Preview: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2020

After a record high of close to 9,000 festival-goers at its 10th edition last year, T.H.E Dance Company is back to present the 2020 M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival from 6th to 28th June 2020. Presented in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, the festival returns to begin a new decade of contemporary dance with 15 shows, 28 classes, 4 workshops and 1 … Continue reading Preview: M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2020

Preview: Night Walker by RuanAtWorkz Musical Arts

RuanAtWorkz Musical Arts presents Night Walkers, a newly commissioned work combining Indian classical dance set to a mix of traditional instrumental Chinese and electronic music. Playing at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, expect a musical and visual feast as we follow this journey of a troubled composer, a curious night elf, and a tireless sound designer on their journey into the night. “To know a person, … Continue reading Preview: Night Walker by RuanAtWorkz Musical Arts

Review: No Place by Square One Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 15/1/20) Deciding one’s fate via a series of absurd games. What does the future look like? According to New York-based Square One Collective, a lot worse. Written and directed by Andrea Ang, No Place (almost reminds us of the a phrase no place like home’) imagines the world in 2075, on the brink of being physically impossible to live in. Three people – … Continue reading Review: No Place by Square One Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: Mak-Mak Menari by Bhumi Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 17/1/20) Poignant docu-drama about sisterhood over a lifelong passion for Malay dance.  In the performing arts world, dancers are notorious for having a short career span, with many retiring before hitting middle-age. But for one group of dance enthusiasts, age is no barrier to their passion, as the makciks of Mak-Mak Menari continue to meet, rehearse, and perform together to this day. … Continue reading Review: Mak-Mak Menari by Bhumi Collective (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: Kebaya Homies by The Necessary Stage (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★★☆ (Performance attended 15/1/20) Irreverent trip down TNS’ past works featuring two of their best collaborators. The Necessary Stage’s (TNS) most well-known works aren’t always something you’d readily call ‘fun’, with topics such as poverty, nationhood, climate change and political detainees just a few of the issues they’ve covered across the years. So when they do get a chance to take a lighter concept and … Continue reading Review: Kebaya Homies by The Necessary Stage (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: The Utama Spaceship by Spacebar Theatre (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 14/1/20) Likeable performance about the making of legends gets a little lost in space. As a fiercely competitive nation, Singapore has shown time and time again that it will continue to vie for the position of ‘first’ or ‘greatest’, constantly trying to prove ourselves in spite of our small size. But if there’s one place where to go boldly where no Singaporean … Continue reading Review: The Utama Spaceship by Spacebar Theatre (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

Review: ATARA – For you, who has not yet found the one by Reut Shemesh (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

★★★☆☆ (Performance attended 14/1/19) Finding the means to be who you are in a society that suppresses one’s identity. With some of her closest family members converting to Orthodox Hasidic Judaism 15 years ago, choreographer Reut Shemesh found herself suddenly embroiled in a world of new rules. Men were not allowed to express any physical affection to women with whom they are not married to, preventing … Continue reading Review: ATARA – For you, who has not yet found the one by Reut Shemesh (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Soultari Amin Farid and Grace Lee-Khoo (Mak-Mak Menari)

Who exactly are the Mak-Mak Menari and why should we care about Bhumi Collective’s latest show of the same name? In short, the 23-member group of veteran Malay dancers have been around since the early 2010s, and by virtue of their very existence, are pushing boundaries and subverting expectations of the middle-aged Malay woman. Premiering at the 2020 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Mak-Mak Menari is … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Soultari Amin Farid and Grace Lee-Khoo (Mak-Mak Menari)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Square One Collective (No Place)

In the not so distant future of 2075, the world is at its end. Three people – a political exile, a former radical and a climate refugee go in search of a virtual utopia, in the hopes that they find some form of shelter away from everything else. But what results is an absurd game, as Square One Collective’s No Place emerges as a social experiment that … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Square One Collective (No Place)

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Reut Shemesh (ATARA – For you, who has not yet found the one)

Female, Jewish and an Israeli living in Germany, Reut Shemesh’s background is certainly one that offers up a myriad of perspectives by which to see the world. At the 2020 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Reut will be bringing in her work ATARA – For you, who has not yet found the one, investigating femininity, religion and personhood with a mixed cast of Orthodox and secular dancers. … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020: An Interview with Reut Shemesh (ATARA – For you, who has not yet found the one)