Last Saturday I went down to photograph an event for a new energy drink called KX. The brand were creating a series of youth events across the country – this one was in the Sacred Heart Church in Gorton, Manchester, where there is an excellent youth club with a thriving mentor programme.
The two mentors I met, Joy and Keith, have been encouraging the local kids to get involved with various music and dance projects, and the vitality was pretty inspiring. The event consisted of some showcases of the skills and then a series of short workshops to get everyone involved.
When I got there, Vicki Stavrinos from V Dance Studios in Chelmsford, Essex, was just warming up with some of her protegees from the Bam Bam Boogie crew!
She had four teens with her, ranging from 14 to 18 years old, and they were the nicest kids I’ve met in ages. So super positive and motivated. They explained that dancing with Vicki has increased their confidence, made them loads of ace mates, and set them on a path which they all feel that they want to pursue professionally.
They were getting ready for their street dancing showcase, and were pretty excited about performing – all of them wanted to perhaps get into backing dancing for a huge star . . . Janet Jackson seemed to be the top choice!
Next up, one of the group mentors, Keith, did a little DJ workshop with some of the local teens. Harder than it looks! Here he is with Nicole, who had the most incredible singing voice and was a sheer delight to be around.
Lovely youth club mentor Joy joins in with some of the singing . . . The kids had written a song called ‘Relationships’ which they performed for everyone. Nicole explained that without the support of Joy and the other mentors they probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to do this sort of thing. They had even been able to perform it in London at a workshop down there, and they were chuffed to bits about it.
The Bam Bam Boogie showcase starts with Fran (blonde hair) leading the way . . .
So great to see dedicated people doing something they love! Next, Vicki lead a dance workshop, making sure everyone was involved.
Learning the moonwalk! There’s a real science to it, so Vicki broke it down into manageable steps. Everyone was loving their new found skill. Including me. I’m terrible at it though. TERRIBLE.
Next up, capoeira! A Brazilian dance martial art, capoeira was created by slaves as a means of empowerment and is now widely practiced. This group, based in Manchester had a charismatic leader from Cape Verde, who despite his lofty height, was graceful and nimble.
After the quite frankly AWESOME demonstration, everyone else joined in for a workshop. Needless to say, the ninja-style reflexes of the longstanding members couldn’t be matched, but everyone had a good go. Looked blimmin’ exhausting to me . . .
Capoeira makes you happy! Find out more about this group here.
Such a lovely day. And so nice to know that there are people out there providing these excellent services for young people in their communities. Please contact me if you wish to know anything more about any of the groups featured in this post.
