By Akanksha Raja (830 words, 4-minute read) On 1 November, The Arts House plays host to an unlikely wedding celebration titled A Bigger Party Than Expected, which features “silent disco” dances to an Eurasian folk song, multidisciplinary art installations, and an assortment of performances. These unusual nuptial festivities are how The Arts House is […]
A Bigger Party Than Expected: Honouring Rex Shelley at SWF 2019 Read More »
By Nabilah Said (1,900 words, 7-minute read) In less than a week, Drama Box will premiere Tanah•Air 水•土: A Play In Two Parts, a production revolving around the theme of histories, those that are remembered, and those who are sidelined. Tanah•Air features a team led by the company’s artistic director Kok Heng Leun, playwrights Neo
Translating Homeland: Tanah•Air 水•土: A Play In Two Parts Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1,493 words, 6-minute read) It’s almost 4pm as the KTM train I’m travelling on trudges to a slow halt at the railway station in Kluang, Johor. The first thing that catches my eye is Kluang Rail Coffee, right in the middle of the station, one of the town’s most famous – and
Discovering and Re-discovering Kluang: The INXO International Residency Programme Read More »
By Nabilah Said (1,670 words, 7-minute read) We are in a rehearsal for Seven Views of Redhill. Well, not me – I am just a hanger-on trying to fold myself into a corner of the Chesterfield-like sofa backed up against a wall in a room I am told is called the ‘Back of Chamber’,
Seven Views of “Seven Views of Redhill” Read More »
By Akanksha Raja (1,500 words, 6-minute read) It’s a party … It’s unbridled and free and outrageous. It demands a full-body, full-mind engagement. That’s how New York-based director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar describes Caught, Singapore Repertory Theatre’s latest production, a socially immersive experience at Miaja Gallery taking place from 10 September onwards. It’s an unusual and
Uncovering the Enigma of Lin Bo: “Caught” by SRT Read More »
The year is 2049: two hundred years since the Pontianak first appeared in writing, marked insignificantly in Hikayat Abdullah as residues of superstitious and foolish beliefs of the Chinese and Malays that have persisted with time. I guess the only parts that Munsyi Abdullah was right about are the Pontianak’s timelessness and persistence. She is
Celebrating the monstrous other: “Anak Pontianak” and “Nobody” at LumiNation Read More »
We asked our readers what they would put in a time capsule. The answers were heartwarming, quirky and intriguing – through each of them, there was a consideration of what deserves preservation, and an imagination of our futures. In Tan Pin Pin’s documentary, In Time To Come (2017), one time capsule is opened, while another is
“In Time To Come” at LumiNation 2019 Read More »
The M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival returns this year for its 10th edition with 20 shows and over 30 classes and workshops. Returning platform DiverCity, which in past years was combined with M1 Open Stage, stands on its own this year with three new creations by up-and-coming Singaporean dance artists: NAMUH by Amelia Chong; Disappearing Act
“Disappearing Act” “NAMUH” “DBL.TAP”: What’s In A Name? DiverCity at M1 CONTACT Read More »
2019 marks the 10th edition of the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival, a humble endeavour by Kuik Swee Boon, artistic director of T.H.E Dance Company, that has expanded to be an incredible force and champion for contemporary dance not just locally, but internationally. Reflecting on the Festival’s past nine editions, Kuik muses, “So many artists
Have you ever imagined dancers’ bodies turning into sculptures, as if time stood still? This is the impression of Körper (Body), the signature dance performance of this year’s edition of the Singapore International Festival of Arts. Choreographer Sasha Waltz (SW), Artistic Director designate of Berlin State Ballet, is renowned for her multi-disciplinary productions, blurring boundaries
Seamlessly blending the digital image, live dance and a richly evocative music score, ST/LL is startlingly beautiful treat for the eyes and the ears. This production celebrates the performance collaboration of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and visual and multimedia artist Shiro Takatani. (Sakamoto’s concert Fragments, with visuals by Takatani, is already sold out.) Here are four reasons to catch ST/LL at the
The Beauty of Time and Image: “ST/LL” at SIFA 2019 Read More »
Sustainability, remaining fresh and engaging is challenging in the present day, content-saturated global world. Lin Hwai-min and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan are among a handful of contemporary dance companies that have achieved this over 45 years of performing an ever-changing, diverse and provocative repertoire. With multiple accolades and awarded doctorates to his name,
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: Between East and West, Heaven and Earth Read More »
By Akanksha Raja The 42nd Singapore International Festival of Arts returns this year from 16 May to 2 June 2019. In its second year under Festival Director Gaurav Kripalani, it promises a larger smorgasbord of critically acclaimed international performances as well as Singaporean commissions. Watch the Festival’s official trailer: Within one hour of the
SIFA 2019: Top Ten Picks Read More »
Over the past decade, contemporary dance in Singapore has blossomed. One of the most dynamic initiatives that arguably catalysed this growth is the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival. Starting out in 2010 as “CONTACT 2010: A Week of Dance”, running for a week in its first iteration, the festival has gone from strength to strength,
The #TenYearChallenge: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (440 words, three-minute read) Part of National Gallery Singapore’s special programme Performing Spaces that explores how space can be a “living organism” facilitating encounters between performers and audiences, Learning takes place over two weekends in March 2019. Learning is choreographed by Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard, co-founders of French dance company Le
By Chan Sze-Wei (687 words, four-minute read) In 1987, William Forsythe created a ballet for the Paris Opera with a young Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire in the central duet. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated is a high-octane incarnation of neoclassical ballet. Set to a pounding score, the ensemble silhouettes deliver razor-sharp pique unisons, while
What More Ballet Might Be: William Forsythe at da:ns series 2019 Read More »
Art doesn’t have to be for the eyes only. As part of the Light To Night Festival 2019, National Gallery Singapore presents The Sensorial Trail, a series of artworks that draw on your other senses – those of smell, sound, and touch – in an intimate, sometimes playful exploration of intimacy with our various senses.
By Kathy Rowland (642 words, three-minute read) Suzuki Tadashi is one of the brand names in the international tour circuit, whose productions have earned critical praise and inspired several generations of audiences. A decade on from his last production in Singapore, Electra at the Singapore Arts Festival 2009, Suzuki Tadashi returns to Singapore in May
“Dionysus”: Suzuki Tadashi Brings Vengeance to SIFA 2019 Read More »
Esplanade’s da:ns festival returns this year from 9 – 21 October. The 13-day celebration of movement features powerful performances from around the world, internationally acclaimed acts and exciting new works. Apart from ticketed performances, the festival offers free programmes, including mass dance sessions, workshops, and da:ns lab, the festival’s annual platform for critical discourse on
SHIFT (Your Perspective) at Esplanade’s da:ns festival 2018: A Sneak Peek in GIFs Read More »
By Bernice Lee (974 words, 5 minute read) I caught Astrid Boons between rehearsals in Korzo for Vestige. She’s preparing to restage the work, rehearsing with a new cast member who had thankfully been part of the original creative process. She shares that coming to Singapore is a result of happenstance: Dimo Kirilov, who presented
Astrid Boons: Belgian Choreographer brings “Vestige” to Singapore Read More »
This year, with an increased number of international programme collaborators, M1 Open Stage features innovative and exhilarating works by a diverse range of dance artists over two nights. As part of this year’s M1 Open Stage + DiverCity platform at M1 Contact Contemporary Dance Festival, created in collaboration with Taiwanese film artist Chen Yan-Hong and
M1 Open Stage + DiverCity: Chiew Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun Read More »
An enchanting French evening of aerial circus performed to live music. …Sodade… is a nostalgic ode to life, a fable of love and loss in the air as told by two musicians playing and singing on a unique circus structure of huge twin wheels, each over two metres in width, between which a 21-metre long
…Sodade… at SIFA 2018 Read More »
Duration: 19 mins A Dream Under The Southern Bough by Toy Factory is a series of three plays commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts, to be staged over three editions of the festival. The first instalment, titled The Beginning, premieres at SIFA 2018 later this month. This three-part modern-day spin on the classic Ming
Podcast 39: Toy Factory’s “A Dream Under the Southern Bough” at SIFA 2018 Read More »
0600 is named for the time that executions are carried out. What makes an artist take on the polarising topic of the death penalty in Singapore? Zelda Tatiana Ng has been a fixture in the Singapore performing arts scene for over 20 years. Her newly founded collective, GroundZ-0, makes its Singapore and SIFA debut with
SIFA 2018: Walking death’s footsteps in Zelda Tatiana Ng’s “0600” Read More »
By Kathy Rowland (400 words, 3 minute read) “I asked her out six times in thirty seconds.” In 2013, a Youtube video by slam poet Neil Hilborn went viral. In the clip, Hilborn delivers an impassioned performance of OCD, a poem that celebrates, then eulogies, a love affair that falls victim to one lover’s obsessive
SIFA 2018: “OCD Love”‘s Dancing in the Face of Love Read More »
If life is fleeting and death is certain, how do we make our days count? Over five productions, The Studios invites us to confront this question in our everyday. In this year’s series, Esplanade takes on the theme “Between Living and Dying” and presents a showcase of deep and thought-provoking works by five female creators: Edith Podesta, Faith Ng,
Esplanade Presents The Studios: Between Living and Dying Read More »
By Akanksha Raja The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 takes place at different venues across the Civic District, including Victoria Theatre, its sprawling Empress Lawn, and the Esplanade Theatre. Nestled comfortably between these locations is The Arts House, dubbed the Festival House. If SIFA 2018 were a living, breathing person, the Festival House is
SIFA 2018: The Festival House and The Outdoors Read More »
By Akanksha Raja The Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 is just over a month away, and the programme offers an extensive palette of art and performance not only from Singapore but also as farther afield as Germany, Palestine, India, Cape Verde, and more. It’s hard to define or label the types of shows on
SIFA 2018: Top Ten Picks for the Art Lover Read More »
Duration: 30 min This year, Esplanade’s The Studios series runs from 29 March to 29 April at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, and features five deep and thought-provoking works by five female creators: Edith Podesta, Faith Ng, Kaylene Tan, Michelle Tan, and Zizi Azah. Corrie Tan speaks with Edith, Faith, Kaylene and Michelle about their inspirations, the
Podcast 35: Esplanade’s The Studios 2018 Interview Read More »
By Akanksha Raja Presented by The Arts House and co-commissioned by #BuySingLit, Textures – A Weekend With Words is an inaugural literary festival taking place from 9 – 11 March, chockablock with performances, workshops, book-themed exhibitions, and over 30 panel discussions, all in honour of homegrown literature, and the energetic, growing community that has contributed and
ArtsEquator’s Picks: TEXTURES, A Weekend with Words Read More »
