Last night Dv8 Sussex’s students, staff, friends and family braved the winter chill to deliver a showcase of musical talent and supreme event management skills at Brighton Arts Club. Central to what we do at Dv8 is giving students the chance to take their creativity out into the real world and gain experience and last night was no exception. Level 1, & 2 music students filled the roster with a truly diverse range of styles and sounds, whilst Live Events students ensured the night ran without a hitch. There was no shortage of talent on display, showcasing the diverse interests of Dv8 learners.

Dv8 Christmas Frenzy opened with a perfectly crafted house DJ set from future Ibiza superstar Elise before Aiden, A.K.A Badmanriddum, brought his tight and minimal hip hop production to the stage, accented by two super talented MCs. After the Badman’s riddums the evening’s compère Amber joined forces with Emily and Alfie to perform a new piece written for the occasion full of soulful vocals and dexterous rapping, climaxing in a cheeky chorus of Alex Clare’s Too Close from Emily. Next up was future X-Factor winner and global superstar Vanessa who took to the stage to perform a show stopping cover of Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black with just her piano for accompaniment; you could hear a pin drop throughout and a sharp intake of breath followed as the audience were left reeling by Vanessa’s soulful and mature performance. At Dv8 we encourage collaboration as much as possible and so it was that Vanessa remained on the stage to provide the vocal hook to Brogan’s beat driven masterpiece, cascades of drum samples and piano loops built throughout, building the piece to a euphoric conclusion. Bill, alias DJ Copperknob, took up the challenge of closing proceedings and didn’t disappoint, whipping the crowd into a head back, arms in the air, feet shuffling frenzy of dubstep and breaks from the likes of Skrillex and Deadmau5. Bill artfully punctuated his set with his own compositions which didn’t sound at all out of place and brought the biggest cheers/embarrassing dance moves of the evening.

Alongside these multi-talented performers, the oft-forgotten hard work of the Live Events production team deserves a big shout out. From dressing the venue early in the day to securing a lighting rig at the last minute, the production was seamless and a testament to the hard work of the students. During the evening Event Manger Josh kept the night flowing seamlessly whilst Esme and Chloe operated the lights with aplomb. A special mention goes out to Max who recently started on our music course, and at times single-handedly kept the dancefloor ablaze.

And there we had it. Another amazing evening of inspiration and perspiration from Dv8 Sussex which left everyone feeling like Christmas had come early and truly excited for what 2015 has in store…