festival theatre

L to R: Louise Aitken, Lizzie McNiven, Valerie Hamill, Rebecca Mackenzie - Smith

BA Journalism students had extra cause to celebrate when they graduated this week. History was made when forty students attended a ceremony at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. Not only were they the first Journalism students to graduate under the new title of Edinburgh Napier University, but they were also the first to leave with Broadcast Journalism Training Council accreditation.

Amongst those celebrating was Rebecca Mackenzie – Smith. She graduated with First Class Honours having specialised in broadcast news in her fourth year. Listen to the interview to find out what Rebecca thought about the course and where she will soon be working!

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Festival Theatre set to break with convention

by Steven A Kearney

Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre has announced the staging of a pioneering urban show which will feature the world’s top breakdancers.

Breakin’ Convention will feature “the world’s hottest poppers, lockers, b-boys and b-girls” all showing off their moves in a highly competitive international hip hop dance competition set for the 18th and 19th of May. The event has been run from Sadler’s Wells in London for the past five years and has been so successful that it is now touring the UK.

Breakdancing workshops run by some of the biggest stars in the business will give an extra level of audience interaction

Laura Penny, Front of House Manager at the Festival, says of the Breakin’ Convention, “We’re delighted to be able to stage such a fantastic and lively event like this, which gives us a chance to attract the type of audience to the Festival who would normally consider the theatre to be totally irrelevant to their lives”.

The event promises much more than the hip hop dance competition taking place in the main section of the theatre. The foyer will feature breakdancing workshops, DJing, beat boxers and an area for graffiti artists.

The line up is a headed by some world renowned acts but also has a strong Scottish element, with local act Heavy Smokers made up of dancers from Edinburgh and Livingstone. The international acts, or ‘crews’ as they are known, include Ken Swift from the USA, Salah from France and MyoSung from Korea.

“We are expecting this to be a much more interactive event, with lots of participation from all those coming to the show”, says Laura Penny. “Although I doubt you’ll find me spinning on my head on the box office front desk!”

Breakin’ Convention star Ken Swift shows off some of the moves which are set to dazzle audiences at the Festival Theatre in May