The UK Rock Challenge is an anti-drug, alcohol and to***co initiative for young people under the age of 18 which takes the form of a performing arts competition. The premise of the Rock Challenge is that each school puts together an 8-minute dance and drama production on a theme of their choice. The teams create their production, usually as an extra-curricular activity, and finally bring it to a l
ocal event day held at a professional venue. They spend the day rehearsing, preparing, making friends and having fun before the evening show where they perform their routine for a live audience of parents, peers, community members, invited guests and a panel of judges. At the end of the evening a prize ceremony is held where a number of awards are presented along with the announcement of the top-scoring schools. The Rock Challenge started out as an initiative for secondary schools and colleges but has recently grown to include Junior Schools and Educational Centres. Its aims are to contribute to improving participant’s self-esteem, team work skills and leadership qualities as well as decreasing truancy in participating schools, reducing anti-social behaviour and improving teacher student relations. Schools enter the event with teams of between 20 and 100 performers and choreograph dance and drama performances which last between 5 and 8 minutes and tell a story of a theme of their choice. The teams also get to create their own soundtrack around the piece and design their own costume and make-up. They also provide a stage crew of up to 20 members to construct, strike and move set safely
