Champions Ball 23 | cornerteaminc

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Champions Ball is an annual, vital fundraising event that supports Corner Team's free after-school and summer programs for Baltimore City teens in 7th through 12th grades. These programs are instrumental in providing an enriching and supportive environment for our youth, fostering their personal and academic development.

Corner Team's youth programs are comprehensive and immersive, running five days a week during the school year and six days a week during summer months. These programs integrate various elements, including boxing, academic support, tutoring, mentorship, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, literacy, community service, leadership development, and social-emotional skill-building. The focus is on holistic development, ensuring that our youth receive not only academic guidance but also life skills and enriching experiences.

A distinguishing feature of Corner Team programs is the provision of career development opportunities, including paid internships. This component is crucial in equipping the teenagers with practical skills and real-world experience that can shape their future career paths.

About Event

Champions Ball Program

7:00pm - 9:30pm: Live! Workshops

Live! Painting with Bryan Robinson (Black Genius Art Show)
Corner Team Art Lab- Contribute to our Community Art Project & Create your personalized "Boxer Name" and logo
Corner Team Beats Studio - Create your own beats/ring entrance music with DJ D.B. Beatzz
Corner Team Shadowboxing Studio - Recreate boxing scenes or create your own shadow boxing shapes and movements with photographer Cory F. Royster

7:30pm: Official Ringside Welcome & Presentation of the Joe Gans Memorial Community Champions Award to Mr. Ernest Shaw, Jr.

8:10pm: Dance Performance at Center Ring by 1021 Hip-Hop Team

8:40pm: Vocal Performance at Center Ring by Jai Ivy

9:10pm: Afro-Beats Dance Workshop on Front Floor with Sarah Powell

9:30pm: RingWalk Extravaganza! at Center RIng

9:40om: Spoken Word Performance at Center Ring with Coach Illestrate McNeil

10:00pm: Closing Bell

Event Program

About The Artists

Bryan Robinson (Black Genius Art Show)

Bryan Robinson is an educator and multifaceted media artist born, raised and superhero’d in Baltimore Maryland. He has a background in film, 2D animation and Business Marketing. Robinson has been a visual artist for as long as he could successfully write his own name. He feels the blank canvas is just another portal to which his stories can be told. Robinson is a self taught artist who operates in “The Random”. He compares his work to a mixture of the Mona Lisa and the morning cartoons of the 80’s. Robinson is inspired from the works of artist like Emory Douglas, Jean Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring.
Under the motto “Create Everyday”, Robinson has over 200 original illustrations (acrylic/oil based paintings), a collection of wearable Garments based off of his unique characters and an assortment of animated projects in the works. Robinson currently works with school based programs, universities, youth groups, galleries, art initiatives and community based organizations throughout the states to further The Black Genius Art Show. In 2021, Robinson opened his first art showroom he labels Genius Guice Studios. GG is a hybrid gallery space that displays revolving art spreads, custom collectables, wearables and art incentives for youth and young adults.

DJ Swank (Swank Promotions & ENT, LLC)

PROFESSIONAL FEMALE DJ & PROMOTER IN THE DMV AREA.

Jai Ivy

Jai Ivy is a singer songwriter from Baltimore, MD. Her most recent album “BLEU” is available on all streaming platforms.

DJ DB Beatzz

DJ DB Beatzz is a local music producer and DJ in the DMV area. He is the founder of Young Master Mindz, a program that engages youth in music production.

Illestrate

NY Born & Baltimore Raised, Illestrate Brings The Best Of All Worlds As A Multi-Talented Entertainer! From Dance To Poetry To Music & More, Illestrate Brings A Versatile, High Energy Style To It All! As A "BeCivilBattles" & "BmoreThanDance" Representative & Educator, Illestrate Has Worked With Countless Groups & Organizations, Including Ruff Endz, Phil Wright, TSU Dance Crew, & WOD Champions, Les Twins! Also Featured In Netflix Doc With TT The Artist, "Dark City: Beneath The Beat". His Performance Is Sure To Be The Wild Card Of The Night!

Illestrate is also know as Coach Tik' or Coach Ill at Corner Team where he serves as a Youth Champions Club Leadership Coach.

Cory F. Royster

Cory F. Royster is a published and celebrated photographer renowned for his striking visual storytelling. With a keen eye for capturing emotion and authenticity, he has an extensive portfolio that spans weddings, fashion, portraits, events and sports photography. Cory's work has graced the pages of The Washington Post, ESPN, MLB, Bethesda Magazine, The Sentinel Newspapers, FIGGI, Moveux, Stylé Cruze and he continues to inspire through his authentic and evocative imagery.

1021 Hip Hop Team @ Goucher College

Student run hip hop team at Goucher College.

Sarah Powell

Sarah Powell is a professional Afro dancer of French and Cameroonian descent. After growing up in the States, Sarah decided to travel internationally to train under some of the best Afro dancers in the world. She has spent the past 7.5 years studying different Afro Dance styles notably Afrohouse, South African Dance Styles, Ndombolo, Couper Decaler, Naija Street Style and Ghanaian Afrobeats. Her credits include Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Diamond Platnumz, Zlatan, the Burna Boy tour, the Mr. Eazi tour, World of Dance, Redbull and more.

About Artist

Joe Gans Community Champion Award

In honor of the legendary Baltimore native, Joe Gans, the Joe Gans Memorial Community Champion Award celebrates individuals in Baltimore City who are wholeheartedly devoted to enhancing the future of our great city, particularly through their work with Baltimore City's youth population. As a recipient, Corner Team, Inc. commends awardees' exceptional contributions and unwavering commitment to fostering positive change in Baltimore City, both today and for generations to come.

Joe Gans Memorial Community Champion Award 2023 Award Recipient Recognizes Mr. Ernest Shaw, Jr.

Ernest Shaw, Jr. is a native of West Baltimore. He is an alumnus of Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore School for the Arts, Morgan State University and Howard University. Shaw recognizes the importance of using his skills and talents for the betterment of others, not simply for his own self-aggrandizement. For Ernest, teaching is also an artistic medium. This is why he teaches all over the area in Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland Institute College of Art, Towson State University, and even at Motor House as the facilitator of the Anti-Racism Forum and Senior Artist in Residence. Mr. Shaw is a muralist, and his work can be spotted throughout Baltimore and around the world. Mr. Shaw reflects the vast experiences of Black people through his work. He is an image maker who uses his art to highlight the humanity of the viewer by illustrating the humanity of the subject. His creative process focuses on the interaction between the work and its audience. His primary subjects reflect the multiple aspects of the Black/Africanist experience in the context of a society that confines Blackness to being the antithesis to whiteness and a response to racialized subjugation.

To learn more about Mr. Ernest Shaw, please visit his website here.

Joe Gans Award

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