ANGEL AND SPECIAL GUESTS

TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE DV8’S FUTURE STARS

 IAMDV8 | Thursday, 4^th July 2013| Stratford Circus

IAMDV8 is back with its third festival, celebrating the talents of DV8 Training’s most exciting young musicians, singers, MCs, fashion designers, event managers, graphic artists and filmmakers. This year they will be joined by R&B star Angel and special guests for what promises to be a night of phenomenal UK talent.

Building on the success of Music Potential Wembley Arena earlier this year – which featured performances from Angel, Wretch 32 and Devlin - our events team is set to take over Stratford Circus on Thursday, 4^th July 2013. Taking the theme of ‘Independence Day’ as inspiration, the night will highlight the success of the DV8 graduates, as they venture off down exciting new avenues. Festival highlights include the following:

Open Mic Challenge (Circus Two: 5 – 6pm)

Up and coming artists will take on judges and a live audience, armed only with their skills and a beat selected from the IAMDV8 Jukebox. One act will be crowned champ and secure a slot to perform at the IAMDV8 evening showcase, as well as a goodie bag of exclusive beats and prizes.

One Agenda showcase (Circus Two: 6 – 7pm)

The ‘youngers’ step up to shine for the DV8 Projects’ youth showcase. Come and cheer on the stars of tomorrow as they bring it with live performances, DJ sets and a fashion show.

IAMDV8 evening showcase (8 – 10.30pm)

R&B sensation Angel leads a compelling line-up of emcees, singers, dancers and poets, all set to give show-stopping performances alongside full live band and sensational vocal collective, Innov8tion.

Throw in a few surprise guests and competitions, pop up stalls, fashion show, a documentary by FusionTV and a Mixtape Madness Masterclass and you’ve got the makings of something special.

IAMDV8 will provide the perfect chance to network as hundreds of likeminded young people and professionals from across the creative industries come together for one evening of entertainment. With DV8’s recent news that they will be launching an Academy in September 2014 there couldn’t be a better time to see what we’re about. So secure your ticket now and we’ll see you there!

Event: IAMDV8
Date:                Thursday, 4^th July 2013
Where:            Stratford Circus
Address:        Theatre Square, Stratford, London, E15 1BX
Time:                5 – 10.30pm
Tickets:           £8 on the door / £5 early bird
Box Office:    0844 357 2625

CONTACT US

Email:              iamdv8@dv8training.com
Tel:                    07800 876 526
Website:         www.iamdv8.com
Twitter:          @iamdv82013

EDITOR NOTES

DV8 Training provides opportunities for music, media, fashion and events students to work on industry projects and gain nationally recognised qualifications.

www.dv8training.com

 In 2014 Dv8 Training will open the Dv8 Academy in London, a 16-19 school offering industry standard courses in Digital Media Production, Music Technology, Event Management, Performing Arts and Fashion and Design.

www.dv8academy.com

Khan Academy is an organisation on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.

All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

CLICK HERE

The Official Charts Company has revealed the most streamed song of the last 12 months was We Are Young by Fun ft Janelle Monae.

It’s exactly a year since figures for the UK’s Official Streaming Chart started being compiled.

A total of 4.4 billion tracks were streamed in the last twelve months from sites including Spotify, We7, Zune, Napster and Deezer.

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen was the second most streamed song.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe was the second most streamed

Kevin Brown, from Spotify said: “The huge number of streams that have been delivered in the first year of the Official Streaming Chart is proof positive of the huge and growing popularity of music streaming.”

Mark Foster, managing director of Deezer UK & Ireland said: “These figures show just how significant streaming now is in the UK and it’s now an essential way of consuming music.”

The Top 100 most listened to tracks account for less than 10% of the overall number of songs being listened to.

The figures relate to the 12 months between May 2012 and the May 2013.

The Official Streaming Chart is different to the UK Official Chart on Radio 1, which is compiled using sales figures.

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter

The IAMDV8 auditions were frankly death-by-talent. From the start the standard was set high by Santi Santego who was the first to break the ice. Bearing in mind that these were open auditions, the judges as well as other artists were all sat watching in the same room.

Despite this, none of those who came to audition showed any sign of stage fright. The confidence levels literally oozed from each and every act. Each one claimed the stage in their individual ways which will surely make the judges decision pretty difficult.

Variety is definitely one of the IAMDV8’s unique selling points. Not only did singers and guitarists apply, poets, rappers and dancers were all in the mix. We had performances from the likes of Kane who is a singer/songwriter and producer, Diamond who is a rapper, singer and dancer as well as The Goods who are an Indie, R’n’B, Rock influenced rapping and singing quartet. So it’s pretty clear that many of the acts are more than just artists but are multi-faceted with bags of extra skills as well as talent.

Despite the shortage in ladies ratio-wise, the few that made an appearance each had applaudable gifts. I managed to draw one of them to the press room for a quick chat. Her name is Sade Joseph and she’s one of the poets whose audition left the room in silence as the audience literally hung off her every word.

The 19-year-old from Stratford definitely had what I would call the Susan-Boyle-Shock-Factor. She told me how she’s been writing for a few years but only got stuck into the world of spoken word two months ago. Brought into the auditions by her mate Tim who is involved with DV8, she saw an opportunity to inspire others as well as boost her confidence in her art. Sade herself is inspired by those she looks up to such as The Striver’s Row as well as numerous Def Jam poets.

Speaking of inspiration, one of the things that you could not miss at the auditions was the atmosphere of support. That’s what sets this event apart from the others. There was no X-Factor slating or booing from any of the performers. When each act came off stage, they were met with encouragement and handshakes, such a wonderful thing to have at such an event. I even struggled getting a hold of some of them as they were so engrossed in conversing about each others art and networking!

If this is the epic standard of just the auditions, I daren’t think how much more each act will bring to the actual event. So I’d like to take this time to tell the judges one thing, best of luck as none of these acts have made your job easy!

Photography by Mikaela Westerholm

Words by Nyasha Takawira

Michael Gove, the education secretary, who has approved 102 new free schools. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

• See the full list of 2014 free schools here.

An unorthodox secondary school offering “cross-subject projects” rather than traditional classroom lessons, is among the latest tranche of free schools to be approved.

XP school in Doncaster is one of the 102 new free schools given the go-ahead to open next year by Michael Gove, the education secretary, a slight decrease on the 109 schools opening this year.

XP’s prospective chair of governors, Gwyn ap Harri – a former computer science teacher who went on to start a company selling educational software – says the school’s teaching method is based on how learning takes places in the “real world”, rather than sitting behind desks.

“We’ll be still be teaching the national curriculum, the kids will still be doing GCSEs and A-levels. But the way we deliver the curriculum will be totally different,” Harri said.

“If you want, for instance, an investigation into the wildlife in your back garden, there are loads and loads of different subjects you can cover within that. You can do maths in terms of the size of the garden, how many samples you can find, what percentage that is,” he said. “Then there’s the history of the place, the geography, biology, that sort of thing. So you can learn through a really wide project or expedition.”

XP will be unorthodox in other ways too. Admission will be by city-wide lottery, while class sizes will be kept to a tiny 25 pupils, with teachers expected to multitask across subjects. “Teachers want to teach this way,” said Harri. “They don’t want to just teach GCSE music, they also want to teach art or PE or whatever their passion is.”

Announcing the names of the majority of the 102 approved schools, Gove said: “There are many innovators in local communities set on raising standards of education for their children. I am delighted to approve so many of their high-quality plans to open a free school.”

Of the 102 new free schools, more than half are in London (46) and the south-east (11). XP will be one of just nine in Yorkshire and Humber, with 13 in the Midlands and three in the south-west of England.

Kevin Brennan, Labour’s shadow schools minister, accused the government of “ignoring the crisis in primary places” and setting up schools where there was already a surplus of places.

“Their damaging focus on their own pet projects is failing to put our children first,” Brennan said.

The National Union of Teachers general secretary, Christine Blower, said the free schools risked squandering resources. The NUT’s analysis claims that the department for education (DfE) has already spent more than £200m on free schools.

“It is time for the government to change tack and allow local authorities to open new schools in areas where there is a genuine need for new places,” she said.

According to the DfE’s figures, the new schools will eventually offer 50,000 places. Fifteen of them will be designated faith schools, able to select a maximum of 50% of pupils on the basis of religion. One will be the Seva school in Coventry, a co-educational Sikh school for four- to 16-year-olds.

Among the new schools will be the Family school in London, for children with complex psychological, family and mental-health problems, and two schools under the aegis of the National Autistic Society, in east Cheshire and Lambeth.

In Doncaster, the response from prospective parents for XP’s unorthodox teaching style has been “really good” according to Harri, with expressions of interest far outstripping its initial intake.

“When you sit down and explain to parents what we are doing, it sounds straightforward, it sounds like common sense. And it makes traditional schools sound a bit crazy,” Harri said.

“You won’t just learn about bees and why bees are disappearing. You’ll make beehives and install them in a local park. We’ll have a really strong connection to the community. A massive part of the motivation for the kids to succeed [is that] they will exhibit to the authentic audience, to adults in the real world, rather than doing work that goes into a folder and never gets seen again.”

Now XP has been approved, the Education Funding Authority will begin looking for a suitable site. Because it will use a lottery for admissions, Harri said his only concern was that the new school has good transport links.

Harri said he was inspired by a visit to a school in San Diego, High Tech High, which teaches using similar methods, and schools in New England.

After becoming frustrated as a teacher Harri said he created some software to improve teaching – sold through a company named realsmart, which offers licenses for £4,995 – and then thought the technology needed a school to model the techniques. XP will use realsmart’s software. “It’s the only way we can do it,” said Harri.

• See the full list of 2014 free schools here.

The Dv8 Academy “Re-imagine Education”

The Vision: In 2014 Dv8 Training will open the Dv8 Academy in London, a 16-19 school offering industry standard courses in Digital Media Production, Music Technology, Event Management, Performing Arts and Fashion and Design. The vision for the Dv8 Academy is to establish a school that will be regarded by young people, parents and employers as one of the leading schools in London for creative, music and media courses.

The students: The target student for the Dv8 Academy will be aged 16-18 in September 2014 from London who are passionate, creative and determined to develop a career in the creative sector. The school welcomes applications from all young people with high potential in creative, music & media.

Employers: The Dv8 Academy will be driven by the involvement of high profile and cutting edge employers influencing and shaping the curriculum and offer. We will work with employers to design programmes that produce young people with skills that are needed in today’s workplace. Employers will give talks, set projects, host visits, provide work experience and apprenticeships. Dv8 Training currently work with high profile employers including ITN news. Festival Republic, Universal Music, MTV, UNICEF, Adidas and Peer Music.

What will I study?: Vocational courses will be available at level 2 & level 3 (A-level standard) in Digital Media, Event Management, Music Technology, Performing Arts and Fashion & Design. All students will also study a language, enterprise, humanities, citizenship, employability and sports as well as Maths & English to level 2 (if not previously achieved)

Industry Projects: Students will work on a range of applied projects such as the IAMDV8 festival www.iamdv8.com, a one-day festival of creativity involving students, tutors, sponsors, artists and project partners as well as producing fashion shows, TV documentaries, digital record releases, showcases and exhibitions

Where can it take me?: There will be opportunities to progress into apprenticeships within the creative sector, partnerships with Universities that will offer taster days and pathways to courses and Dv8 Academy graduates will be supported to set up small businesses and enterprise projects.

Teachers from industry: The tutors at the Dv8 Academy will be dual professionals with formal teaching qualifications as well as many years of experience and success of working within the creative sector. All current Dv8 Training tutors are active in the creative sector including highly successful music producers, event managers, fashion designers, journalists and media specialists.

The school building: The Dv8 Academy school building will be modern, creative and unconventional. The Academy will incorporate Apple learning suites, music studios, rehearsal space, a theatre, fashion workshops and TV and radio studios.  Space will be made available to students off timetable to develop ideas and extended projects.

High standards: Success and achievement at the Dv8 Academy will be underpinned by a strong disciplinary code, high competition for places and students will be expected to have high levels of punctuality and attendance in order to retain their place at the school.

The Facts

• Current success rates at Dv8 are well above national averages including English and Maths
• 97% of students who completed a course with Dv8 Training during the 11-12 Academic year stated that their learning experience was good or outstanding
• Ofsted noted that Dv8 are outstanding at meeting the needs and interests of learners and that there are outstanding levels of understanding and mutual respect between learners and staff

Admissions

- Entry to level 3: 5+ GCSEs A* – C including English

- Entry to level 2: 5+ GCSEs D-G including English

Register Now

- You can register your interest now as a potential future student at the Dv8 Academy at www.dv8academy.com

- By registering you will also be added to the Dv8 Academy mailing list to receive updates and a full prospectus when it is published in 2013.

- You must be aged 16-18 in Sep 2014 to be eligible to register for the Dv8 Academy

www.dv8academy.com
t: 0208 509 6070
e: recruitment@dv8training.com

What do you do at DV8?

I am the course manager at DV8 and I manage the SoundSkool Music & Performance level 1 course.

What were you doing before you started working at DV8?

Before working at DV8 I have been running SoundSkool in the London Borough of Barnet in North London.  Providing music courses and workshops to young people.

How did you get the Job

I got my job at DV8 through partnership work we did together; SoundSkool partnered with DV8 to deliver the ‘Beat Bus’, we took out a double decker bus all around North and East London.  Young people had a chance to try DJ’ing, Music Production, MC’ing, Singing, Fashion and Music Production and this lead to further partnerships with DV8 Training.

What makes you good at your job?

I think I am good at my job because I love it and personally didn’t find school any good!

What are your favourite TV Shows, Movies, Books, Bands etc?

I enjoy spending my free time making music, my favourite genre of music is old School jungle/garage/house

What was your favourite DV8 moment?

My favourite moment so far at DV8 was watching our first level 1 students perform at the SoundSkool.

What are you up to at the moment?

At the moment SoundSkool are working with young people who have disabilities and we are really enjoying working with these groups.

What are your ambitions for the future?

In the future just more of the same will be good!!

Find Simon on:
Twitter: @SoundSkool

Check one of Simon’s latest music videos shot with 11-14yr olds on the Stonegrove Estate in Edgware

We Like It Hip Hop

Learners from the Music and Performance L2 (MAP) took a trip down to the Peacock Theatre last Wednesday to watch ‘Some Like It Hip Hop.’

The play, which featured a Hip Hop twist on the original ‘Some Like It Hot’ story line, edutained the learners by integrating a range of genres music and showing levels of training and rehearsal that it takes to perfect high-level choreography.

The learners were amazed by the standard of vocal and physical ability that the performers possessed. One student stated that “the level of vocal performance was over and above that of recording artists and is accessible at a quarter of the price”.

The learners also received an unexpected second show when the group came across a street drummer en route to the station. The drummer, who showed a unique ability to take Hip Hop samples and include it into a live performance showed the learners another, raw side to the Hip Hop culture that they may not have experienced before. Some of the Learners were keen to demonstrate their own dancing skills as we walked down the streets of Holborn.

The learners were both entertained and intrigued by the evenings’ events, which left them smiling and extremely excited to share their experiences.

Course Support Tutor, Jason Hicks was quoted screaming “YEAHHHHH BOYY” indicating that he enjoyed the night, as did everyone else as well.

Written by Sophia & Yaron (MAPL2)

The learners from the L2 Music and Performance course (MAP) carried out performances yesterday, but of a different kind.

As part of their progression and Interpersonal Skills qualification, the learners took part in nerve wracking mock interviews conducted by Daniella Leon (Student Welfare and Guidance Officer) and Akua Afram (Work Placement Officer/Apprenticeship Support Tutor).

Although the interviews were mock, the jobs on work placement interviews were very real.

Akua currently has placements at the following companies:

MY ISH – Record Label Assistant
Urban Development – Admin/Development Intern
Vox Africa – Intern for Marketing and Events Management

Lead Tutor Kofi Ankrah also managed to find live vacancies at Footlocker in Oxford Street as well as at Tesco stores in Paddington and Hammersmith in a bid to arm them with the experience in case they actually wanted to apply for the part time roles.

Kofi commented “I was really proud to see the learners step it up, by dressing appropriately and rising to the challenge.”

Learner Zhane Younge told us that “I think it was quite helpful, it helped us prepare for real interviews, and now I fell a bit more confident.”

We’ll let you know if any of the learners where successful in gaining a placement or employment.

The next RUN DV8 event will be held on 21/05/13 featuring performances by Hidden Soldier, Mz Rosay Red and a tutor performance by Afro Kinks.

Come and run with us.