What is the ‘Future Leaders’ programme?

‘Future Leaders’ (aged between 12 and 25) will extend their practical skills in Carnival arts based music making (including percussion, drum kit, and *NEW FOR 2020* brass), dance, or visual arts, as well as gain project management experience, guided by leading artists and professionals in their field. The programme includes residential workshops, business and project development, and personal development opportunities to stimulate the imagination. All of this exciting content is cemented by distance mentoring from leading UK and international artists and practitioners, tutorials, and portfolio work.

By the end of each course, we hope that all of our FLs are in an improved position to deliver their own work, develop new ideas with other likeminded artists, and generally feel a greater sense of confidence and belief in their abilities to take their skills to the next level. We are proud to announce that since starting the programme in 2014, we have worked with over 120 young artists to develop their skills, and in just five years we have seen a huge leap in collaborations between groups, regions, and art forms. We are excited to follow their journeys over time, watch this space!

“It’s crazy to see how much has changed in a year. Those 4 residential weekends quite literally changed my life! I can never thank you all enough for accepting me on board!” Jordan, 18

What makes a ‘Future Leader’? And if we spot them, how can we help them?

They stand out. We’ve seen these talented young people up and down the country; leading bands with inspiring solos in their community drum group rehearsal, bringing alive the rhythm section of their band, outstanding pieces of A-Level Textiles work from young faces already asking about jobs in the field, impressive choreography and performances from youth leaders and their dance groups. Future Leaders in the three arts disciplines…

… are likely to have already started exploring the progression route for a career in carnival arts or perform in a band
… may have experimented with leading sessions for others, or perhaps already run regular classes
… are likely to have demonstrated a regular commitment to their art form and spend a great deal of time independently practicing, researching artists or performers, singing, drawing, designing…

We want to hear from you.

We are soon to announce our next open programme (which is currently on hold due to Coronavirus restrictions), but we’d still love to hear from you. We expect to work with new Future Leaders from 2021, but we’d like to start our conversation with you sooner. For more info or to express and in interest in applying in future, or email us here.

Global Grooves are always on the look out for enthusiastic and skilled young people to get involved with our work (even outside of the Future Leaders programme). They may have exceptional skills in music/percussion, dance, or visual arts styles that do not immediately scream ‘Carnival’ in their content, but such individuals are welcomed to apply to the Future Leaders programme or get in touch about other opportunities to extend their repertoire and knowledge.

We imagine that all around the country there are community centres, percussion bands, youth workers, parents, and others who see these young people week in week out and wish to put resources in place to help them achieve their dreams of becoming mature, skilled young people who can really make a difference both in their community and to the sustainability of the UK arts scene as a whole.

Keep in touch with us via our Global Grooves newsletter mailing list to hear about future events and courses. Click here.

What have our previous Future Leaders done on the course?

Combination of weekend and weeklong training residential that included:

Induction packs with full course outline
Tuition from local and international tutors
Accommodation and all meals provided
Mentoring (during training weekends and at home) from our mentor and artist team
National travel expenses
Global Grooves ‘Future Leaders’ t-shirt/hoodie
Arts Award Silver/Gold Accreditation through Trinity College London

In exchange for this unique training opportunity, we ask that our Future Leaders demonstrate their commitment and entrepreneurial spirit by raising some of the course fees themselves. This amounts to around £50 per residential; please read the Course Fees Contributions guide for more detailed information about how this worked.