Young people of all ages took part in the island’s first Hip Hop Youth Arts festival, King of the Rock, at the weekend.
Organised by David Cowley of Represent Dance Company it saw a range of workshops, from graffiti to DJing, at the Youth Arts Centre, in Douglas, culminating in the island’s first under 16s break dancing championships.
‘To say that the event was a resounding success would be a huge understatement,’ David said.
‘The outpouring of praise for the day has been overwhelming!’
DJ P-Nuts, who is the eighth best scratch DJ in the world, spent the day introducing his students to the basic elements of mixing and scratching and by the end of the day already had some promising young DJs in the making.
The DJ said: ‘There were no scratch DJs on the island when I arrived, but I know that next time I’m there, there is gonna be a whole squad of them giving me a run for my money.’
David said they were now working him and local DJ John Faragher to raise funds to buy a DJ setup so the youngsters can keep on building up their skills.
And DJ P-Nuts is donating some top end equipment to get them started
The graffiti workshop run by Hyro started off with an inspiring classroom session in which he explained the history and culture surrounding street art, the legal dos and don’ts and the basic techniques involved.
The lesson then moved outside to some large boards in which the whole group collaborated to form a spectacular piece of artwork, which later on provided the backdrop to the competition and showcase.
The break dancing workshop lead by Sir Swifty saw kids learning not only the moves but the history and ideas surrounding the dance.
Many of them then took part in the competition, which saw 18 youngsters – five from the UK – battle it out to be crowned King of the Rock.
The first round was a ‘winner stays on’ test of stamina, followed by solo battles.
In a close final, the winner was Jackson Katz, AKA Jackspin.
David said: ‘The King of the Rock team will return in 2016 with more of the same - but bigger and better!
‘Our mission is to create an opportunity for young people to engage with the arts through hip hop culture, developing their skills and learning new ones, building bridges with other communities throughout the UK.’
Anyone who would like to get involved should contact David: info@representdance.co.uk or 408545.
He thanked Middleton Katz, the Angel Network, John Faragher, and Isle of Man Arts Council for their support.