Exploring Portland's Weirdness Through Haiku and Beatboxing: A Unique Creative Collaboration
The Isle of Portland, located on England's southern coast, is a place that boasts a unique sense of identity. It’s a land steeped in folklore, filled with peculiar traditions, and characterised by its isolated, windswept landscape. A new collaborative project brought together local and London-based artists and the students of Atlantic Academy to explore what makes Portland so wonderfully ‘weird.’ At the helm of this imaginative endeavor, titled "Islands of Imagination" was Sophie Fretwell, a local costume designer who has worked on major film productions, alongside poet Sarah Acton and UK championship beatbox artist Danny Ladwa, founder of School of Beatbox.
This creative trio embarked on a project that blended the rich local culture of Portland with a surprising twist: the rhythm and expression of beatboxing paired with the delicate art of Haiku poetry. In an inspiring fusion of ancient literary form and modern musical rhythm, the project explored the deep, curious connections between Japanese Haikus, folklore, and the island’s distinctive character.
Sophie Fretwell (top left), Danny Ladwa (top right), students of Atlantic Academy, Portland (bottom)
The Vision Behind the Project
Spearheading the project, Sophie Fretwell brought her diverse experience in costume design and storytelling to the table. With a deep appreciation for the eccentricities of Portland, she envisioned a project that would encourage young people to delve into their surroundings in a new, creative way. Fretwell’s collaborative spirit and her ability to pull together seemingly unrelated elements—be it folklore, traditional poetry, or beatboxing—was central to the project’s success.
To bring this vision to life, she enlisted Sarah Acton, a poet and writer deeply rooted in the local culture. Acton has a history of weaving narratives around Portland’s rich folklore, natural environment, and its maritime past. Together, they created a program for the students of Atlantic Academy, encouraging them to explore Portland’s "weirdness" through the lens of poetry, self-expression, and rhythm.
The final piece of the creative puzzle was provided by Danny Ladwa, founder of School of Beatbox. Ladwa is an internationally recognised beatboxer and music educator, who has performed on stages around the world. His contribution to the project brought an unexpected, energetic, and contemporary element to the traditional Haiku writing process. Beatboxing, with its raw rhythm and limitless creative possibilities, allowed the students to experience their own poetry in an entirely new way.
The Power of Haiku
The project began with Sarah Acton guiding the students through the process of writing Haikus. These short, structured poems have a traditional 5-7-5 syllable format, where the first and last lines contain five syllables, and the middle line contains seven. Though Haikus are typically associated with Japan, the simplicity and structure of the form made it a perfect vehicle for the students to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings about Portland.
Acton encouraged the students to think about what made Portland unique—the windswept cliffs, the ever-present sea, the history of shipwrecks, and the quirky local legends. The teenagers at Atlantic Academy worked with her to distill these themes into their own Haikus. The result was a collection of poems that highlighted the island’s strange beauty and explored the connection between nature, culture, and imagination.
The Haikus, while some deeply personal (and others more deeply weird), also resonated with the folklore and history of Portland, encapsulating the "weirdness" that the project set out to explore. The structure of the Haiku—delicate yet powerful—allowed the students to express complex ideas with simplicity, reflecting both the natural environment and the whimsical aspects of life on the island.
Watch the video of the Haiku / Beatbox project
Bringing the Words to Life with Beatboxing
Once the Haikus were written, it was time for Danny Ladwa to take the stage. His role was to give these traditional poems a contemporary spin through the art of beatboxing. Ladwa began his sessions with rhythm games and exercises to loosen up the group, including clapping patterns and wordplay. This helped the students understand how rhythm and timing are crucial elements in both poetry and music.
For many of the students, this was their first encounter with beatboxing, and Ladwa’s infectious enthusiasm quickly drew them in. He demonstrated how the human voice can mimic drums, basslines, and even entire soundscapes, explaining that beatboxing is essentially a language of rhythm and a journey of exploration into the human voice.
After teaching the students some basic beatboxing patterns, Ladwa guided them in learning a stable rhythm that fit with their individual Haikus. As each haiku stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable format, they would all work to the beat that Danny brought to the table. This interactive process allowed the students to explore the musicality of their words and experiment with how the beat could enhance the poetic rhythm.
The synergy between Ladwa’s beatboxing and the students’ Haikus was magical. The rhythm gave the Haikus a new life, transforming the traditional poetic form into a dynamic, rhythmic performance. Each student had the chance to read their poem aloud, beatboxing alongside their classmates in perfect time. What had started as a simple writing exercise evolved into a collaborative performance piece that celebrated both the ancient and the modern, the local and the global.
Celebrating Portland’s Weirdness
The project culminated in a final performance where the students showcased their Haiku-beatbox creations, a testament to their creative growth throughout the process. Sophie Fretwell, who had spearheaded the project, was proud to see the teenagers embracing both the poetry of their surroundings and the rhythm of their own voices.
By blending Haiku and beatboxing, this project highlighted Portland's eccentricities in a fresh and engaging way. It brought together the island’s ancient stories with modern forms of expression, creating a vibrant fusion that celebrated the unique character of Portland. Through the lens of this creative project, the young participants were able to appreciate their island's "weirdness" and make it a source of inspiration and pride.
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