Events:

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New Capoeira classes for Kids

Try something new! Introduce your kids to this Afro-Brazilian art form! Capoeira is an ancient tradition of music, dancing, acrobatics and martial arts developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil . Over its 400 years history Capoeira has developed as a fight for freedom and a struggle against oppression. Illegal until the 1930s it is now recognised all over the world as an Afro-Brazilian art form.

Now children and young people in Manchester can start learning its movements, music and history with an experience resident teacher from Brazil . The Capoeira Youths Project is brought to you by ACCA (Associaçaõ Cultural de Capoeira Angola ) with the aim of improving community cohesion through culture.

These FREE classes start on April 21st and will take place every Monday at the Old Trafford Youth Centre from 7:30 to 9pm for teenagers (12-17 year olds). On Wednesdays at Moss Side Millennium Power House from 5:30 to 7pm for 5-11 year-olds and 7 to 8:30 for 12-17 year-olds and on Saturdays at the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme from 10:30-11:30am for 5-11 year-olds. The project will run until October and will include several events and performances.

For more information call William on 07979 363845 or visit www.acca-manchester.org.uk

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Eurocultured

Underneath Oxford Road Train Station and venues around Wakefiled Street, Manchester

25th and 26th May
Adults £2, under 16's FREE

Spearfish proudly presents Eurocultured, the street festival that brings you muchos treats from the continent and celebrates the diversity of European culture via live art, dance, food and drink, music and performance.

This is the festival's fifth year and it's bigger than ever with two streets, seven venues, two stages and a new arts market. There will be live appearances from over 150 artists, dancers, performers, bands and DJs, all packed into a unique city centre space.


For two days expect everything from breakdance to can can, Balkan beats to French pop, live street art to cabaret, from top performers from 14 different European countries.

As there are no specific activities for children, we recommend this for ages 12 and over.

No need for advance booking for daytime events, admission is payable on the day. For more information, including booking details for over 18's 'afterhours' events visit www.eurocultured.com

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Teenage Songwriting Competition

Make It Break It is a unique songwriting and enterprise scheme for 14-19 year olds aimed at encouraging and uncovering fresh creative talent. As well as receiving £1000's worth of musical equipment, this year's winners will be offered recording sessions and a showcase gig at Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts. Judges include Coldplay's Chris Martin and DJ Mark Radcliffe.

The Make It Break It website is currently under construction www.makeitbreakit.org so for more information e-mail: mibi@lipa.ac.uk.

Deadline: 30 June 2008

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The Otesha Project

If you're looking for an amazing way to spend your summer...

Would you like to spend some time cycling around the UK and Ireland in the height of summer, stopping off at music festivals, schools and other places, performing a comedy improv play about how global issues relate to our personal lives, and generally chatting to people about how to take a world with some big challenges and turn it into a world that we feel good and hopeful about? (You don't need to be super fit or super green, and don't worry if you don't feel like an improv expert... )

After 6 amazing, award-winning years of running in Canada, the Otesha Project has come to the UK. We're now recruiting two groups of 20 to take part in our summer cycle tours:

Deep South Tour: Southwest England May 25 - July 7
Wild West Tour: West Midlands, Wales and Ireland Aug 2- Sept 12

• Cycling Theatre Troublemakers Poster - (PDF)

Spaces are filling up fast. If you're aged 18-25 and this ad is hitting your buttons, you're probably the right person. Write in and tell us why you want a space on the tour.

If you can't come on a cycle tour, but you think you know someone who could (or know someone who knows someone...), please share this message with them.

Find out more at www.otesha.org.uk/cycletours

To get an application form, email cycletour@otesha.org.uk

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Paulasville: Zion Young Actors Company

Come to the debut performance by the first ever Zion Young Actor’s Company!

This gritty drama devised and written by 20 talented, local actors is entitled Paulasville.

Futuristic fantasy elements promise to thrill as you journey with characters who fight for escape.

Tuesday 17th - Saturday 21st June, 7.30pm

All Tickets: £5 (Group concessions will also be available)

Phone 0161 226 1912 or email caroline@zionarts.com

Supported and part funded by Arts Council England

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MMU Writing School - Manchester Poetry Prize 2008

£10,000 prize!

The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching The Manchester Poetry Prize - a new literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing.

The Manchester Poetry Prize is open to writers internationally, and will award a cash prize of GBP10,000 to the writer of the best portfolio of poems submitted. In addition, a bursary for study at MMU will be awarded to an entrant aged 18-25 as part of the Manchester Young Writer of the Year Award.

Entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of poetry (three to five poems; the total length of the portfolio should not exceed 120 lines). The poems can be on any subject but must be new work, not published elsewhere.

The Manchester Poetry Prize celebrates the substantial cultural and literary achievements of Manchester building on the work of MMU's Writing School and enhancing the city's reputation as one of Europe's most adventurous and creative spaces.

The Writing School will be launching The Manchester Fiction Prize in 2009.

Entrants can submit work via the competition website:

www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk, or by post using an entry form. If you have any queries, or would like a printed entry pack, please contact:

James Draper, Project Manager: Writing School, Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 161 247 1787

Email: j.draper@mmu.ac.uk

Writing School website: www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/writingschool

Poetry Prize website: www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk

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Festival of Flight -

Free Workshops and Performance Opportunity for Young Dancers

Dance Initiative Greater Manchester is supporting Heartstone to offer free workshops resulting in performance to Greater Manchester based young people aged 8 upwards. The project will take place in June 2008.

Heartstone is a not for profit organisation which challenges different forms of prejudice and intolerance. They do this through story-fiction, photodocumentary and history. They also run education projects to reach children and young people of all ages from 8 upwards. Alongside the photoexhibitions, performances are frequently staged in which some of the pictures are brought to life through dance-drama.

Sitakumari is the principal dancer for the organisation with a background in Indian classical dance which she then went on to develop into a contemporary form. She performs and teaches in this style and works with other dancers who usually come from a different background to her own but have learnt how to use the Indian dance language to create dance-drama. The dancers who will be assisting her in this project are recent graduates of the Laban Contemporary Dance School in London. This performance is on the theme of aviation and will include some of the myths and legends of flight from different parts of the world.

The Workshops and Performances
Each workshop will provide the group with one dance piece to perform at the finale event. The dance piece will have an overall story line based on a specific picture in the exhibition and the group will be taught a basic 'language' of using dance using mudras (hand gestures) and mime.

There will be scope for creative choreographic development, albeit within a tight framework. The 10 groups will each have a piece for performance with probably 2 groups coming together with the same piece ie. 5 different dances. These together with 2-3 solo items from Sitakumari will form the performance for 'Festival of Flight'. Good dancers are required but no previous experience in Indian Dance is necessary. There is scope to incorporate a variety of experience.

The workshops will need to take place at the beginning of June. They will last approximately 3 hours and can be evening/weekend sessions if required. As Sitkumari and her dancers are a distance away they will need to arrange them so that they can all be done in a block of time.

Each group will receive one initial workshop training session. They will then need to rehears the piece and come together for one final rehearsal. If time permits, we will do a follow up workshop session to help perfect the piece.

The dates of performances are provisionally June 24, 25, 26. There are likely to be two performances on each day - one in the afternoon and one in the early evening although this is still to be confirmed. One of these will be a VIP reception. The groups will need to come together the day before ie. 23rd for one rehearsal. Dancers will then be required to arrive no later than 1 hour before performance starts for costume/make up. All costumes will be provided by Heartstone

Transport costs to the venue (Salford University) will be covered by Heartstone. Ticket receipts will need to be provided by all dancers for this.

If you have a group who are interested in being involved in this project, please send an expression of interest to info@digm.org.uk

Please note Heartstone is co-ordinating this project and if you require detailed information please contact Heartstone directly.

Email: Sitakumari@heartstone.co.uk

Tel: 07801055587

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Teenagers launch national identity debate

Young people across the UK, working with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008, today laid down a challenge for their generation to explore and celebrate the impact that their cultural roots have had on their values and sense of identity.

‘Portrait of a Nation’ is a year-long programme of events and online activity that marks the first time that teenagers and young people in 18 cities across the UK, from Inverness to Brighton have been asked to discuss and share where they come from, who they are, and what it means for their future.

From local dialects to fashion, the places they like to hang out or the music they listen to, young people’s lives are shaped by the cultures, places and people in their home town as much as what’s going on in the rest of the country. Portrait of a Nation will ask the teens and young people living in our cities what makes their home town different and special. What is it about their town that Liverpool youngsters value compared with those in Bristol or Belfast? And what do they all have in common?

Throughout the year teenagers will be staging celebratory events to show what makes their city unique through a range of art, performance and heritage projects. They will also be kick-starting the conversation online at www.portraitofanation.net, posting blogs, pictures and films, and inviting MPs, celebrities and members of the public to get involved by adding favourite cultural ‘hot spots’ in their home town.

The activity will culminate in December with a finale event at St George’s Hall, Liverpool, where young representatives from each city will come together to put on performances and exhibitions to celebrate what makes their own city special. This showcase will be one of the final events of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations.

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Company Fierce Dance Summer School

CFDT are running a two week street dance summer school for young people!

It will be an amazing two weeks with lots to offer
Styles will included old skool and new school styles such as
locking, vogue, new jack swing, LA jazz, Bashment, and house dance

See flyer for more information and contact us ASAP places are limited

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Noise Festival 2008 - Showcase Your Creativity

Do you work with or know young talented people up to the age of 25 who deserve recognition?

NOISEfestival.com is a Europe-wide media showcase for young creative people aged 25 and under. NOISE is a not-for-profit company which aims to help young people with talent, to gain opportunities in the Creative Industries, so it is free to take part!

Submissions are open now so just go to www.NOISEfestival.com click the registration button, create a profile and upload work.

Community and arts organisations can use the NOISE projects to offer your young talent amazing opportunities in the creative industries. 2006 projects included working with TATE, BBC, Channel 4, Adobe and Yamaha. Everyone can get involved by signing up for the NOISE newsletter for news on NOISE 2008 projects, opportunities and ideas.

NOISEfestival.com exhibits the best creative work across all disciplines, this includes music, film, fashion, design, architecture, written word, graphic design, fine art and illustration. Submissions are open until May 31st 2008. After this time, NOISE Curators, a panel of acclaimed industry professionals (our 2006 curators included Wayne Hemingway and Peter Saville), will select the best work to showcase on the NOISE website and across the media from October 2008. NOISE media partners include MTV, BBC, MSN and leading creative magazines that will provide features, profiles and programmes. NOISE festival 2008 will also stage exclusive events, exhibitions to profile young artists work to help kickstart their careers, and secure a credible, far reaching platform to promote their work.

If you would like to know how you or your organisation can get involved in NOISE 2008 email info@noisefestival.com - www.NOISEfestival.com

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Links To Other Youth Arts Websites

Manchester Youth Arts
Something to do... Somewhere to go... Someone to talk to...
MYAN aims to increase access to the arts for young people across Manchester. We aim to ensure that young people, and those who work with them, have enhanced knowledge and information in order to access what's available across the arts in Manchester.

Young Peoples Voice North West
Young People's Voice is a new website designed by and for young people. The website is a guide to opportunities for young people wishing to engage with the arts in the North West.

Artistic content for the website was designed by and for young people. Featured sections include profiles of a number of projects, contact details for regional Arts Development Officers, a list of Arts Council regularly funded organisations that deliver participatory projects and national initiatives for young people, such as Arts Award and Creative Partnerships, and information on the Grants for the Arts funding programme. It also includes a section for North West young people or youth organisations wishing to promote projects, and a message board for advertising opportunities and activities.
For details, visit: www.youngpeoplesvoice.com

Gorse Hill Studios
Gorse Hill Studios is a creative space for young people, offering exciting activities in music and the arts. If you want to learn new skills in music making, dance, drama, film-making or photography you have found the right place. Take a look around our site where your will find lots of information about our creative activities, projects and events. Check out the MP3 section for original music produced by young people in the music studio.
www.gorsehillstudios.com

Lets Go Global
Lets Go Global is Trafford's ground-breaking internet TV channel. The team are based at their broadcasting studio at 3 Malvern Row, Old Trafford and broadcast live programmes made by the local community on Thursday 7pm.

Catch up with what's going on at the studio by visiting:
www.letsgoglobal.tv or call 0161 850 5555.

Contact Theatre
'Contact is a young people’s theatre, where you can grow, learn and make decisions as a young artist, audience member, organiser or leader'. The building includes three theatre spaces and our focus is on young adults (ages 13-30). The majority of our audiences come from this age group, though we welcome audiences and artists of all ages. The theatre we produce can be described as lyrical, visual and passionate. We embrace music and the cultures surrounding music, a full range of visual media, and writers who are poetic, experimental and collaborative. We are constantly exploring new ways to develop, to learn and to create exciting theatre. We bring together passions, fashions, moods, moves, sounds, networks, anger, engagement, words, rhythms, visions and visuals in our theatre. And we are always ready to add new things to the mix.

Contact Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6JA
Ticket bookings & information: 0161 274 0600
Email bookings: bookings@contact-theatre.org
www.contact-theatre.org


Partington Youth Website
The site has full details of the partnership, its history, who is involved, links to other agencies, guestbook & enquiries where young people can let the editors know what they want to see on the site but most important all the stories of what has and is going on in the area. The PCYP has and does organise events such as the Why Don't You activity days, Screamin Wheels Skate Park Launch, Partington 5-a-side Football League and much much more. So what are you waiting for? Get online and check out:
www.ptonyouth.btik.com.