Serendipitous releases: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company
By Casidhe Ng (1,156 words, 7-minute read) The first thing one notices about the space is its fluidity. I am part of the second set of audience members to enter the Esplanade Theatre Studio. It is bleak, dark, and saturated…
Slow food: liTHE 2019 by T.H.E Second Company
By Chan Sze-Wei (1,031 words, 7-minute read) “Dance making in Singapore: an instant noodle culture?” I’ve never forgotten the title of this talk hosted at the Dance Nucleus in 2016 (then helmed by Foo Yun Ying). At the time, local…
Embracing A Bigger Human Identity: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company
By Joelle Cecilia Quek (900 words, 6-minute read) I sit cross-legged on the floor in Goodman Arts Centre, the beat from the speakers thumping my chest as I watch the forms in front of me twist and writhe. Their pounding…
Podcast 65: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival (Part 1)
Duration: 20 min Podcast host Chan Sze-Wei and guest Melissa Quek discuss works they saw at the recent M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival, specifically at the platforms DiverCity, Off Stage and M1 Open Stage. These include H A S E…
“Invisible Habitudes”: The Personal Goes Political Goes Global
By Nabilah Said (621 words, three-minute read) On a Monday afternoon in Goodman Arts Centre, I am watching a group of dancers working. They are leaping. They are climbing. They are pushing. They are sweating. They are making me feel…
“Invisible Habitudes”: Postcards From a Choreographer’s Journey
By Chan Sze Wei (1090 words, five-minute read) T.H.E. Dance Company turns 10 this year and Invisible Habitudes, a da:ns festival commission, reads as an eclectic postcard of the artistic signature of Kuik Swee Boon. The company, and Kuik himself,…
Astrid Boons: Belgian Choreographer brings “Vestige” to Singapore
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….
Flowing Reflections: “EARTH” at the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018
By Jocelyn Chng (960 words, 6-minute read) EARTH opens the 2018 edition of the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival, the annual festival organised by T.H.E Dance Company. Now in its ninth year, the festival is a relatively small feature of…
From the lucid dream of “Cut Kafka!”, a promising new artistic path
By Bernice Lee (995 words, four-minute read) The Esplanade Theatre Studio is awash in red light. It feels like the set of a Marvel movie – gloomy and dystopian; a planet overtaken by villains, awaiting rescue. Red mechanical legs hang…
Kuik Swee Boon and Nelson Chia, dreamers of dance and drama (via The Esplanade)
You know a Nine Years Theatre production when you see one. There’s the smell of precision about it, from the calibrated ensemble to the period-perfect set pieces. Every single performer seems to be breathing in and out in perfect sync….
Three Kin, T.H.E Dance Company
By Ezekiel Oliveira (573 words, 5-minute read) Subtle lighting can enhance any dance piece, but the gloom that pervades this triple bill too often leaves the fine choreography lurking in the shadows. The decision must have had an artistic…