COURAGEOUS CADENCE: YOUTH SPOKEN WORD & PERFORMANCE RESIDENCY
PRESENTED BY THE VORTEX & THE POET HOUSE
Courageous Cadence: Rhyme in Resistance is a youth-centered arts initiative focused on empowerment, creative leadership, and community building through poetry and performance. Grounded in a commitment to race and gender (in)justice, this program equips young spoken word poets with the tools to explore identity, advocate for social change, and build collective power through artistic expression.
Through a year-long progression of workshops, intensives, residencies, and public performances, participants engage in:
Spoken word and creative writing labs
Social justice and identity workshops
Public speaking, stage presence, theatre making, and performance coaching
Ensemble building and collaborative creation
Community dialogue and public showcases
Courageous Cadence cultivates a space where youth voices are amplified, stories are honored, and poetry becomes both personal healing and public resistance. The program’s open mics, residencies, and mentorship opportunities inspire the next generation of poets, leaders, and changemakers to rise, speak, and transform their communities.
A Partnership Between The Poet House & The VORTEX
Courageous Cadence is made possible through the collaborative partnership between The Poet House and The VORTEX, two Austin-based arts organizations committed to cultivating creative spaces that center historically marginalized voices.
The Poet House provides programmatic leadership, curriculum design, instructional staff, and youth-centered care practices that ground Courageous Cadence in spoken word, social justice, and community-based storytelling.
The VORTEX serves as the hosting site for all monthly intensives and the producing partner for the residency and public performance, offering rehearsal space, technical support, and professional production infrastructure.
Together, The Poet House and The VORTEX offer youth comprehensive artistic development, mentorship, production support, and community engagement opportunities that foster both artistic excellence and social change.
Core Program Pillars
Creative Empowerment: Developing writing, storytelling, and spoken word skills
Leadership Development: Building confidence, advocacy, and public engagement
Community Engagement: Centering youth-led conversations on race, gender, and justice
Literacy Development: Strengthening both traditional literacy (reading, writing, critical analysis) and digital literacy (media creation, online advocacy, responsible platform use).
Public Performance: Sharing work on professional stages for real-world experience
Mentorship: Partnering youth with working poets, artists, and community leaders
Who is this for?
High school aged youth poets and theatre makers
Ages 13-17 (or 18 if within 1 year post-secondary school transition)
Emerging spoken word artists, performers, activists, and storytellers
Youth passionate about using art for social justice, leadership, and personal growth
No prior stage experience required. All skill levels welcome!
