On Saturday 1 September, over 100 Guides and their leaders descended on the Barbican Centre in London for our musical extravaganza, 'Girls can, do, and will'. From the very beginning, we were using our voices and bodies to make some noise, led by musical director Jessie Maryon Davies from Girls Rock London. Girls Rock London empower 11-16 year old girls by encouraging them to make music together, and that's exactly what Jessie did. She taught the girls a range of songs throughout the day, ranging from protest songs like I Can’t Keep Quiet by MILCK, written for the Women’s March in 2017, to pop songs including Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap!
Making noise at the Barbican - Girls can, do, and will!
Written by Tilly Grove, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Girlguiding LaSER
The girls were split into groups and attended a range of different workshops throughout the day. Some groups sang on the stage of the Barbican like stars, while others worked to create their own songs. These lyric-writing workshops got the girls thinking about what change means, and what things they would like to change about the world. There were lots of ideas thrown around including making everybody equal, stopping pollution and spreading more love around. They were tasked with creating their own slogans with positive messages that were displayed on the walls of the Barbican for everyone who visited to see!
In between workshops, we were treated to performances from a variety of different artists. Singer Kate Nash performed her hit Foundations, while two bands from Girls Rock London rocked out for us!
At the end of the day, all the groups came together to give one big, final performance in the main foyer. Some groups sang songs that they had written, while other groups showed off the body percussion and beatboxing skills they had learned. One group even performed on xylosynths, with important messages about the things they would like to see changed in the world programmed into the instrument.
It was inspiring to hear the Guides talk passionately about the things they would like to change in the world and seeing them get fully involved in all the things the day had to offer. The hard work and enthusiasm of the event’s facilitators clearly rubbed off on them! They all went home with the amazing badge designed by illustrator Soofiya, having had a fun-packed day of making noise - ready to change the world.
