The WAIT Team Travel To Birmingham

Once again the UK WAIT Team answered the call to Birmingham. On the evening of the 24th of June,

the WAIT Team travelled to Birmingham with what can only be described as, by far the youngest team

to perform with an average age of 14. The mission objective was to train the Birmingham members and

perform at the annual Bourneville Festival where we have become somewhat of a crowd pleaser and

regular occurrence. 15 of us answered the call, including Stephen Stacey, who drove the minibus.

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances Marshall de Souza (the chairman of WAIT-UK)

couldn’t attend so I attended in his stead and co-ordinated the trip. We arrived at around 9pm at

the Earle’s house, who year upon year open their home to us, there we were warmly welcomed by the

Earle family and the Pritty family. After a nice meal, we gathered with some Kispy Kreme doughnuts

courtesy of Haesul Fagcang for a short briefing of what our goals are for the trip and what is expected

of the team.

The following day, we started off with a meeting over breakfast followed by some free-time where we

had the opportunity to bond over some card games.

At around 11am we were off to a dance hall to rehearse our chosen routines of: Break-dance, the famous

Rose Dance and a new addition to the performance arsenal of a new dance routine, Damaged. The

Birmingham members took the opportunity to train and learn new moves. Training ended at 13:30,

when we went back to the Earle’s house for some lunch prepared by Aunty Fredericka. We then had

some more time to bond and also took time to rehearse our song, “Hero”. At around 16:00, we travelled

to the Pritty family home where they were most hospitable and provided us with an early dinner.

We arrived at the Festival at around 17:00, and traditionally took our spot by the tent and waited. Here we

took the opportunity to prepare ourselves and also allow the members to walk around and enjoy the

festivities. The performance started at 18:30 with a medley of songs by Tom Pritty’s band, followed by

some gospel singers, and then the WAIT team at 20:15. Prior to this we gained some public interest by

dancing outside the tent and handing out flyers which was well received as we managed to pack out the tent.

 The WAIT Team opened with the Break-Dance, followed by Hero, Damaged and the Rose Dance. At

this time I was happy to call it a day, but the team was anxious for one last performance and the crowd

were not ready for us to go yet, so we held a freestyle session which gave the audience the opportunity

to get involved. Overall, the reception the team received was very positive and the message we had to

share didn’t fall on deaf ears, which happens sometimes; they seemed to understand the mission of

WAIT and responded well.

After we performed, we stayed and supported the other acts, and enjoyed the evening’s performances

until the fireworks display. Some of our members went out to enjoy the rides and some learned some

new skills from a local youth called Jamal (the guy in the red hoody). At 10.30pm, the fireworks display

begun. This was probably one of the best displays I think I have seen EVER (must have cost a fortune)!

At the end of the day, we headed back to the Earle’s home buzzing with energy from the evening; those

of us who couldn’t sleep stayed up and talked till the early hours of the morning, sharing jokes and

stories. The following day, we arose early and headed back to London for an 11am arrival. I just want

to say that for a group so young, they really impressed!!    

Written by Julian Hoyte