OUR THOUGHTS…

Well, here we are in 2021, our 21^st birthday! Following on from our super exciting 20^th birthday last year?! It wasn’t quite the year we planned, and it looks like 2021 may take a little while to get going. But we are hopeful, and we wanted to take a minute to reflect on who we are.

Our theme for 2020 was going to be: “In the Spirit of… Togetherness, Celebration, Kinetika Bloco”. The brief we had written collectively whilst in New Orleans at the end of 2019 about the theme stated:

“We understand that Kinetika Bloco is more than the sum of its parts. It surpasses the ordinary. It is deeper than any one person, genre, ego, or moment in time. Kinetika Bloco is a combination of everybody’s contribution – those who are still here and those who have gone before. We all bring our energy, our talent, our time, our passion, our pain and our joy together to create and inspire. We acknowledge the past as a foothold for our future.”

We have seen these truths play out in our 2020. Despite the pain, disruption, frustrations, violence, dis-unity and fear we have seen the Kinetika Bloco Family come together to create, inspire and support each other.  Everyone has stepped up to ensure that our family is cared for physically, creatively and mentally. Our #BFF supporters, funders, and many donors have also helped us weather the storm financially so that we can make sure we are here for the next 20 years.

This year, amongst other things, we were able to:

• Deliver holiday programmes for 180 young people at our Croydon courses and Summer Activities (mostly face to face, some virtual)
• Facilitate school workshops for 200 young people
• Complete our Leadership Development Programme with 20 amazing young people
• Provide over 270 different online sessions to 98 different young people – including masterclasses, career sessions, racism discussions, instrumental tuition, band practise, composition, and arrangement sessions
• Make 2 public performances – London New Years Day Parade 2020 and filmed London New Years Day Parade 2021 event!
• Keep employing our staff and engage our freelancers as much as we could
• And 6 of our team have completed the Youth Mental Health First Aid course so we can be more supportive to the wellbeing of our young people

So as for everyone 2020 wasn’t quite what we planned, and we know there is still a lot to get through. But we want to acknowledge the huge contribution so many have made this year to help us keep going and secure a strong foothold to help our young people progress into the future.

THANK YOU for being part of this Kinetika Bloco journey, here’s hoping 2021 eventually enables us to see each other for a bit more music, fun, dance and joy together!

Sending you love and hope, Tamzyn, Shayanna, Aneira and the team x

 

ACTIVITIES…

We’re Going Back Online – Shutdown Sessions Part 2

As schools are currently closed and London is looking a little bleak we wanted to offer some more online sessions for you all to meet up, hang out, develop your skills….and hopefully have a little fun!

We are combining these all on the same night for one big session. Join our amazing tutors on a Thursday evening for a number of musical activities. From beginners reading to improvisation, singing to dancing, there will be something for everyone. Please sign up using THIS FORM and we will let you know what we are running that will suit your level of playing, interests and development needs.
We look forward to you joining us!

Date: Starting Thursday 14th January till Feb half-term
Time: 5.30-7.00pm
Venue: On Zoom! (when you apply we’ll send you the link)
Tutors involved: Ruben Fox, Jermaine Amissah, Andre Johnson, Claude Deppa, Shayanna Dyer-Harris….and more coming!

 

As you are probably still doing a lot of your shopping online, we would love to ask you to sign up for Amazon Smile and choose us as your charity. That way, every time you shop, Amazon give us a donation!

Set us up as your charity of choice and then always shop through the Smile link. Find out how HERE

 

Lastly, As Ever, Be Our #BFF

If you’d like to give to us more regularly to help continue our work with young people, please consider joining our #BFF Scheme. Our Bloco Friends and Family help us attain some regular monthly income that helps us to keep going. You can join for as little as £5 per month.

Find out more about how to set up a direct debit HERE