|| Victory Arts Foundation ||

VAF: Journeying from Sole to Soul
Shiamak Davar possesses a passion for dance like no other. He is now on a mission to inspire Indians everywhere to dance with absolute abundance, pushing aside all discrimination of age, gender, caste, ability or impairment.

Through Victory Arts Foundation (VAF), his not-for-profit organization, Shiamak is committed to making dance a meaningful experience for everyone. VAF endeavors to use the power of the performing arts to bring joy to the less privileged, specially challenged, visually impaired, terminally ill children and young adults, and all those infected/affected with HIV/AIDS, committing to making dance a meaningful experience for everyone. Inaugurated in March 2004, VAF continues to bring joy to over 5000 children and adults with special needs across 70 centers all over India. Bringing a smile to their faces and adding a bounce in their stride, VAF takes Shiamak's mission statement, 'Have Feet, Will Dance', one step further to 'Have Spirit, Will Triumph'. VAF trustees include Shiamak Davar (Founder), Glen D'Mello - CEO for Shiamak Davar's Institute for the Performing Arts™ (SDIPA™), and Mahazarine Canteenwalla, General Manager for SDIPA.

Following are the Activities Conducted in and by VAF-

1. VAF dance classes are focused towards improving self-esteem and building self-awareness among children of special needs, poor and needy through the performing arts. With their first faltering steps, some of the children and their parents had reservations about their ability to dance, but with constant encouragement, they were able to overcome their inhibitions and enjoy the experience so much, that it has now become an inherent part of their lives. VAF has also reached out to Adults suffering from Schizophrenia,paranoia,hallucination etc.VAF has been associated with NGOs like The Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and the Deafblind, Spastic Society of India, Akanksha Foundation, Society for the Education of the Crippled, Tamanna Foundation, Thalassemia India, Freedom Foundation for the HIV infected, National Blind Association, Hope Foundation and many more.

2. Donations are utilized to fund dance programs, classes, performances and events for the less privileged, physically and mentally challenged children and adults.

3. VAF upholds outstanding talent in performing arts and sports.

4. VAF provides medical support to the poor and the needy.

5. VAF sponsors the education of the poor.

6. VAF supports the cause of fighting against Global Warming by spreading messages of importance of recycling paper, less usage of electricity and keeping a clean environment. VAF in Mumbai has partnered with United Way to join the Clean Up Mumbai Drive.

7. VAF conducts English Speaking Classes for the less privileged. The classes are conducted by the VAF Volunteers.

8. VAF conducts an annual donation drive named as Serve with Love. Volunteers, students of Shiamak Davar's Institute for the Performing Arts, well wishers and friends donate foodgrains, clothes and stationery items to the needy NGOs in every city.

9. Shiamak's instructors are trained in Dance and Drama Therapy, so that they are able to communicate, train and deal effectively with people of special needs.

In November 2001, Shiamak Davar's Institute for the Performing Arts™ along with Committed Communities Development Trust (CCDT) formed a partnership to implement the Dancing Feat (DF) program.

Today, the VAF objective is to spread the joy of dance, using dance as therapy. Through VAF funded programs, Shiamak and his Instructors continue to empower students with confidence and self-belief. VAF gives them an opportunity that many would not have dreamt of.

Early in 2007, Shiamak's VAF made a big splash at the Mumbai Marathon. Thousands of students and SDIPA™ instructors danced through the Dream Run, proudly sporting bright red VAF T-shirts, expressing their support. Wheelchair bound children from Sankalp, a center for the mentally challenged, represented VAF in the marathon's Wheelchair Event.

In February 2007, Shiamak choreographed children of The Society for the Education of the Crippled (SEC) to perform in the annual police games in Thane.

In April 2007, Plan India invited Victory Arts Foundation to perform at the Plan Utsav, where street children from the Doorstep Foundation performed to well-known Bollywood numbers and took many a celebrity by surprise with their energetic dance moves.

VAF students are taught by instructors from Shiamak Davar's Institute for The Performing ArtsTM or SDIPA™, as it is popularly known. With a motive to help the young and the young at heart discover and enjoy creative expression through dance, SDIPA™ continues to teach Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock N Roll, Afro Jazz, Salsa, Shiamak's Indo Jazz and Shiamak's Bollywood Jazz styles of dance.

Shiamak invites one and all to come forward and extend support in this drive to spread joy through the power of dance. VAF is happy to share this information with you and looks forward to your support, so that we can continue to give back to the community what god has given us and share our blessings with millions of others who are less fortunate.

NGOs and Institutions associated with the Victory Arts Foundation
Through VAF funded programs, SDIPA Instructors continue to share the joy of dance with various NGOs all over India, including the following:

Mumbai-
1) B.R Ambedkar Municipal School
2) Colaba Municipal School
3) SMILE
4) Apne Aap Women's Collective
5) Salaam Bombay
6) St. Catherine's Home for girls
7) Barbhaya Orphange for Hindu girls
8) SAI (Autistic)
9) Sol's Arc for the Autistic
10) Samarpan for Autistic Children
11) Community Outreach Programme (CORP)
12) Spastic Society Of India
13) Kshitij Mental Health Center
14) Masina Institute of Psychotherapy and Behavioral Science (Masina Hospital)
15) Happy Home School for the Blind
16) Harmony for Senior Citizens
17) Jalaram Bappa Children's Nook (JBCN)
18) Shartul School for the mentally challenged
19) Priyanj Special School
20) Sankalp School for the mentally challenged
21) The Society for the Education of the crippled
22) Akanksha Foundation
23) Dongri Remand Home
24) Salaam Baalak
25) Sanskardham Vidyalaya for the Hearing Impaired
26) Jariwala Orphange for Muslim Girls
27) Project Udaan for Slum Children


Nagpur-
1. Home for the Aged and Handicap

Jaipur-
1. Umang
2. Udaayan

Delhi-
1. Ishwar Foundation
2. Tamanna
3. Action for Autism
4. Thalassemia India
5. Chetana
6. VATSALYA
7. Ganga Daya School
8. Savera Rehabilitation Center
9. Spinal Injuries
10. FHI
11. Sewa
12. DELHI SOCIETY

Bangalore
1. Freedom Foundation
2. Samarthanam
3. MASARD Care
4. Spastic Society

Hyderabad-
1. Sanskriti Shikhar
2. Thakur Hariprasad Institute for the Mentally Handicapped.
3. Freedom Foundation
4. Shraddha School for Exceptional Children

Pune-
1. Ashray
2. Sofosh
3. Pankhuri
4. Sindhu Vidya Valley
5. Annapoorna
6. Sweekar
7. Phoenix
8. Deepgriha
9. Sarhad

Chennai-
1. Vidyasagar
2. Sankalp.
3. Little Flower School for the Blind.
4. RASA.
5. Juvenile home for Boys.
6. Juvenile home for Girls.
7. National Blind Association.
8. Balavihar
9. Hope Foundation.
10. V-Excel
11. Tarachand

Kolkata-
1. Cini Asha
2. Hope Foundation