Photo credits: SPROUTS 2011.

After a vigorous selection round, choreographers Christina Chan (23) and Nicholas Long (21) have successfully made it to the finals of SPROUTS 2011, a competition organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) and co-presented by local contemporary dance company, Frontier Danceland.

SPROUTS aims to identify budding choreographic talent and provide them with a platform to create new and original concepts and ideas for dance that they can further develop. This year, with the addition of more applications extended to Non Singaporeans SPROUTS 2011 saw more choreographers adding their take to the various genres of dance, from hip-hop and funk, to jazz and traditional ethnic dance. In the Final Showcase on 3 September the winner will bag a cash prize of $2000, an Arts Professional Development Grant of up to $3000 to pursue further training in choreography, as well as the chance to perform a new piece at the finals of SPROUTS 2012.

About the Finalists …

Christina Chan graduated summa cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance from The Boston Conservatory in May 2010 and was awarded the prestigious Arthur B. Whitney Medal for highest scholastic achievement. Originally from Singapore, she trained and performed with The Singapore Ballet Academy, and passed The Royal Academy of Dance Advance II Syllabus with distinction. She then moved to New Zealand to further her studies at The New Zealand School of Dance before moving to the United States. Christina has performed at various Singapore festivals including Singapore Dance Marathon, Singapore Youth Festival and The National Museum’s National Day Celebrations. She has danced in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and USA, and has worked for choreographers Jim Viera, Ashley Girgenti and Mary Wolf amongst others. Most recently she performed with T.H.E. Dance Company in “As it Fades” for the Singapore Arts Festival 2011. Christina received a scholarship from the National Arts Council from 2007-2011 and is also a recipient of a Merit Scholarship from The Boston Conservatory and the Julie Ince Thompson Award. She has had the opportunity to present four of her own choreographic works to the public.

Nicholas Long first started dancing at Nanyang Polytechnic. He began formal jazz training under the instruction of Peter Teo in 2007, and in 2008, discovered a new love for tap dancing when he joined various programmes organised by Jitterbugs Swingapore. He recently choreographed for the 2010 graduation show of Jitterbugs Swingapore’s Developing Artist Programme and was a guest choreographer for NUS Dance Ensemble’s Evocation 2011.Nicholas is currently training under Tiffany Wrightson for the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD), an international dance society providing examinations in all major dance disciplines throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He has obtained the CSTD Advanced Gold Bar for Tap and CSTD Grade 7 Jazz.

You can watch Christina, Nicholas and the other eight finalists battle it out on 3 September, 7.30pm at the NUS University Cultural Centre Theatre, 50 Kent Ridge Crescent. Tickets :  $15 and $10 available at Sistic.

Now in its third successful year, SPROUTS 2011 is back once again in search of fresh, new choreographic prodigies to showcase their talent and creativity. This exciting event, organized by the National Arts Council together with Frontier Danceland, will take place from 23rd July to 3rd September.

Culturepush talks to SPROUTS 2010 winner Liz Fong, and finalist/best dancer recipient Max Chen about their taste for making dances.

NAC overseas Arts Bursary Recipient Fong Huey Jun, Liz, graduated from the New Zealand School of dance and came back to Singapore to continue her passion in dance. She joined T.H.E Dance Company in 2009 and has since been involved in all the 2nd Company’s productions. She is currently preparing/rehearsing for T.H.E Dance Company’s ‘As it fades’ production in the Singapore Arts Festival 2011. “Composition classes during my dance education in NZ have always been an interesting and intriguing experience for me. I realized that it propels me to think deeper, from exploring and creating movements on the various bodies in space, to structuring them in an interactive pattern, and finding ways in linking the intent of the work ,to even establishing a connection to the audience. All these go beyond physical means, and the thought processes and creation outcomes involved are an exciting challenge which i like to put myself through. In the NZ school of dance, we have an annual ticketed production that runs for two weeks ‘ The Choreographic season’ which showcases the potential works of the dance students. That is how I had the opportunity to put up my piece of work and gradually unearthed my interest in this area.”

About the  SPROUTS competition: “The competition was a fruitful experience for me, developing a piece of work with my dancers within a relatively short period of time, and watching other competing items with their unique individual ideas, perspectives and ways of presentation. It was very helpful that the competition was a developmental process from the preliminary round to the finals, where the adjudicators openly share with us their feedback for our items after the preliminary round. You not only get to learn about your piece but you also get to learn from the comments given to the other items. And its this sense of positive competition because everyone essentially has the same passion and the same strive for betterment, that i feel makes the competition less a competition but more an inspiring growing phase in our life as a young choreographer/dancer.  I learnt a lot about myself and my dancers throughout this process, be it mentally or physically. Working with people, struggling with myself when creative ideas fall short, and when everything just doesn’t seem to fit, it really requires a handful of determination and support and willingness to fall and try all over again. But one thing which I’m certain of is, despite the tediousness as with every artist (fine arts, music, etc) creating his/her work, the process is always a continuous one, as there are various possibilities to convey an intent of a work, and it changes with different phases of your life, how i interpret and put my piece together at this point in time may morph into an entirely different approach sometime later. Thus the competition and its result should not be an end to itself but a gateway to further explorations and creative efforts. I also come to learn that everyone who is involved in the process has something to offer so it is always important to be open to ideas and views from dancers or technical designers, because one own’s perspective especially as a choreographer can sometimes be too narrow and biased, listening to their feedbacks as part of the process may spark a better development in the work. The competition has definitely made me discover another aspect in dance other than performing which i am interested to work towards   – creating. It has also opened up more choreographic platforms and opportunities for me, which I will be involved in the second half of this year.”

27-year-old Chen Guohui Max started dancing in Jurong Junior College, and did his National Service as an Artiste in the Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company, during which time he discovered dance was his thing, and decided to make it a career. “I went to Lasalle, later transferred to NAFA, and then did my BFA Dance in Purchase College SUNY. Through the process of my development in dance, I began to appreciate movement arrangement, and how various elements of life/arts can come together in a choreography. Thus began my indulgence in imagination for choreography.”

About the  SPROUTS competition: “I think the competition was a great platform for me, to explore a theme I had wanted to do, though not effective in its outcome, but certainly a good valuable beginning for my exploration of the topic. It was a good stepping stone, but since this a relatively niche market, not many people know how to appreciate the art so there aren’t many opportunities to begin with. This is where SPROUTS comes into the picture – to help the public understand and appreciate dance/choreography as well as providing opportunities to talents.”

More details about the competition can be found on www.DanSing.org.sg and www.nac.gov.sg.

Opening tomorrow is Momemtum 2010, Republic Polytechnic’s Dance Festival themed ‘Bold and Beyond. In its third year, Momentum 2010 aims at promoting dance as a form of expression, as well as showcasing the best dance talents to be found in schools and institutions of higher learning in Singapore.

Billed as being youthful, vibrant and daring, the month-long Momentum 2010 resonates the feelings of today’s youth and celebrates the love and appreciation for dance – from the traditional to the contemporary. The exciting program culminates in the Showcase – a kaleidoscope of interesting and eclectic dance pieces guaranteed to invoke diverse feelings in the audience.

The dance showcase will take place on 26 and 27 May at the TRCC Theatre. Click here for the events line-up.

Come April, TheatreWorks/72-13 will be presenting RPM –Associate Director Choy Ka Fai’s new work for 2009, which also sees him collaborating with Japanese dance company, Contact Gonzo and director/performer, Li Xie from Singapore.

Revolution-Per-Minute -or RPM- is entirely based on the state of the human condition when involved in extreme shock. Together with writer Robin Loon, Choy displays this reaction through three protagonists: An accident involving a high-speed motorcycle and a pedestrian, witnessed by a passer-by. Contact Gonzo creates a form of contemporary dance where movements are derived from everyday actions. The performance will tie in with a sound and multimedia installation by Zulkifle Mahmod, making RPM a sensory piece of work. Expect a brilliant portrayal from Li Xie as she plays out the witness’ psychological trauma due to the accident.

23 to 25 April, 8pm (3pm matinee on 25 April) at TheatreWorks, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road. For ticket purchase ($15-$28), please call 6737 7213 or email to tworks@singnet.com.sg.

Christopher Hampson coaching. Photo: Bruce Zinger.

Dance luminaries and aspiring dancers from all over the world will convene in Singapore for the Genée International Ballet Competition 2009 from September 3 to 12. The annual ballet meet, with its illustrious 78-year history, is the foremost platform in launching the professional careers of many young dancers in the international arena. The flagship event by the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), Genée promotes and sets the standards of excellence among young dancers by pitting them in a contest that assesses their dance techniques and performance quality alongside their contemporaries.

The Genée International Ballet Competition brings together an international faculty of teachers, choreographers, artistic directors and top dance talents from all over the world. The coaching sessions of the competition will be held at the studios of Singapore Dance Theatre and participants will get the rare opportunity to spend five days in intensive coaching sessions with Lynn Wallis, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance and Christopher Hampson, award-winning International Choreographer, before competing in the Semi-finals and Final which will be held at the University Cultural Centre.

Click here for more information on the Competition Entry Requirements. Closing date for application is Monday, 3 August 2009. For ticketing information, click here.

Dance Horizon Troupe (Singapore) returns to dance up a storm with a contemporary performance titled, Enter #1773. Conceptualized by upcoming choreographer Liz Fong, guest dancers Verity Jacobson (Australia) and Ding Qirui (China), come together with Dance Horizon’s resident dancers, to explore the human character in the personal, political and social setting of Enter #1773.

“The production brings in a fascinating interplay of relationship among a few individuals in their mundane life of work and entertainment. The contradicting yet harmonious display of personalities paints a relatively poignant but realistic picture of societal survival in a lighthearted tone. A concoction of human force, vocalization and gesture brought to light with the physicalization of an innate subconscious relationship with the objects surrounding us. A visionary testament of the human condition.”

Drama Centre Black Box (National Library, level 5) from 20 to 22 March. Tickets are available from Tickets.com.

NUS Indian Dance is a performing arts group under the NUS Centre for the Arts. Established in 1977, the group has attained great heights under the guidance of its tutor cum resident choreographer, Mrs. Santha Bhaskar, pioneer in Singapore’s Indian dance scene and Cultural Medallion winner in 1990. The members of the group comprise NUS undergraduates and alumni, both experienced and trained dancers from India and Singapore. Kiran Kumar, Nav:Ras Art Director and one of the alumni choreographers, introduces us to Indian contemporary dance and talks about the new production.

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