Dont Judge me on my 'bling' let me make a difference .... wanna dance?
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Sport
Dance
Year the initative began (yyyy)
2007
YouTube Upload
Project URL (include HTTP://)
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Few effective tools for personal improvement
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Social cohesion
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic:
This field has not been completed
Name Your Project
Dont Judge me on my 'bling' let me make a difference .... wanna dance?
Describe Your Idea
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
The Urban Street Dance Krew challenges negative influences and stereotypes on children and young people through personal development programmes using the art of dance.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field?
The Urban Krew has a social agenda and was formed as a direct response to national strategies in the UK to promote healthier lifestyles, active citizenship and ‘peace on the streets’ campaigns amongst young people.
We use dance as a medium for self expression, personal development, greater consciousness, personal responsibility, positive self image and positive role modeling.
The Urban Krew recognizes that throughout history and across cultures dance has always been used as a means for social cohesion for all ages. Most dance classes are focused on performance, competition or profit.
The Urban Dance Krew encourages children and young people to get physical, be creative and expressive, explore their individual potential and raise their self esteem.
We are unique because we support the communities and organisations that support us. We give something back! Our pupils are presented with numerous performance opportunities, where they come away with a sense of achievement knowing that they some how contributed.
We do not charge for these appearances.
What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change?
Dependency on anti-social behaviour for kicks and significance, obesity, apathy, lack of extra-curricular activities with the focus and ethos of The Urban Street Dance Krew.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
Through classes, holiday dance camps and coaching sessions which take place within schools and at a number of venues everyday of the week and at weekends.
By having parental involvement and working in partnership with good causes, schools, teachers and local communities and local press we can keep our finger on the pulse and remain in the heart of all current affairs.
Our delivery model is simple: Reach out in any everyway you can:- verbally, literally, vertically, horizontally, mentally, physically, emotionally and use the resources available to you be it the press, internet or other forms of technology.
We continually communicate the achievements and growth of The Urban Krew in everyway that we can. This draws more attention to our projects and activities which in turn generates new members, more performance opportunities, more column inches, more talented instructors and more experience dancers joining the team and hopefully eventually an opportunity for us to accept sponsorship and secure a more permanent headquarters.
How do you plan to grow your innovation?
To build on the strengths already established; source new venues for our operation; recruit additional qualified & vetted instructors; extend the range and diversity of classes/camps in line with national/international initiatives.
We are working towards taking the The Urban Krew in to even more schools and youth projects.
We plan to prepare a demo/showreel and upgrade our website so that we can reach more people & organisations in order attract opportunities. This is very expensive to produce -help!
We plan to extend Instructor courses to over 18yrs, get them accredited with an International Dance Council that we are already affiliated with, obtain security clearance & insurance then provide them with the opportunities of working for the Urban Krew & within schools, possibly their old school in the future.
Dance is not only a fantastic way to maintain fitness, it is also a great way to explore career opportunities. The Urban Krew wants to do what it can to provide the best possible platform for this, and so the cycle
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact.
To initiate the process of personal development in children and young enabling them to feel good about themselves and feel they have something of value to offer society.
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries?
Beneficiaries: ages, gender, ethnicity, social class
Impact: improved fitness levels, improved social skills, realised individual potential, raised self esteem and confidence, social and community acceptance and an overall reduction in number of young people at risk.
How many people have you served directly?
In total we have had over 570 individuals enquire about our street dance sessions by email
265 non email enquiries
Aprox 200 active participants
Min 30 individuals attending each class through out the week
Average of 64 individuals attending each dance camp
Worked with over 29 schools which have between 18-32 pupils attend each session
24 public performances
How many people have you served indirectly?
If you add together all those who have watched us perform at the variety of events, we have indirectly served over 39,000.
Taking part in charity and fundraising events has also meant that we have served people. We have marked this as 'served indirectly' because although we know we have helped out in some way, we do not know who these individuals are.
With a project like this, you never know exactly how many you indirecty impact. It is a domino affect. Making a difference to one person can make a difference to a whole family, their relation ship with others, friends, colleagues which can re-create the process all over again.
Throw a stone in to a lake and watch it ripple...
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation?
• What worked well even better if’… surveys of children and parents at the end of holiday schemes.
• Number of children and young people participating in performance events
• Number of events staged
• Number of schools requesting our dance classes on site
• Recognition and accreditation from national assessors
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact?
Shortage of affordable, suitable and accessible venues for The Urban Street Dance Krew in our start up locations.
This Entry is about (Issues)
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
At present all our pupils paying for every class they attend on a pay as you go basis. In some cases we are contracted directly by the schools, local councils/authorities, sports facilities ad youth projects.
Our Dance Camps are paid for in advance by parents. Again facilities, staff and items required to run these projects will the come out of these funds.
We pay for all advertising, venues, staff, equipment and performance clothing and merchandise from these funds as well as all other standard business expenses.
We realise that The Urban Krew will continue to be financed this way, although we are hoping to acquire sponsorship or small from organisations in the future.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization.
The Urban Krew have just completed their first year of trading and as yet have not been provided with the accounts. These can be fast tracked if necessary.
The Urban Krew currently has 1 paid full time staff member, 1 voluntary and has a pool of 13 Instructors who are engaged on a casual basis.
What is the potential demand for your innovation?
Question? As a lover of hip hop, would your 15yr old son/daughter want to do a hip-hop class & then be forced to take Ballet or Tap at stage school? How affordable are the fees if the answer was yes? Could you see them in a church hall with maturer individuals in leotards dancing for the purpose of a good workout but have no performance opportunities? If the answer is no to all, then that's the answer to your question.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability?
Financial sustainability would be affected if the number of individuals attending the classes were to drop or if we were unable to increase the number of sessions in order to meet ever increasing overheads.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story.
Few dance groups really have the interests of the whole community in mind. The options available to parents of children keen to dance can either to enrol them into a stage school or take the to a class where opportunities are minimal. So what happens the those who fall in to the middle category?
As children and adults alike became less and less active there was a huge decline in individuals taking part in sports and recreational activities. People were becoming more and more motivated by modern day television, computer games which evidently leads to an unhealthy life style which breeds low self esteem and lack of confidence. It was time for extra curricular activities for all ages.
We were also personally affected by the groups of youths who felt they had something to prove, nowhere else to go but hang around in large groups on the streets, smoke, drink, shout and swear, leaving members of the public feeling intimidated and threatended.
We wanted to make sure that the these groups of individuals had some other way to keep occupied and give them an opportunity to restore their reputation. It needed to be one that would not be deemed uncool by their peers, whilst providing them with an activity that would not only enhance their confidence and ability to express themselves but provide them with an exciting way to improve and maintain fitness.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material.
In life we all have responsibilities, some more than others granted but responsibilities nevertheless. It's easy to point the finger, pass the buck, label, cast judgement, blame the parents, teachers, the government, but how many people actually turn their eye on themselves and take responsibility for the fact they they have done little or nothing to make a difference either?
As the saying goes " dont expect someone to do something if you are not prepared to do yourself", so we did something!
How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate? (this is confidential)
Our vision was to introduce something that extended past the day to day dance class, eliminate negative stereotypes and instead generate new and positve role models.
Affiliation (please list all that apply)
United Kingdom Alliance
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