On November 19th, we will find out whether AS220 Youth, AS220’s free arts education program serving young people ages 14-21 with a special focus on those in the care and custody of the state, will be one of 12 national organizations recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for excellence in programming.  (We are FINALISTS three years running!)  As we await the results of the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, we are offering weekly blogs profiling the areas of concentration within AS220 Youth:  Communications, Photography, Visual Arts, Performance and Video Game Design.  Today, get a glimpse of Performance.

Performance is dedicated to help young people create, perform and promote their own work. Weekly classes are the foundation of our program and allow us to learn together, grow and cultivate our craft as a team. Classes are the most basic level of engagement within Performance and get students ready to work in the Delgado, our recording studio.

Music recorded in the Delgado is a direct reflection of how each artist uniquely views the world around them. We challenge our artists to think outside of the commercial box made by money, mass media, and big time record executives.

After artists create and record their work, they are given opportunities to perform at local shows, gallery openings and in-house events. Artists who can commit to a collaborative group can join either of our performance troupes, ZuKrewe and 2Legit.

Every other month, we offer Zuology, an all-ages Hip Hop Show. Anyone can sign up for a 5-minute slot on stage, and then it’s on! Emcees try to conquer the crowd with their flow and face off in freestyle cyphers. Breakers, hiphop dancers, and live beatmaking
demos are also in effect.

The classes we offer…

MC Writing focuses on teaching MC’s how to express themselves through the art of rhyme. Each term we review and build on song writing basics, create songs, and record them in our Delgado Recording Studio. We study all the MC’s, poets, and Hip Hop writers who came before us.

Hip Hop Dance focuses on teaching students basic hip hop movement, learning short routines, and increasing flexibility. Students are also given the opportunity to create their own choreography and teach it to the class. As the term concludes, we take all of our routines and put them together to make a 5 minute long performance set.

2Legit is AS220 Youth’s hip hop dance troupe. The goal of 2Legit is to help youth become better choreographers, perform on as many stages as possible, and learn how to teach hip hop dance to others. Any students who can make the commitment to coming to practice can join 2Legit, and everyone is given the opportunity to choreograph for the group.

ZuKrewe is a performance troupe dedicated to spreading knowledge through the art of rhyme. We perform all over New England and work to drop at least one full original album a year. Any young person who can make the commitment to our team can join the ZuKrewe.

Studio Engineering is all about learning how to work independently in the recording studio. Engineers learn how to properly set up a recording studio, book and manage recording sessions and most importantly how use Pro-tools LE. Students who successfully complete the Studio Engineering course, will be cleared to help manage and record sessions here at the Delgado Studio.

Beatmaking gives students the skills they need to produce their own original instrumentals. Students learn everything from how to lay down simple drum patterns to chopping up samples, tracking out beats, and getting your finished product into the hands of emcees worldwide.

Guitar and Vocals– private lessons are so pricey but not at AS220 Youth. Any member of the studio can receive guitar and vocal lessons for FREE! The Guitar class helps students learn the basics needed to play the guitar. We cover guitar maintenance, chord techniques, scales and some basic music theory . Vocals is a workshop for any student who wants to strengthen their voice. Basic singing exercises, breathing techniques, proper diction, and pronunciation are just a few skills students will work on during class time. Students also learn how to compose and perform their own songs.