Young artists from Bangladesh and the US on Thursday performed at a program Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka to celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The event featured performances from artists from the 2022 Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Bangladesh program.
The grand finale was jointly organized by the US Embassy and American Voices, a US-based award-winning cultural diplomacy organization.
The YES Academy was an eight-day intensive in-person workshop in hip-hop, songwriting, dance, collaboration, beatboxing, rapping, music production and music business, sponsored by the US Embassy and funded by the United States government.
Four American artists led workshops for 54 Bangladeshi artists aimed at encouraging innovation, collaboration and experimentation.
One of the performers has been working for the last 12 years as a Bangladeshi hip-hop dance performer.
Dhaka TribuneHe told Dhaka Tribune: “We actually have a core local hip-hop group where we perform in Bangladeshi local theme. However, the eight-day workshop groomed us to compose hip-hop music in Bengali and other cultures using various types of musical instruments.”
Another performer, Liza, said: “It was an amazing experience. We were almost 65 people in this workshop where four foreign rappers, Dj, dancer and producer trained and furnished our expertise.”
In 2014, the YES Academy organized a musical showcase titled "The next level". Many performers also attended that workshop.
However, this musical showcase was the best they had experienced, the performers said.
United States Musical and Culture Ambassador DJ Invisible, Richie “Robot” a beatboxer hip hop producer, L-Boy rapper, and break dancer trained them.
At the event, US Ambassador Peter Haas said: "Over the last five decades, the United States has been proud to partner with the government and the people of Bangladesh. Our great nations have cultivated a strong friendship rooted in mutual respect and shared values. The YES Academy is a testament to the US government's commitment to promoting mutual understanding, creativity and collaboration between cultural ambassadors in Bangladesh and the United States."
The YES Academy is one of several Arts Envoy programs managed in partnership between the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and American Voices. The Arts Envoy program aims to share the best of the US arts community with the world to foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration, demonstrating shared values and aspirations of youth across the globe. American arts professionals are sent to countries around the world to conduct workshops, give performances and mentor rising artists.
The YES Academy Bangladesh workshops were led by Dangerflow band member and MC Angel "Ocean Alvarado, award-winning hip-hop DJ Carl "DJ Invisible" Hollier, international b-boy champion Alex "BBoy El Nino" Diaz, and two-time finalist of NBC's, "The SingOff", Richie "Robot" Steighner.