Alter Ego finalists set to battle it out at Hackney Empire

Nine acts are set to battle it out on the Hackney Empire stage, at the Alter Ego finals, after making it through the tough live auditions.

Judges, Hackney Empire’s director Susie McKenna, musical director Renell Shaw, show host Kat B and producer Yamin Choudury chose the line-up from over 50 up-and-coming young acts.

Singer Aysia Edwards, 17, dancer Rio-Cavelle Phillips, 16, singer Jessica Fernandes, 16, singers Urban Vinyls, singer and guitarist Josh Tenor, 15, the City Academy Choir, singer Katie Wilson, 15, singer Princess Olowogboye, 17, and dance crew Steppaz, are all now through for the final on Friday February 5.

Yamin Choudury said the auditions had probably been the best he had ever seen.

“Deciding who was actually going to go through to the finals was incredibly difficult,” he said.

“If all of the judges had their way we probably would have had about 30 finalists.

“The sheer amount of talent that comes out of Hackney, to audition for Alter Ego, always manages to surprise me. We have got nine incredible finalists, the audience are in for an amazing night.”

Alter Ego is part of Hackney Council’s youth arts and culture festival, Discover Young Hackney (#DYH16).

This year, the programme is running until March and with input from industry professionals, thousands of young people can take part in a range of free or low cost taster sessions, workshops and performances.

This year’s themes focus on film, digital and music, and workshops include film-making, animation, drama and vocal workshops.

Tickets cost £4 in advance, plus £1 per ticket online and £1.25 over the phone, or £5 on the door. Book at www.hackneyempire.co.uk.