From humble days of studio-hopping, to becoming a leading Singaporean contemporary dance company: 15 years of The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company have amassed, steered by bold artistic vision and tenacious ambition. Officially hitting the 15th-year mark on 11 September 2023, T.H.E launches a trio of programmes from September that speaks to its versatility, authenticity, and enduring relevance as a homegrown professional dance company.

T.H.E’s Founding Artistic Director and Main Choreographer Kuik Swee Boon shares, “Through these 15 years, I have come to really appreciate this reality: that every action of ours becomes history in the next second, and that even the smallest decisions can affect the future. Knowing what we are doing is not always an easy task, but even in times of difficulty, we must know why we are still here. Now at this juncture, I feel that we are at a good turning point where we know that what we are doing will play a part in forming a new, synergistic culture. As we celebrate all that we have achieved as a company in these 15 years, I ask ‘why are we here?’ to determine our journey forward.”

T.H.E returns to its debut performance venue, National Museum Singapore’s Gallery Theatre, to kick off the celebrations with a screening of Pán: Why are we here?, a re-edit of 2021’s livestream-ed premiere Pán《盤》(Best Performance, Asian Arts Awards, 2021 Edinburgh Festival Fringe) by Kuik, Resident Choreographer Kim Jae Duk (South Korea), and T.H.E Dance Company. This filmic remake by award-winning dance-filmmaker Maurice Lai (Hong Kong/Taiwan) takes the original cast of Pán《盤》into everyday social spaces, bringing forth the explorations of transculturation through a portrayal of community, and an emergent reality. Pán: Why are we here? screens at the Gallery Theatre, National Museum Singapore, on 9 September.

Continuing on at National Museum Singapore’s Gallery Theatre, T.H.E Second Company presents liTHE 2023 from 15—17 September. With a triple bill that ponders facets of greed, illusion and grief, liTHE 2023 picks up from 2022’s exploratory cycle with longer, fuller-fledged works by emerging choreographers from T.H.E’s main and second companies. Fiona Thng’s tauted takes a hard look at the enmeshed issues of overpopulation and privilege; The world, pink at its edges by Kwek Yixuan surfaces the unrest underlying a rose-tinted world; Jackie Ong and Lynette Lim shed light on the aggrieved to find hope within in I’m not leaving. T.H.E’s 15th anniversary also marks 15 years of T.H.E Second Company, reflecting T.H.E’s unyielding investment in and nurturing of future generations of artists and practitioners.

The festivities close with Searching Blue by Kuik and T.H.E Dance Company, a site-adaptive, travelling full-length work that journeys with audiences from T.H.E’s home studio at Goodman Arts Centre into the city. Taking from notions of oneness and physical connectivity, the work casts a renewed gaze on one’s relationship with others and the world, weaving a hopeful web of interconnectedness that ripples through. Searching Blue premieres on 17 November with 13 live shows happening till 3 December.

Of note within this celebratory period is also the ongoing research and documentation in preparation for the registration of intellectual property rights of Kuik’s HollowBody™ methodology that has formed the basis of T.H.E’s signature movement voice, and OzAsia Festival’s invitation for T.H.E to perform Infinitely Closer — premiered in 2022 as the commissioned opening for Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s Singtel Waterfront Theatre — in Adelaide, Australia.

Pán: Why are we here? screens on 9th September, while liTHE 2023 runs from 15th to 17th September, both at Gallery Theatre, National Museum Singapore. Searching Blue premieres on 17 November with 13 live shows happening till 3 December, across various venues.

Tickets for T.H.E’s 15th Anniversary programmes are available via Peatix for all ticketed programmes. A 15th Anniversary bundle consisting of tickets and priority booking to all 3 programmes, as well as a not-for-sale 15th Anniversary hoodie, is also available. For updates and full details, visit the15.co.