Y / The Lab What will you Create?

Hip Hop Cymru Wales - Wrexham

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Community Hip Hop Jam in partnership with Welcome to Our Woods, Treherbert. In collaboration with Welsh Hip Hop artists, local Rhondda artists and UK Breakin', we bring you Hydro Jam. An eco friendly Hip Hop Jam, run off the hydro powerstation, powered from the river running from the mountain above. Outdoor dance floor and stages. the stage was made from wood and trees are being planted to replace the wood that was used. I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of this amazing project over the last two months and seeing the benefits firsthand of putting on a festival like this in the woods. The community and artists will be developing social skills and practical life skills to try and give them the best start in life. Getting an opportunity to perform outside in a woodland they never knew existed. Blending the arts with the outdoors and a chance to display what they have learnt and gain important life developing skills. (Confidence, public speaking, performance, memory skills and physical activity.) I hope you enjoy my journey 😊. Beatbox & Brass Band 5th June https://fb.watch/v/1NN5FucQf/ (A piece of music and imagery from the day.) Week one. I thought I would put a structure of what happened on the first weekend and who did what! As soon as I got there me and Ian put the bell tent up ready for any first aid attention needed over the day. 10am start, arrived and erecting Bell Tents, Gazebos etc. One of the WTOW volunteers camped overnight at the stage site in a hammock. Had a lovely night’s sleep under the stars. Volunteers of WTOW with the full team on site making the day possible with 100% green power on site from the Hydro generator. Organisers, brass band and beat boxers all arriving mainly on TFW. The site is based over a 200m stretch of the woods with there being three main areas over the site. In the middle was a beautiful stream which powered the events through the hydro generator. Over this stream was a “pixie” bridge which grants you access to the main performance area and stage. Before you get to the stream you can take a meandering right turn and end up at the Welcome to Our Woods woodland therapy/workshop area which is tranquil and serene place to spend some time. A beautiful place for families to run around, feel safe and enjoy fully. During the Day t here were children playing around the pixie bridge in and out of bell tents engaging with their surroundings in the forest. Meanwhile the Welsh national anthem is playing out over the forest into Treherbert town and over the railway. Spine tingling to hear a brass band in the valleys playing out. Reaching out to remember the history of Wales while putting on the event in a modern way with the use of renewable energy. Modern twists kick in with the brass band playing classic pieces with the combination of three beat boxers over the top. Drawing passers-by towards them and an impromptu show. World environment day so Rhondda litter pickers have been in the woods picking away and cleaning the streams leading to the river. The local police also came to show their support and agreed to have a picture with me litter picking. Great to see they were aware of Rhondda Litter Pickers since it’s creation Feb 2021. Incredibly special day to have world environment day coinciding with a green event (hydro generator) and the arts getting back on their feet after 18months of inactivity. It is an Important day for the arts and environment coming together like this just shows how much the wider community supports such an event. To display and showcase the talent of the Rhondda. Community sitting and relaxing enjoying the sun, green grass/biodiversity in a woodland surrounded by brass music and modern beat boxers. Behind them the power is being generated to power the site and promote ingenuity/new technologies to help to become carbon negative in the future. I really loved the day and all the different people coming together in an awesome space sharing their skills with everyone and WTOW showcasing what they can do in a woodland. Youth Improv Session & Ballroom and Latin 9th June Week Two. Ballroom And Latin & Youth Improv Session. Great to see so many people travelling by train up to the woods today, giving us evidence of how you can get to the forests of Treherbert from the likes of Barry and Cardiff by just hopping on a train! As the community railway officer for TFW & WTOW it fills me with hope and optimism with what can be achieved! A couple of brilliant youth dance groups from Cardiff came up to showcase their brilliant skills but also get some woodland therapy in the process. They all travelled by train to help off-set any carbon footprint they may make. The group loved the surroundings and even a splash of rain did not deter them from getting a full experience. After chatting with them for some time it was clear how appreciative they were for the event to be put on for them to showcase their skills to fellow professionals and a selected audience (Covid policies restricted attendees.) To have a stage to perform on once more is a huge deal for people in the arts. But also forces us to think of new ways to perform with venues not currently being viable to perform in. These facilities that WTOW have made for the arts to perform in and around the forest have been a huge arm of support for the fellow arts scene in the Rhondda and further afield. This is a first for WTOW and are now excited at the prospect of more events in the future of all different kinds as exhibited in these eight weeks! We were chatting about music, exhibitions, art installations, site specific shows and just a general exhibiting of Welsh talent in the woods. The ballroom dancing was one of my favorites and I feel that the woodlands is the perfect place for some very skilled dancers to showcase their work, passion and enjoyment for such activities. I’d love to see a semi-permanent stage with a gentle canopy which would mean you could have activities all year round, from ball room to mountain bike trick events Woodland therapy or forest bathing is a by-product of these activities, so people come away feeling calmer and more at one with nature with a re-connect through the sessions happening naturally. Wonderful to see such little impact on nature can have huge benefits for all inside the woodland. Ballroom Class, Sewing Session, Make Up Workshop 19th June Week Three Sewing Workshop, Make Up Workshop and Ballroom/Vogue Class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLAiuexvAgE (Vogue Showcase.) Week three felt like a slight ramping up of activities and a growing in confidence by both WTOW and Avant Cymru. The workshops worked really well in the woodland and to have 200M of space is a massive gift especially with covid regs. Julie Taylor owner of “Julie The Stitch” is holding a sewing session in the woods today. Julie has a large group of people from the Avant Cymru community here to get involved in an embroidery session in the woodland. Under Marquees, on and around the woodland stage. Teaching new skills while all socialising together under the tree canopy. A new addition/challenge to the event is the added midges as the weather has been wet. Everyone coped incredibly well with this addition and made for some fun sudden gesturing. Julie is based in Pentre and has started her own business in the last few years with the support of the 5to9 club in 2020. Great to see a new business based in the Rhondda being supported by its own community. Showing a group of 20 people how to embroider and hopefully inspire creativity in a different skill. Talking to the Avant Cymru community they tell me when they are performing on the woodland stage, they feel freer to make bigger and more emotionally committed moves compared to being in a studio. This is interesting as the stage is a lot smaller than their large studio spaces. They say because its less clinical and not a strict space, the air is never stagnant and so fresh. They have such large and beautiful surroundings they feel more connected to the space and can give the performance more gusto. Professional make up workshop gets under way with the artist demonstrating a variety of skills and effects to this young audience. A small and personal session sitting on the woodland stage. Exhibiting tools, methods and techniques on how to achieve the best looks in the industry with very little effort or cost. Dance class workshop, warm up in the wood’s was an intense session full of energy with good audience participation. Loads of energy in the canopy dancers sitting in the trees and swinging off the branches. Amazing to see the environment that this is all set in, and how the dancers are interacting with their natural environment. Inclusive feel. By the end of the dance session, they finish with a vogueing session which caps off the day well with everyone feeling a general connectivity to one another. After the last 18months this is a very welcome distraction and a feeling of getting back to normality for some. Just to finish the day off Gareth the CRP officer and Chris the woodland caretaker took action in another problem area in the woodland and cleared the whole site of litter and broken glass. Restoring it to beautiful woodland. It always upsets us when we see the woods being mis-used but when it is all cleaned up you get a large swell of pride that you are looking after mother nature. A great day showcasing that you really can do everything in a woodland environment! Art in The Woods 26th June Week Four Art In The Woods Week four was one of the busiest and most engaging of the festival, probably one of the first times we saw the community since 2019 coming out and enjoying themselves. Quite emotional to see people feeling so relaxed and happy to be outside with other people. Bagzy attended Hydro Jam! Showing the community how to print on clothing and how much fun you can have in the process! We had a one-of-a-kind print design made by Bagzy for the festival for everyone to enjoy and to take something home. There were a plethora of designs and colours with people either being given a white t-shirt or people bringing their own clothing to have a print put onto. Was lovely to see Bagzy working with kids making their very own t-shirt and seeing them walking away chuffed to bits. Below The Rhondda Creative Community Group brought a whole bunch of engaging activities to interact, watch and listen too. From a stained-glass workshop which lots of groups and people joining in on. Creating a beautiful piece of art representing the valleys and Welcome to our woods! Bella Vista Coffee Club also joined us at the Rhondda Creative tent and played a gorgeous set of beautiful music. Thought provoking and skilful. Finally we also had a creative writing showcase with people sharing their work to an eager audience. Some emotional stories but with an inspirational edge. After 2020’s eventful year it was an honour to listen to such stories and written adventures. Spray Paint: Lloyd the Graffiti artist joined the jam-packed Hydro Jam as well! Showing us his amazing skills hosting a spray workshop and demonstration. Taking inspiration from the woodland creatures at Welcome to Our Woods woodland HQ. The teenagers were like a moth to a flame when it came to Lloyd stretching his spray skills, A Saturday in the woods filled with activity for all ages and abilities! Week four felt an incredibly special week. Covid regs meant we spaced the stages/creative spaces out over a wide area. Meaning we accidently created creative hubs for all different types of audience. The WTOW crew created a wood whittling workshop at the mental health well-being section of the woodland creating an incredibly special space with Nel taking the lead in the spoon carving. Rhondda Creative Community Group were further away than most from the mainstage which worried me, but they created a very special space which needed to be tucked away as what they created needed that calmer feel. They held their own separate audience who really enjoyed what they had to offer. A special mention also to Lee Williams who is one of the backbone volunteers of WTOW and all things good in the upper Rhondda. Since meeting Lee over a year ago she has inspired me with her community action and gun-ho attitude. Master photographer for all our events at WTOW and general activist for all the good things in Treherbert/surrounding areas. We thank Lee for being inspirational to her community and just a pillar of support to anyone she meets. To finish off the tremendously successful Saturday there was the first of its kind in Wales experimental break dance freestyle competition. We had a live band in the woods too! Leading to a family friendly event with lots of ages coming together to showcase their dance prowess. 1st-3rd July Henry V – Shakespeare Theatre Performance Week 5 Shakespeare comes to Treherbert! I have only recently left my old position working in Theatre for over 13 years (backstage) so to see theatre alive and kicking in the Rhondda is a breath of fresh air! But also for me to see Avant Cymru doing a brilliant job from start to finish is just awesome and should act as a confidence boost for the arts in the Rhondda for what can be achieved. Special thanks to the Pen Y Cymoedd fund for seeing the benefits of this project. A special evening performance for one weekend only, showcasing again the variety of artists in the Rhondda and what is possible in a woodland. To be able to put on a site-specific show is no easy feet but they more than pulled it off! What an awesome evening in Cwmsaerbren woods. Avant Cymru staged their production of Henry V, and it was brilliant. The setting was perfect, the evening light was gorgeous and every member of the cast was outstanding. Welcome To Our Woods stage held up to all the sword fighting and running around, and not even the gnats spoiled the enjoyment Thanks all for a wonderful evening It was all going on in Cwmsaerbren woods this morning Avant Cymru were rehearsing for tonight's performance of Henry V, there was a film crew there filming the Welcome To Our Woods Woodland Therapy session, there was whistle making and tea and coffee drinking Great to see spaces all over the Rhondda being used to put on a performance in the woodland. Using Porth/Dinas football pitch for rehearsals is a great way of getting the community behind these projects, showing what is possible with a little bit of imagination. Showcasing Rhondda artists talents for all to see and share. I would love to see more of this spread all over the Rhondda to get as many communities involved as possible and engage with the whole valley. Even if the show is one place the creation could be spread over a wider area. Breakin’ Competition & Pilates 10th July Week 6 Breakin’ Competition & Pilates The final day of events took place with planned larger audiences but in a controlled way with covid regs. Amazing to see the community support for the Hydro festival with audience participation eagerly awaiting to get involved! I was unable to attend the last weekend as I was isolating but I made sure to get as much feedback as possible and have a good natter with people who performed there. I’ve included some audience feedback as well to give you a true flavor for the day. To bring skilled individuals from all over to one location is inspirational for communities to show what can be achieved with a little dedication. Fingers crossed we will see in the future the same type of succesful professionals we have seen over the last two months in our own local communities. "This is what today's #HydroJam in Cwmsaerbren woods was all about . A fantastic family friendly event, with everyone having a blast in a wonderful setting. Thanks Welcome To Our Woods and Avant Cymru for hosting this, all I can say is roll on next year" "An amazing collaboration between Welcome To Our Woods, Avant Cymru and UK Breakin. What an incredible event this was, and great to see it happening in Cwmsaerbren woods. The atmosphere was brilliant, it was a real family event, with the children being included in everything and made welcome on stage. Lots of hints and tips being given and gratefully received, and most importantly lots of fun and laughter. And the music and dancing was pretty good too Roll on next year" Lovely to see the WTOW crew relaxing and enjoying the show after working hard setting up the event for the last time after two months of constant activity (Top left image). With WTOW volunteers and paid staff they are a phenomal bunch of community people. I sometimes had my theatre hat on too much to see how easy things could actually happen with just some woodland knowledge and working with the woods and not against. It’s good to be shown how else to do the same job in a different environment. The WTOW crew were so relaxed and family orientated they were a true inspiration to me personally. We are all excited to see what is possible next year with our confidence growing year on year for this project and the brilliant partner in Avant Cymru! I’m sure everyone is already thinking about the next steps and how to make it bigger and more special next year. Fingers crossed WTOW new sites will all be online and we can spread the festival in even more exciting ways across Treherbert! Thank you to everyone who was involved and came to Hydro Jam over the last two months it’s been an honor. A final shout out to Rachel and Jamie who organised the artisan/cultural side of the events and put on such an amazing showcase in the Rhondda for us. They were brilliant, calm, funny and most of all engaging to everyone they met! We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for inspiring a community. And being an awesome part of the Rhondda community. To show my support I bought an Avant facemask and caught public transport wherever possible through the festival to keep my carbon footprint as low as possible.

Actors For UBI by Matthew Bool

Thank you / Diolch ACW

A blog on the Welsh Hip Hop Culture collection on Peoples Collection Wales Website.