Tigertail's WordSpeak is an ongoing spoken word project for teens that includes workshops in writing and performing, and public events such as open mics, poetry slams and readings. Each year Tigertail's WordSpeak sends a team to the national teen spoken word slam and festival Brave New Voices. This year's WordSpeak includes a weeklong residency for teens with Mayda del Valle, a writer and performer who recounts deeply personal narratives steeped with the cadence and beats of her Puerto Rican heritage. Del Valle has also appeared on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and in the Broadway version.

Mayda Del Valle will lead workshops for students at Miami-Dade high schools. The youth component of the residency culminates in a WordSpeak open mic and slam for teens, ages 14 to 19 years hosted by Mayda Del Valle and Tigertail WordSpeak Teen Mentor, Maxis Madé at the Miami Beach Regional Library, 227 22nd Street, Miami Beach, on Thursday, March 26 at 6:00 pm. This is an opportunity for teens to read and perform their poetry, as well as to experience Del Valle's performance work. The slam is the first in a series of competitions to win a place on the Miami team sponsored by Tigertail Productions that will travel to Chicago this summer for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival.

"[Mayda del Valle is] a wild spirit, defiant and determined and thrilling." – The Boston Herald

"This team is probably the single best thing to happen to me in a very long time." – Shamoyia Gardiner, WordSpeak team member.

More on Mayda del Valle at www.maydadelvalle.com

Targeted support for WordSpeak and the Mayda Del Valle residency comes from Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Alternate ROOTS C/APP program, Books & Books, The Children's Trust, Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, E.S. Moore Family Foundaton, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council, Miami Dade Public Library, Miami Dade Public Schools, Miami River Inn and Publix Super Markets Charities.

Season partners and supporters for our 29th season include: Allegany Franciscan Ministries; American Express; Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation; Audrey Love Charitable Foundation; BankAtlantic Foundation; Barefoot Wine & Bubbly; Biscayne Times; Books & Books; Bresaro Suites at the Mantell Plaza, The Children's Trust; City of Coral Gables Cultural Arts Program; City of Miami; City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Consulate General of Brazil; Consulate General of Canada; Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany; Consulate General of the Netherlands; Dade Community Foundation; Dorsch Gallery; E.S. Moore Family Foundation; Florida Dance Association; Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council; Florida Literary Center; Foundation for Contemporary Arts; The Galler Group; Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; Grolsch; MiamiARTzine.com; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; Miami-Dade County Public Library; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; Miami River Inn; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Ford Foundation and MetLife Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; National Performance Network with major funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), Altria, MetLife Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation; Open Doors; Pridelines; Publix Super Markets Charities; Safe Schools South Florida; Shake-A-Leg Miami; The Sain-Orr Royak DeForest Steadman Foundation; Rain Vodka Organics; The Law Office of Linda M. Smith; Southern Arts Federation; Vortex Communications; WDNA & WLRN FM and our many private supporters.