Since 2004, BAM’s teaching artists have led workshops and residencies to expose New York City students to the theatrical poetry experience of spoken word performance.
One of the most exciting aspects of the program is a special, daytime performance that BAM curates, filled with the country’s best poets, beatboxers and dancers. The riveting annual show is meant for students only, but over the years it’s attracted a wider audience.
So this Friday at 7:30 pm, for the first time ever, BAM is bringing an electric evening of poetry, spoken word, and hip-hop to BAM’s Harvey Theater for older teens (15 and up) and adults of all ages.
Titled Poetry 2012: Grand Slam!, it features over a dozen performers whose work draws from a deep well of influences, from the Beat writers to the Black Arts Movement; hip-hop culture; and a wide range of theatrical performance.
Together with DJ Reborn–who has spun live for artists such as The Roots, Common, India Arie, Will Power, and John Legend–international emcee and beatboxer Baba Israel hosts this evening, which features poets jessica Care moore, The Strivers Row Poets (Miles Hodges, Jasmine Mans, and Joshua Bennett), “Mighty” Mike McGee, Jamaal St. John, Ishmael “Ish” Islam (NYC’s 2012 Youth Poet Laureate), and NeNe Ali.
Along with these groundbreaking poets, beatboxers and dancers Yakko 440, Rockafella and Kwikstep round out this interdisciplinary, one-night-only performance. Tickets start at just $10, on sale here.
