Stepping back in time to Dragons’ Den
It’s been more than 13 years since the original jingle stole the hearts of the business leaders in BBCs Dragons’ Den and now we are delighted to reveal a new jingle, reflecting a new decade and celebrating the theatre schools twenty year birthday.
Denise Hutton-Gosney, the MD and Founder of Razzamataz Theatre Schools bravely stepped into the Den with four of her students to perform the jingle and help set the scene for Denise’s pitch, which ultimately won support from Dragon Duncan Bannatyne. The original children are now grown, some with children of their own and one who has gone on to appear in hit West End show &Juliet.
As part of its #20YearsAmazing birthday celebrations, Razzamataz created a national competition to find a new contemporary jingle. There were very few rules, allowing the students to be as creative as possible. The jingle had to be original and students were told that is should represent what Razzamataz means to them and incorporate our ethos of providing a place for children to have fun, grow in confidence, learn life skills, make friends and increase fitness.
We are delighted to announce that the winner is Alexander from Razzamataz Medway. His Principals Emily and Hayley say: “We were so impressed with not only what Alexander has produced but the work that went into this song outside of the studio. Alexander has such a passion for singing and song writing and we loved that he came into class and shared his song with everyone. The song is current, energetic and the lyrics are so true to everything we do.”
The original jingle was created by Myrren Porter from Paisley after Denise launched the original competition. Denise was looking for a new piece that was as catchy as the first as she explains: “Myrren’s jingle was short, snappy and easy to remember, even 13 years after the Den. Alexander’s jingle is equally as catchy and I actually left the office singing it. But it also represents Razzamataz in 2020 and will be really appealing to our older students.”
Alexander’s inspiration was current UK chart topper, Stormzy, an artist that many students can relate to. “I love his lyrics and the way he raps and just really enjoy listening to his music,” says Alexander.
Together with the jingle competition, Razzamataz ran a Dragons’ Den style event to find a brilliant idea that could be a business success. Across the UK, each school held regional heats to select two of the best ideas and then these ideas were filmed and sent to Denise to select a winner.
The students were able to use visual aids, have a script to prompt and even bring along a product if they created something at home. Unlike the BBC Den, our Dragons gave lots of encouragement and support. After a tough decision, the winners were Lara, Tymiah, Alyssa, Maisie and Millie at Razzamataz Medway for the 3-1 hair brush.
“We thought the girls pitch and product was relevant to our service and they had a real USP,” says Denise. In fact, the girls used their own experiences to craft their idea as they explain: Our inspiration was our own personal experience when it comes to show hair for Razzamataz shows. It takes so long so we wanted a quick, easier way to do it so we had more time to rehearse, try on costumes and do make up. This was two individual ideas that came together. The first was a show ‘quick’ blow dry hairdryer and the other a hair straighter that is super-fast. We thought, let’s bring them both together so everyone’s idea is used and in turn, it makes doing show hair even quicker! That’s how we came up with the 3-1 hair brush.”
The Medway Principals add: “Lara, Tymiah, Alyssa, Maisie and Millie used real team work when coming up with the innovative idea for the 3-1 hair brush. They listened to each other individually when working and looked at how everyone could have a voice and a say in the final product. Their pitch was confident, rehearsed and direct.”
All the winners received an Alexa and theatre tokens and the jingle is currently being recorded and will be revealed to all schools for students to learn and perform.
The Dragons’ Den style competitions are part of a whole year of celebrations for the franchise theatre school network.
