Amidst a fast-changing world, cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival embarks on a new chapter in its journey of making, performing and experiencing dance. This year marks the 12th edition of the Festival, and its first steps ahead with its refreshed Festival name, “cont·act”, meaning “continued act”. With a rousing finale of completely live programmes, with both …
cont·act Contemporary Dance Festival 2022: Breathing Ground Read More »
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 with red lights. An enigmatic mass of scarlet hangs from above, suspended in mid-air. I …
Serendipitous releases: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company Read More »
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 companies and choreographers bemoaned resource limitations and annual grant requirements that seemed to drive everyone …
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 energy sucks me in, the clashing cacophony sweeping and buffeting as it reverberates from wall to wall. Six dancers are doing their final …
Embracing A Bigger Human Identity: “PheNoumenon” by T.H.E Dance Company Read More »
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 R by Singapore dancer-choreographer Syimah Sabtu and Leftovers by Josh Martin from Canadian company, Company 605. …
Podcast 65: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival (Part 1) Read More »
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 strangely immobile – when was the last time I hung upside down from my knees? …
“Invisible Habitudes”: The Personal Goes Political Goes Global Read More »
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, have been astoundingly prolific with new creations in the span of these 10 years – …
“Invisible Habitudes”: Postcards From a Choreographer’s Journey 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 »
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 the performing arts landscape in Singapore, but nevertheless a crucial one. Amidst the generally higher …
Flowing Reflections: “EARTH” at the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2018 Read More »
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 from above the stage. The audience sits in the round, beyond the reach of this …
From the lucid dream of “Cut Kafka!”, a promising new artistic path Read More »
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. The language is exact, the direction exacting. The company has made significant strides since it …
Kuik Swee Boon and Nelson Chia, dreamers of dance and drama (via The Esplanade) Read More »
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 impetus, but the result often leaves everyone – performers and audience – dancing in the …
