2010 YOUTH SLAM-OFF
Nat. Hispanic Cultural Center, corner of Fourth & Bridge SW(click here for directions/map)
Saturday, April 10, 7 pm
Sign-up starts at 6 pm. Only 15 slots are available, so get there early!

Youth poets from all over the Albuquerque Metro area will converge on the NAT. HISPANIC CULTURAL CENTER on SATURDAY, APRIL 10 for the 2010 ABQ YOUTH SLAM-OFF poetry slam championship..

The ABQ Youth Slam-off an open poetry slam for poets, MCs, and spoken word performers of all stripes ages 13-19. This event is being co-produced by ABQSlams, Warehouse 508 and the DCYPC (Duke City Youth Poetry Collective).
The Slam-off is taking place in the NHCC's BANK OF AMERICA THEATER, Sat. April 10 at 7 p.m. Sign-up for the slam starts at 6:00 p.m.

Interested performers and poets should arrive early as only 15 spots are guaranteed. If more than 15 poets sign up for the competition, a lottery will be taken to determine the 15 positions.
Admission to this event is $5 at the door at the Nat. Hispanic Cultural Center Box Office.

The ABQ Youth Slam-off will pick the top five ABQ Metro-area youth spoken word performers, who will then represent Albuquerque at the international BRAVE NEW VOICES poetry slam conference in Los Angeles, Calif. in July 2010.
The slam will follow all standard slam rules except time limit – poets must recite original poems in each round (up to three rounds possible).
Poets cannot use props, music or costumes. Poets have three (3) minutes to do their poem plus a 20 second grace period. After that they will be penalized half a point (0.5) for every ten seconds they go over time.
Five judges will be chosen randomly from the audience and judge the poems on a scale of 1-10. The high and low score will be dropped and the other scores combined for a final score.

The ABQ Unidos team is also looking to raise $5,000 to pay for the trip to California as well as accommodations in Los Angeles while at Brave New Voices. Tax-deductable donations can be made by contacting ABQSlams slammaster Kenn Rodriguez at 505.379.2666 (call or text).

For informationon the Youth Slam-off, call/text Kenn Rodriguez at 505.379.2666 or email kenn@warehouse508.org

N.M. INTERSCHOLASTIC POETRY SLAM
Warehouse, 508 First St. NW(click here for directions/map)
Saturday, April 24
Prelims start at 10 am. FINALS, 6 pm, $5 at the door.

Teams and individual poet from all over the state will converge on Downtown Albuquerque for the largest youth poetry event ever to be held in New Mexico -- the 2010 N.M. INTERSCHOLASTIC POETRY SLAM on SATURDAY, APRIL 24 at the ABQ’S new youth arts space, WAREHOUSE 508.
The event combines the state’s two largest youth poetry events – the N.M. High School Poetry Slam Championship and the middle school championship, VE=NT (Voices Emerging = New Thunder) into a one-day lollapalooza of youth poetry.
It'll be a great day of youth performance and empowerment. Sign-up for the NM-IPS will start at 9 am for teams and individuals. Preliminaries start at 10 am and run into the afternoon at Warehouse 508’s Club side venue as well as the Chroma Art Center, 100 Roma NW.

Finals for the middle school and high school slam, as well as the individual competition start at 6 pm in the Warehouse 508 larger Warehouse side venue. Tickets for the Finals are $5 at the door the day of the event, or on Holdmyticket.com.

The competition is split into three divisions:
- Team, High Schools (age 14-21) : Includes teams from high schools, charter schools, and combined teams sponsored by youth spaces or organizations.
- Team, Middle schools (age 10-15): Includes teams from high schools, charter schools, and combined teams sponsored by youth spaces or organizations
- Indie Poets (ages 13-21): Poets who are unaffiliated with a school or organization who are still attending a secondary school like a high school, charter school or are being home schooled.

The top three teams and individuals in all three categories – high school team, middle school teams – will receive awards.

Among the high school teams expected to compete are teams from Taos High School, Santa Fe Indian School and Albuquerque High School as well as teams from Rio Rancho Cleveland H.S., Robert F. Kennedy Charter School, the Post-It Note Poets (Española/Los Alamos), Volcano Vista High School, Cibola High School and Silver City’s Wellness Coalition combined team.
Up to nine Metro-area middle schools from the Albuquerque area are also sending teams. There will also be a competition for “indie poets,” performers who are not affiliated with a team.

The “Indie Poet” competition is open to youth poets not affiliated with a school or organization. The Indie poet competition is open to performers aged 13-21 who are enrolled in a high school, charter school or are home schooled.

Enrollment for the team and indie competitions will be open until the morning of the competition but interested teams and poets are encouraged to RSVP as early as possible. There are only 16 spaces for each competition – team slam, high school division.; team slam, middle school division and indie competition.

For information, call/text Kenn Rodriguez at 505.379.2666 or email kenn@warehouse508.org.
Warehouse 508 is also seeking sponsorship and donations for the event. Potential donors and sponsors can get info by contacting Kenn Rodriguez at 505.379.2666 (call or text) or at kenn@warehouse508.org

Duke City Youth Poetry Collective at 508
Warehouse, 508 First St. NW(click here for directions/map)
1st, 3rd & 4th Saturdays of the month
March meetings: 3/6, 3/13, 3/27. April meetings: 4/3, 4/10, 4/24

A youth writing collective for-youth, by-youth.

The Duke City Youth Poetry Collective (DCYPC) is a writing group for ABQ Metro-area youth aged 13 through 20 that emphasizes the written and spoken word primarily through poetry slam created in Fall 2008 by ABQ poet Joe Romero.
Among the projects the DCYCP has undertaken is the Duke City Youth Poetry slam team as well as a weekly open-mic/workshop series that will be hosted at W508 and once a month at the National Hispanic Cultural Center as well as the city's first monthly under-21 poetry slam.

For information on the DCYPC, please email Kenn Rodriguez at kenn@warehouse508.org , call 505.296.2738 or text/call 505.379.2666.
The Duke City Youth Poetry Collective is a collaboration between the Nat. Hispanic Cultural Center, Warehouse 508 by NMX

DCYPC monthly poetry intensive
Warehouse, 508 First St. NW(click here for directions/map)
Final Saturday of the month
Next intensive: Sat. April 3- 1 pm

A two-hour intensive workshop with HBO Def Poet TIM STAFFORD

A once-monthly poetry intensive free for DCYPC members and open to the public (for a nominal fee -- please contact Kenn Rodriguez at kenn@warehouse508.org for details)