Introduction
We are the BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Team for 2013-2014, otherwise known as BTdot. We consist of many talented poets with many accolades and slams under their belt. We have been invited to compete at Youth Speaks - Brave New Voices 2014 in Philadelphia! With the help of our coaches Patrick De Belen and Brian Millado we're hoping to bring crazy fire to Philadelphia this year at Brave New Voices and the other events we hope to competing at! This is a dream come true for all of our poets and we would appreciate any help that you can provide to help us get there!
Here is a little bit about our members:
Ray Abergas is an 19 year old poet from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. He was the captain of the 2012-2013 National Youth Slam team, BTdot. He is also the BAM! Toronto Youth Grand Slam Champion for the 2013-2014 season. He combines his relentless passion of helping others, poetry and performance to mold the person he is today. Ray has performed for a number of organizations like UNITY charity, UNIFFECT, RISE Poetry and and competed at Brave New Voices. When asked about why he loves spoken word poetry, he replies: "I think words can save lives and that's what I want to do".
Saredo Mohamed is a 18 year old poet from London, Ontario, Canada. She ventured into spoken word poetry in Grade 11, where she continued to present and compete at BAM! Toronto Youth Slam. Saredo became the BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Grand Slam Champion for the 2012-2013 season, and has been featured in an article by Metro newspaper. Saredo uses her experiences with race, immigration and travel as inspiration for her work, and hopes to inspire others with her poetry.
Ida Sophia is a 19 year old MC and spoken word poet from Toronto, Ontario. She was first introduced to the spoken word scene at 16, attending the Drake Hotel to compete and watch others perform. Ida's inspiration thrives through her love of music and Hip Hop. Quick wordplay and crafty tongue twisters give her poetry a distinct rhythm and flow. Aside from music, her team mates continue to inspire her artistic growth. In 2013 she competed for a spot in the Toronto Poetry Slam team at the finals and is now an active member of Bam Youth Slam 2014
At the age of 18, Berma is a wordsmith who's passion cannot be questioned. As a member of Spoken Ward, UNIFFECT, and the 2013 National youth championship team, BTdot, he has honed his ability to perform and enjoys spilling his soul on the stage. At a young age, Berma encountered many hardships only to come out stronger. He uses his words to speak out on issues that affected him and to help those who are dealing with the same things. Whether its talking about sports, music, or even the weather, Berma is a character that can't be missed.
Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Karel La Guardia is a spoken word artist who's goal is to bring light to the stage. He is a member of the BAM! Toronto Youth Poetry Slam team, BTdot, who've recently competed in Brave New Voices and placed first in Canada's national youth slam, YouthCanSlam. Trying to take inspiration from his ever changing generation, Karel's poetry radiates the personality, attitudes, and energy of today's youth. When he's not out making his audience smile with his poetry, Karel is an avid music listener, tv show binger, and breakfast eater. If he's not bringing joy to others in his performance, you can be sure Karel is out somewhere making somebody's day, awesome.
Brian Lanigan is 19 years old and reads poetry to anyone who will listen in Toronto, Ontario. Though new to the poetry scene, Brian has already performed at numerous competitions across the GTA as both a competitor and featured artist (alongside the BTdot team). Brian has led poetry workshops at his high school and enjoys showing his peers that anyone make a living out of doing what they love. He also hopes to use poetry to reach out to those in need of a creative outlet. Both Brian's passion for poetry and drive to succeed make him someone to remember
The Breakdown
The $1500 that we hope to raise will go towards:- Event Registration Fees (Fun fact: Brave New Voices, the largest youth slam festival in the world, has a $1250 team registration fee alone!)
- Transportation
- Lodging
- Food, supplies, etc.
Funds collected will be divided up towards the fees (registration, lodging, travel, etc.) of the following spoken word events and festivals:
- SLAMtario: July 11th-12th(Toronto)
- Brave New Voices: July 16th-20th
- Canadian Festival of Spoken Word YouthCanSlam: August 20-25 (Ottawa)
- And more to be announced!
The Impact
Spoken word poetry is an artform that almost anybody can do and is accessible to everyone. You don't even need a pen and paper. All you need are your thoughts. Spoken word poetry can cover any issue: race, violence, immigration, you name it. Your voice is the most powerful tool that you can ever use. As poets, we want to show youth that you can use poetry to save yourselves from the problems that you have on a daily basis. Spoken word poetry saves lives, and some of our poets are living examples of that.
By supporting us, you're helping us show the world our voices. You're supporting a cause that is trying to change lives for the better and maybe even save a life. We are trying to raise awareness on topics that we feel aren't getting enough attention, as well as telling our stories and the stories of people who have inspired us and moved us in so many ways.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Follow us on twitter! twitter.com/BTdot for future updates!
- Spread the word! Word of mouth is the best way to raise awareness!
- Check us out on Youtube! Youtube.com/user/SpokenWard ! Like, comment, share, subscribe! Any help will be greatly appreciated!
- Share this page! We can use all the help we can get!
SUPPORT THE B.TDOT / BAM! TORONTO YOUTH POETRY SLAM TEAM OF 2013-2014!
