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After 20 years of operation, UK UNSIGNED is the UK’s biggest independent talent showcase project for (non-televised) talent, with more categories and opportunities than any other production. Their showcases and workshops around the country extend to over 20 categories, providing the broadest base to consistently give new talent a platform to showcase their skills.

As they celebrate their 20^th year, this season’s participants will have opportunities to win up to £20,000 worth of prizes. For some categories this includes overseas opportunities such as:

· Reggae Category (Song for Jamaica): Opportunity to perform at Rebel Salute, one of Jamaica’s premiere Reggae Festivals.

· Solo Dance Category (U CAN DANCE): Opportunity to perform in Antigua as part of the annual U CAN DANCE Caribbean showcase.

· Overall UK UNSIGNED Winner: The UK UNSIGNED Winners’ Winner (best performer across all categories) will get to showcase in Atlanta, USA in 2020.

This season’s series will culminate in their first ever National UK UNSIGNED Week between October 6 – 12. Activities will start with the UK UNSIGNED Grand Finals at the Broadway Theatre in Catford and ends with the Silver Dress Ball in Pall Mall (Oct 12).

UK UNSIGNED will be looking to select performers from the categories of cover singers, singer/songwriters, individual dancers, comedians, poets, MCs and dance groups to perform across National UK UNSIGNED Week as both contestants and as special performers. For the first time ever they shall also be ensuring that our categories include disabled participants, which is being co-ordinated by one of their members, Wind of Change in Milton Keynes.

Each category winner will be given a business support package within their prizes which will assist in developing strategies to enable them to be self-sustaining through their talent. Over the past 20 years, UK UNSIGNED have seen many changes and challenges to unsigned artists. They fully understand the real support needs they require to pursue their potential instead of pushing unrealistic pipe dreams.

Other past successes of UK UNSIGNED participants include: Katie Melua and Leona Lewis who went on to become one of the UK’s highest earning female singers. The Flawless Dance Group, who continuously tour the UK with their special brand of theatre dance productions. However, the majority of our participants go on to pursue long term sustainable performance careers such as:

· Natalie Chua: Recently casted in “Bat Out Of Hell”: Dominion Theatre

· HBoss: SABA & UK Youth Ambassador

· Kathryn Kitchener: Casted in “Love Struck”: Cockpit Theatre, London

Our UK UNSIGNED showcases are part of a fundraising strategy to support their creative development projects. The main projects are the HiCrEc Project, Youth Apprenticeship Programme and You Digital Network (YDN).

The HiCrEc (Hidden Creative Economy) project works with creative industry practitioners who operate without mainstream support or recognition. Through various initiatives they help them to keep the productions of their talent maintained across the mainstream.

Their Youth Apprenticeship Programme works with excluded young people from disadvantaged communities. Supporting their transition from dysfunctional lifestyles through to gaining the skills to attain mainstream inclusion and long term careers.

Within the Your Digital Network (YDN) programme they help people to develop new skills within digital technology so they can pursue either employment opportunities of commercial start ups that can suit today’s environment.

Whilst music remains the main focus of UK UNSIGNED, other areas such as UK UNSIGNED Film, UK UNSIGNED Drama and UK UNSIGNED Fashion have given new UK based talent a real platform from which they can gain a stake in the Creative Industries. UK UNSIGNED are even introducing a skills development category where participants can explore opportunities around set design, sound engineering and event management.

To take part in the forthcoming UK UNSIGNED showcases this spring, please call the SABA office on 0208 776 6776/07932 949 319 or register on their website hwww.ukunsigned.org.uk.