Come April, get ready for the 2024 edition of the Esplanade’s da:ns focus – EveryBody, with an inclusive weekend of dance, challenging the conventional idea of a dancing body and redefining what is possible in dance and in life.

Through EveryBody, come watch and join a diverse selection of artists and participants in showing how everyone and every body is capable of dance, with plenty of access and entry points for audiences of any background to better connect deeply to the artists and experiences featured.

This year’s line-up includes New York-based Monica Bill Barnes & Company’s The Running Show. Together with Singapore dancers, The Running Show examines the life of the dancer through an athlete’s point of view—complete with running commentary. Here, watch as the dancer is positioned as a new kind of sports hero, one that keeps moving against all odds, as the production documents a dancer’s life through movement, interviews and stories, featuring a large cast of local performers of ages ranging from 12 to 70+.

These dancers join choreographer and performer Monica Bill Barnes on stage after learning their parts over the course of one week, while co-artistic director, writer and performer Robbie Saenz de Viteri interviews the cast and incorporates their voices and stories into the show. Filled with dynamic movements, gripping moments and an undercurrent of humour throughout, The Running Show is an enlightening dance-theatre performance that speaks to the community and humanity of dance.

Leading Australian inclusive dance company Restless Dance Theatre presents Listen To See. Scattered in a performance space, one duo and three solo dancers are equipped with headphones and an MP3 player, inviting audience members to share a three-minute choreographic exchange. Audience members may choose to experience different intimate performances by moving from one dancer to another, or enjoy the totality of a shifting and dynamic ensemble by watching from a distance—all according to their own moods, impulses and responses.

In addition, EveryBody will also feature a range of participatory programmes, with plenty of workshops for beginners of all ages, from pre-schoolers and kids to youths and adults. Restless Dance Theatre has also been invited to specially conduct two workshops: a Creative Movement Workshop suitable for differently-abled participants with diverse needs and conditions, as well as an Educator’s Workshop on the topic of creating access in dance.

The beloved EveryBody Dance Now also returns, where everybody is invited to freely take part in 13 different short dance-along sessions. Among these sessions, two sessions will be wheelchair-friendly and Singapore Sign Language interpretation will also be provided.

For a weekend this April, it doesn’t matter who you are or how much experience you have, join in at EveryBody to gain new perspectives on what it means to dance, insights on art and life, and what it means to be human. And most of all, to know that EVERYBODY can dance!

da:ns focus – EveryBody 2024 runs from 19th to 21st April 2024 at Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay. Tickets and full programme available here