Ignition: AfroReggae

AfroReggae return in April 2011 for a week-long residency that will result in platforms and performances in this year's Festival. Across three Festival years we're working with members of Brazil's amazing cultural group, to inspire young people, community groups, youth practitioners and local artists to create a series of residencies and platforms, culminating in large-scale outdoor performances in 2012. We lit the spark last year with an inspiring programme of music and dance and now we're ready for more. This year we're adding Encounters, a multimedia installation involving young people in Rio and Wiltshire, into the mix.

AfroReggae has transformed the lives of hundreds of young people in the favelas (shanty towns) of Rio de Janeiro through their transformational arts programmes. They have lit up major venues around the world with an inspiring mix of music and dance, ranging from samba and reggae to hip-hop and funk.

With support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and in partnership with People’s Palace Projects we’ve brought AfroReggae to Wiltshire, drawing our region into the UK AfroReggae network, which includes programmes in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle-Gateshead and connecting young people here with others in Brazil.

We lit sparks in 2010 with a residency by AfroReggae and pioneering UK-based breaking company Bad Taste Cru, when children, young people, artists, family and community groups, with ages ranging from 7 to 70 years old, took part in a series of inspirational workshops. Their visit culminated in a performance and jam iwith the groups they'd worked with. As a result, Casa de Samba, the Salisbury Samba Band, went on to perform at the AfroReggae takeover weekend at London’s South Bank Centre in July 2010.