It’s perhaps one of the most nerve-racking experiences anyone can go through. Getting up on a stage, with a spotlight blaring down on you, while scores of onlookers wait to hear you pour your heart out through poetry.But this is precisely what Chewstick, the Island’s flourishing collective of poets, singers, rappers and musicians, is preparing a handful of talented young people for.Gavin (Djata) Smith, the organisation’s founder, believes with dedication and practice the Island’s young people can take the reins in the local arts scene. He also hopes within a year or two they can compete in international spoken word competitions like Brave New Voices in San Francisco.Last year he enlisted the help of facilitators Stephan Johnstone and Chris Astwood to launch ChewSlam, a pilot programme for students aged 14 to 18. The programme is set to start its new season on Saturday.Now that the programme has developed some roots, Mr Smith is hopeful its next batch of promising young talents will rise to the challenge.“The long-term goal has always been to send the group away to the Brave New Voices,” he said.The largest spoken-word event in the world, Brave New Voices is taped by HBO.“It’s wide open for participants from around the world. Bermuda has never been represented, but we are hoping this coming season of ChewSlam we will really gear our team up to have representation next year, so part of it is about the personal growth and development.“It’s on such a big stage we are really looking to push the children to stand up.”ChewSlam began operating out of the Berkeley Institute in February 2010, but was recently opened up to all schools to allow a more diverse range of students to take part.Each Saturday this past March to June, young people gathered at the Chewstick facility on Court Street, Hamilton, to try their hand at writing, performing and recording new poems.Having it on the weekend “showed they were really into it for what it was as opposed to because it was something that was convenient or at a time frame that their parents needed them to do something,” said Mr Smith.According to spoken word artist Mr Johnstone, who has been pursuing his craft seriously for nearly seven years, ChewSlam isn’t just about performance arts. It’s also about helping young people discover who they are and becoming comfortable expressing themselves.“When you share your thoughts with other members of the group you get more feedback and it brings a new awareness of self.“I saw the children [in the group from March to June] grow most definitely in confidence. In the last ten weeks we had them do performance and they did get really excited because we recorded a few things with them.“We saw their confidence grow just over that period and some of them made really big improvements and that effects even your normal day life; when you are speaking with people or making presentations in school, that all comes into play.”The programme also provided the teenagers with a positive network of friends and taught them they’re not alone, said Mr Smith.“Teenage years are the toughest time in most people’s lives. It enables them to have a further family, a further way of connecting with people that is a little more grounded and real.“Several of the people that came through the programme before were actually caught up in some of the violence, where their loved one was lost. And this is one of the few ways they were actually able to express those emotions.”Now that the teenagers have gotten down the basics, both Mr Smith and Mr Johnstone are expecting to see their talents soar during the new season of ChewSlam.They are looking to register between ten and 15 young people who are passionate about exploring art. They are also gearing the programme up to last the entire school year.“The main hope is that we get some serious consistency and focus. So if we had ten to 15 focused cats, we could do something. We could change the world,” Mr Smith said.Last year, programme organisers were blown away by the calibre of talent. One young man named Matthew Johnston, 18, has become one of the real success stories, according to Mr Smith.“He has become a real superstar of the programme’s success because he was involved in ChewSlam [seasons] one and two and grew to be a host at Chewstick and part of the real machinery.“But for me personally the life-changing moment was with Ayana [Bean]. She is the sister of one of the main families [involved with Chewstick], the Beans. She was very shy and quiet and surrounded by lots of outgoing people.”Mr Smith said the 15-year-old opened up after taking part in ChewSlam and blew everyone away with her talent.Both he and Mr Johnstone believe there are many more undiscovered talents that could benefit from this programme.Without hesitation they said the Island’s young people had the ability to compete with the best from around the world.“Our young talent can definitely get there,” said Mr Johnstone. “The children that were here [last year] were amazing. I would write with them and rewrite my stuff [because they inspired me].“A lot of them are really shy and they don’t know they are that good.”ChewSlam will begin this Saturday. TWIGS, a monthly performance session for young people, will begin on Saturday, October 15 from 6pm until 9pm. For more information visit www.chewstick.com or call 292-2439.