Shake Showcase #5 @ Rich Mix London

The blue Shake! banners pinned to the walls, clipboards and notes flurrying about, groups of Shake! participants deep in concentration rehearsing their lines on stage or tucked away in corners,  sound-checks, mic-checks, warm embraces to old Shake friends being made.. it’s that time again…

On Tuesday 7^th October we hosted our 5^th Shake! Showcase at Rich Mix London.  Teaming up with our family at NUMBI, the show was based on the August Shake! Intensive Course, “HeadSpace”, and shakers came from far and wide to perform their art and share their political insight and ideas with the public.

During the course in August, the participants used a variety of poetic, musical and filmic tools to dig deep and critically respond to the central theme of “HeadSpace”. Having created a wealth of original artistic work,  the showcase offers an extension to the week of radical learning, and gives a platform where the participants can express their creativity to an audience.

The hosts Cizz, Tasnima & Edwina 

Performing to a full house, our hosts Cizz, Tasnima and Edwina took us on a journey through poetic lyricism, thoughtful rhymes, sweet melodies, and engaging documentary film. Shakers old and new performed, extending the family and widening our community.

Young people that had never been on stage before bravely stood in the spotlight and read their poetry to the 160 people in the audience, followed by a loud chorus of heart-felt applause each time.  Young people that had never made a film before premiered their documentary, followed by a professional panel discussion and Q & A with the filmmakers and audience.  

In conversation with the filmmakers 

The dynamic mixture of performances and contagiously good vibes and spirit meant that the show was funny, thought-provoking, inspiring, and deeply profound – with all of the work reaching an incredibly high-standard. Everybody left with a huge smile on their faces, buzzing with energy and positivity. 

The showcase not only gives the participants a chance to exhibit their creative work, it also serves as an opportunity to engage the public in the social and environmental issues covered at the Shake! Course, and uniquely, from a youth voice. The spectators get the chance to view these topics through the Shake! lens of art,

Spoken word by Mujtaba Ahmed

   media, race and power – which opens up new    ways of seeing and understanding to more and more people. 

The effectiveness of the show can be summed up by the way one girl came up to me at the end of the performances and said “you’re definitely gonna see me up there next time...” She, like many others there, had caught the Shake bug.

Watch out for Shake! Showcase #6…. You really don’t want to miss it.

Saara J-R