From the moment the scuffle was heard and the gun shot rang out, Chasing Dreams had the audience transfixed. On Friday, July 4th, the students from DV8 put on a stunning musical that mixed performance, backdrops, compelling dance, and film footage to tell a tale of two young boys trying to escape from the streets.

Jermaine excelled as Jay, the wayward rebel looking for a future in education; HAV:UK made a compelling acting debut as Jay's right-hand man. As a positive artist, HAV flipped expectations with a convincing portrayal of an angry youth on a path to self destruction. Samantha raised the temperature as Jay's love interest. From her playful lyrical sparring with the aspiring rapper, to her effortless performance of 'So Bliss', she owned the stage and the attention of the Stratford Circus massive.

DV8 classmates Melody, Daisy, John, Nicole and Nick put in comic turns for the classroom scenes; Trini tag teamed with Jman to spit bars and steal hearts; while Dex put street knowledge to good use in the fight scene.

EVOLUTIONS @ CHASING DREAMS PERFORMING 'UPS & DOWNS'

The audition process provided the team with some great talent to call upon. Pylo charmed the masses with insightful bars beyond his 16 years; LA championed the kind of ghetto love that would have made Mary J proud, Problem enforced the street code with authority (and some help from his croonies), Evolution rushed the stage and showed the audience what they'd been up to since blazing Voice Of The Streets. Pryor brought the drama, stomping to Dizzee's 'Sirens' and painting melancholy images with an incredible dance piece that illuminated life's inner demons; contemporary dancer Thea soared as the angel and Adulthood star Femi Oyeniran made a stylish cameo.

CHASING DREAMS | TRAILER

Niaja Boy provided the audience with a barrel of laughs, imported straight from Nigeria. Chris Preddie PKA Cashman stole the show with a moving spoken word piece drenched with enough emotion to bring tears to eyes. The innovative musical was held together by DJ/narrator Lucian D, who played the perfect host live on the suitably fictional Dreams FM. By the time he introduced headliners Frisco, Tor, N.E.B., Double S (with surprise guest Chipmunk) the crowd had more than their money's worth.

Eastside Stories joint CEO Daisy Maffia reemerged for the finale, kitted out in a black dress and flanked by class mates to lead a powerful rendition of the theme tune 'Caught Up In A Dream'. Once again UD Vocal Collective singers Shemika and Isaac were on hand to lift voices and vibes. Lead tutor Fusion joined his students on stage to share in the applause as the show came to a close. All that was left was for HAV:UK to take it home with an encore. 'Rise Up' had the whole venue on its feet and the full cast on the stage, basking in the glory of a near perfect night of high drama.

Congratulations to the Music Industry Project for writing a new chapter in the history of Eastside Stories.

Visit the website and leave a comment