Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 10: The Final Set

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: With hip-hop becoming so commercialized and artists working within different forms of branding, it’s important to recognize our fears of missing out and how this can be manipulated against us. Rather than buying into these products, we can work on creating them ourselves. Mentioned in previous weeks was the aspect of not feeling ready to pursue our goals, but this fear of the unknown will hold us back from achieving opportunities as seen with big stars and artists – but these opportunities are truly applicable to whoever works on building those connections. 
Activity: With research showing that increased social media use increases the risk of FOMO, we can see that there may be an issue of viewers comparing themselves to others or feeling as if they aren’t deserving. The youth will encourage each other's sets and try to hear and feel the music from the DJ’s point of view, engaging in the music as much as possible to encourage the DJ to perform their best.

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 9: Practicing the Final Set

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: When getting comfortable with our peers, we’re a lot more comfortable discussing topics that may be sensitive, this may come out without us even realizing it and can sometimes be interpreted as insensitivity. Hip-hop has historically been seen as inappropriate, disrespectful, and stigmatizing but when we are able to see the environment it was born, it can be appreciated as a form of security, safety, and familiarity. That does not mean things are always okay to say or do but allows for more forgiving opportunities to learn from. 

Activity: This week we will model our DJ sets for next week, practicing our final set and working out the final details. Youth will be asked to check in with each other and encouraged to be open to giving and receiving feedback. Are our track lists something that our peers will appreciate? Will your peers feel comfortable getting down and dancing to your music? 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 8: Track List Swap

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Now that we’ve discussed the differences in hip-hop that may cause separation, it’s time to reflect on what these differences mean. Interconnectedness means more than just seeing how different genres are appreciated; it’s understanding why and learning from how these perspectives come to fruition and appreciating the learning opportunities from exploring different ideas. 

Activity: Today the youth will be put into partnerships where their partner may have a different DJing style, the youth will be asked to swap the track lists that they’ve built. From this, each youth will explore how they can reinvent the songs used in their own DJing style; learning from each other in the process and sharing what they like/don’t like respectfully. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 7: Developing Track Lists

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Although we’ve all been working on individual projects, we want the youth to spend some time reflecting on how it’s felt to spend this time with their peers and if they feel there’s any room for improvement in engaging with people from various backgrounds. Yes, it’s easy to connect with folks when there’s a shared interest, but how do we connect when we don’t? With hip-hop, there are a variety of styles and genres that may limit how we think we can connect in a shared environment. 

Activity: This week we’ll be getting down to business in preparation for sharing individual DJ sets on June 16, where youth will prep for a 10-minute DJ set while a Dance Party is going on. Youth can work individually or with partners on establishing their tracklist, transitions & effects used, and how to beat-match the songs to create smooth transitions between songs. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 6: Dance Party Prep

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: As we’ve seen, hip-hop sets itself apart from other music genres as it is much more than just that. We hope that each participant acknowledges the community that comes with hip-hop and will remain an advocate for this inclusion. It is each person's responsibility in this community to make sure the spaces they are hosting are safe and welcoming. 

Activity: Today we will begin planning for our end-of-program Dance Party, having each youth come up with 5 ways that would promote participation and engage youth not already in program in attending the dance. Youth will work as a committee on their ideas to create the best plan of action for what will make the space most inviting. We will also go out into Genesis to ask other youth what their current favourite songs are; coming back to the group to discuss a tracklist of songs that will be most appreciated by the majority of folks participating and surveyed. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 5: Mentorship

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Whether you’re the mentor or one being mentored, to “take the reins” means to take control and why this is important in your hip-hop development is because of competition. There are many people trying to do very similar things, if we aren’t willing to take control of our decisions and desires – someone may beat us to the punchline.  

Activity: By now the youth should be able to envision a future in the hip-hop community for themselves, today will be about taking the initiative to ensure this progress is being made in ourselves. Working in partners, the youth will discuss their progress in achieving the 3 goals they initially set and show examples of their work – ensure the youth are providing positive feedback. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 4: Exploring our Goals

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Now that each youth has a better idea of the direction they want to go in, we can begin exploring each person's interests, get a better idea of who we all are and get comfortable with one another. Oftentimes, new endeavors are intimidating and as fun as hip-hop is, it’s no different. It takes a lot of willpower to feel confident in our progress and sometimes it can feel stagnant, but by appreciating the learning opportunity, we are much better equipped to jump right in. 

Activity: The youth will explore one of their goals, something that is most unfamiliar to them, and work on an aspect that they haven’t tried yet. This could be a new scratch technique, a different type of sample, or even a whole new genre. We want the youth to feel comfortable exploring new tactics and as a group, we will reflect on and give strengths-based feedback on each person’s growth. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 3: Origins of Hip Hop

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: The hip-hop movement was born out of communities that were struggling to survive; these communities banded together to create something of their own, for their own. Hip-hop communities became safe spaces for voicing concerns about our environments and factors that impact us in life due to folks defending and protecting what they had. Self-advocacy and confidence in personal values became key to creating joy out of these unpreferred circumstances. 

Activity: Youth will spend time exploring the origins of hip-hop and better understanding the importance behind the main five elements. From this, they will each pick an area to explore and reflect on how they could obtain an opportunity in the chosen area. The youth will set 3 goals each to complete over the duration of the program with the assistance of the facilitators (with the option to draw to post on their wall). 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 2: Personal Values

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Being a professional DJ sometimes means playing music that doesn’t really pique your interests, but knowing your personal values will help you to better support participation when interests aren’t shared. Having confidence in your values creates an interest in yourself which can lead to healthy values that make you less likely to break; rather bend, when things don’t go your way. 

Activity: With a partner, each youth will share some of their personal values, either in life or in music listening & production with one another. Youth will be asked to hear one another out and to vouch for the other person’s interests. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Cycle 2

Week 1: Choosing Effects

Program Description:

Weekly Goal & Lesson: Much like life itself, sometimes when we’re learning about all the things we can do in DJing, we create too much music needed for the track; this can cause listeners stress and disengagement. When we add too many layers, transitions or effects to our music, the feeling you intend to imply through the song can be forgotten and “spoken over” due to the overwhelming amount of sounds being projected. 

Activity: Youth will pick a selection of effects to use in their mix & present a certain feeling to listeners – listeners will give feedback on how they felt while listening; did it align with what the DJ was trying to express? 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 10: Cypher Practice

Program Description:

Objective: Coming together as a focus group, we will prepare ourselves for presenting our routine. We will go over how prepared everyone feels, what they would like to work on today, and discuss/execute the positions everyone will take. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: The youth will collaborate on how they want the final act to be presented. 
Dance Activity: Practice turn taking and participating in a cypher – the youth will practice their power moves in the circle.

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 9: Preparation & Execution

Program Description:

Objective: With the final week approaching, youth will begin to prepare their final act/dance routine for presentation – sharing with the community what they’ve learned about breakdancing that brings the hip-hop community together. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: Using the moves the youth have learned, we will put together a dance routine collaborating on all the moves that were most appreciated. The youth will spend most of the day working together to create a plan in setting a goal for how their final presentation will look. 
Dance Activity: Pulling it all together; the youth will practice combining all the movements they’ve learned to execute their individually made dance routines; we will wrap up by practicing participating in a cypher. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 8: Power Moves/Freezes & Originality Pt.2

Program Description:

Objective: A large part of what makes up Hip-Hop culture is the community that came with the movement. It’s been used to help people come together to support each other in times of need and sometimes we can lose track of this with the direction Hip-Hop is taking. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: This week, youth be practicing their personalized Power Moves. In our group discussion, we will discuss what is needed for youth in today’s society. Using the ideas brought up, we will begin formulating ideas on how we can create safer spaces for the needs of these youth. They will practice using their voices & skills to better prepare themselves for confidently advocating for their needs. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 7: Power Moves/Freezes & Originality Pt. 1

Program Description:

Objective: In Hip-Hop culture, most artists have something that makes them unique, that makes them stand out & today we’ll explore how to do this in our own dance styles.  
Weekly Goal & Lesson: In opening the workshop, youth will work as a group to find something unique about themselves that no one else in the group can relate to; Guess Who style. This week, we’ll introduce the youth to a new style of dance they have not yet tried; I.e popping and mixing it into their own dance routine to make it unique.

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 6: Power Moves/ Freezes & Dynamics Pt. 2

Program Description:

Objective: Having developed a basic understanding of the elements of breakdancing, we hope youth are beginning to feel comfortable and confident enough in the space to begin experimenting with freestyling. Hip-Hop and breakdancing were built off the idea of letting the soul flow freely, using the body as a vessel to being in tune with the current moment – a means of breaking away from day-to-day stress. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: With the youth becoming more confident in the space, it is our goal that they feel comfortable letting their body move how it wants; we will begin discovering what it means to freestyle & to move freely. Youth will continue to work on mastering the power move they had chosen last week – if mastered, pick a new move to work on. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 5: Power Moves/Freezes & Dynamics Pt. 1

Program Description:

Objective: In achieving new goals, we can sometimes feel stuck or unable to learn certain skills. We will learn how to be better prepared for these times by experimenting with a variety of coping strategies. Though it’s important to not give up, sometimes we do need to take a break, take a load off and just practice what we know so far. This week, our guest facilitator Dylan will introduce Dynamics and one Power Move for youth to begin working on
Weekly Goal & Lesson: In our effort to create better boundaries among our youth, we also want them to feel like this group is a safe space and we will reflect on how we can make it a better environment to support each youth’s growth. By discussing safe spaces, the youth will be freer to express their true emotions in group without fear of judgment. This will also better prepare youth for making their own environments safer and more comfortable when we are not there. 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 4: Bottom Rock Pt. 2

Program Description:

Objective: Being a part of any dance group, it’s incredibly vital you are able to communicate with the group about how much space is needed in order to achieve an attractive dance, but also to uphold respect among group members. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: In discussing personal space, the youth will develop a better understanding of how much space is needed when dancing, and how it feels to be overcrowded and unable to accomplish their goals. The youth will learn how to advocate for their own space via the “space-bubble” game and participate in a dance tutorial with guest facilitator, Dylan.  

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week Week 3: Bottom Rock Pt. 1

Program Description:

Objective: In today’s society of easy-to-achieve pleasures and advertisements built to shorten our attention span, it can feel difficult to not give up on our dreams when it seems so many people have. Hip-Hop culture is built around the idea that nothing can be perfect but we can work with what we’ve got. This week we will explore what it means to be self-disciplined while exploring the benefits and growth we can learn from it. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: This week for our introduction, we’ll ask the youth what their favourite self-care activities are, come together as a group, and discuss the medicine wheel as a means to self-care in all parts of life. The youth will identify a self-care strategy and provide an example of self-discipline for each of the 4 aspects. To prepare for stamina-demanding routines, we’ll engage youth in a meditative/flexibility workout, encouraging them to push themselves; hold positions (planks, wall sits, push-ups, lunges, toe touch). 

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 2: Top Rock & Conditioning

Known as a sixth sense, proprioception is the awareness one has of their own body. Do you ever feel your tummy grumbling, feel your skin twist? Today we’ll discover how to be even more in tune with feeling your own body’s sensations and how it will help you in breakdancing. 
Objective: Now that youth have an understanding of Top Rock, they should feel confident to participate in basic forms of breakdancing. We want to pursue further growth in helping them connect their mind to their body, understanding how to prepare themselves for entering more in-depth practices, and conditioning their bodies in preparation. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: This week we want to engage youth in learning to understand their own bodies; paying attention to the body’s ability to sense location, movements, and actions. We’ll show the youth methods and techniques to become more aware of self; along with skills on how to listen to the body.

Friday Hip-Hop Club Week 1: Top Rock

Building memory is a great practice to engage in when beginning your journey into breakdancing as there are a variety of moves to choose from. Remembering the initial steps you’re taught will help you to personalize your style in creating combinations & new moves. 
Objective: In learning how to breakdance, it is vital to build memory not only of the mind but of the body. We will learn about muscle memory and practice steps to help youth remember the moves they’ve learned. 
Weekly Goal & Lesson: In a circle, the youth will introduce themselves and one of their earliest memories from childhood. We’ll go around again and have each youth introduce a dance move they know or have learned in a group while reciting the moves that came before themselves. We will be working with a Breakdancing Instructor who will be teaching the basics of Top Rock movements.

Thursday Hip-Hop Club combines DJ and rap into one program! Youth will learn how to operate professional DJ equipment, write and perform their own songs!

Youth will also have the opportunity to showcase their performances in various locations with our community partners.

Who: Youth ages 12-18

When: Every Thursday night, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM  

Where: Contemporary Calgary 

701 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

In Monday Recording Club, youth will learn how to prepare and combine lyrics, songs and instrumentals to form personalized tracks, and will then learn the process of how to record their pieces!

Who: Youth ages 12 – 18 

When: Every Monday night, 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM  

Where: Calgary Central Library   

800 3 St SE

For more information, contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

Friday Hip-Hop Club combines dance and DJ’ing into one program! Youth will learn how to choreograph and make their own signature moves, and operate professional DJ equipment! We build off of the basics to teach our participants how to safely participate and engage in open-floor and open-deck cyphers and battles. 

Youth will also have the opportunity to showcase their performances in various locations with our community partners.

Who: Youth ages 12 – 18 

When: Every Friday night, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM  

Where: Genesis Centre  

7555 Falconridge Blvd NE #10

For more information, contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

Thursday Hip-Hop Club combines DJ and rap into one program! Youth will learn how to operate professional DJ equipment, write and perform their own songs!

Youth will also have the opportunity to showcase their performances in various locations with our community partners.

Who: Youth ages 12-18

When: Every Thursday night, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM  

Where: Contemporary Calgary 

701 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

In Monday Recording Club, youth will learn how to prepare and combine lyrics, songs and instrumentals to form personalized tracks, and will then learn the process of how to record their pieces!

Who: Youth ages 12 – 18 

When: Every Monday night, 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM  

Where: Calgary Central Library   

800 3 St SE

For more information, contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

Who: Youth ages 12-18

When: Every Thursday night, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM  

Where: Contemporary Calgary 

701 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

Every Monday, youth will analyze the following albums:

• The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

• The Unseen by Quasimoto

• The Ecstatic by Mos Def

Based on the albums, we will discuss the meanings of the songs. After the analysis, youth have the opportunity to write & record their own lyrics!

Who: Youth ages 12-18

When: Every Thursday night, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM  

Where: Contemporary Calgary 

701 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Contact:  

• Jeffrey   

  jeffrey@antyx.org

  403-444-0500 ext. 4

Every Monday, youth will analyze the following albums:

• The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

• The Unseen by Quasimoto

• The Ecstatic by Mos Def

Based on the albums, we will discuss the meanings of the songs. After the analysis, youth have the opportunity to write & record their own lyrics!