As Hackney Empire celebrates 120 years at the heart of the local community, it has this week announced details of the latest large scale celebration of the young people of East London, part of the Creative Futures Programme. Led by Hackney Empire’s Artistic Director Yamin Choudury and Boy Blue’s Co-Artistic Director Kenrick ‘H20′ Sandy MBE, Only Joy Aloud will be the culmination of a five-day exploratory process, to bring out the young voices of East London through movement and storytelling.
On Friday 28 October, one hundred young dancers, artists, musicians and leaders will come together to express their joy, love and well-being with their community. Young people aged 12 – 19 from across the area are all welcome to get involved, with applications via the website. Workshops will then take place at Forest School from 25 – 27 October, with the scratch performance taking place on the main stage on Friday 28 October.
Launched in 2002, Hackney Empire Creative Futures has used arts and creativity to break down barriers, build confidence and provide creative, professional and personal development for young people regardless of their background, education, income or experience.
Today, Creative Futures annually engages over 2,000 young people aged 12 to 25-years-old. From its inception, Creative Futures set out to reframe ‘culture’ by using art-forms that young people were already engaged in, including film, popular including acting for stage and screen, popular music such as British Rap and R&B, spoken word and dance. The theatre’s unique model of youth engagement has impacted on over 20,000 young lives in its 20-year history.
