★★★★☆ Review: PEARLS by Joshua Serafin (CAN 2024)

The non-binary body finds healing and solace in decolonisation and community. To be queer is to resist norms, and to live as a queer person inherently means to stand apart from the majority, incurring curiosity and perhaps even fear in others. The queer existence then is one often fraught with pain and violence, to face prejudice on account of one’s differences, and a constant search … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: PEARLS by Joshua Serafin (CAN 2024)

★★★★☆ Review: Magic Maids by Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera (CAN 2024)

Collision course of the monstrous and magical elements of femininity, prejudice and Britney Spears. From the moment one enters the Esplanade Annexe Studio for Magic Maids, there is the sense that we are participating in something sacred or ritualistic. Hanging from the back wall is an armoury of brooms of various lengths and types, while above us, white and red string is layered and arranged … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: Magic Maids by Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera (CAN 2024)

★★★★☆ Review: TOTEM – Void and Height by Sankai Juku (CAN 2024)

Finding beauty in horror and grief, as we make meaning against the inevitable. The name of Japanese dance form butoh originates from ‘ankoku butō’, or ‘dance of darkness’. While never conforming to any specific definition, the spirit of butoh is precisely couched in the idea of resistance and counterculture, an avant garde movement that refused to use formal dance techniques, and often dealing with taboo … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: TOTEM – Void and Height by Sankai Juku (CAN 2024)

Review: Streams Where Deer Drink by Sigma Contemporary Dance

Immersive dance experience ponders over memory and form, utilising space and projections to transform a space into a bastion of dreams. The beauty of dance often lies in the way the performers move and adapt to their chosen space and soundtrack, transforming their bodies to elevate the space and turn mere atmosphere into a complete experience. In Sigma Contemporary Dance’s newest work, the contemporary dance … Continue reading Review: Streams Where Deer Drink by Sigma Contemporary Dance

Review: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

Resolving the line between the personal and the professional. Over the years, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy has consistently pushed and evolved the Bharatanatyam form, yet always maintaining its core tenets and philosophy. In their latest production, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy brings back resident choreographer Neewin Hershall’s FACADE – Two Parallel Lives, the first time it’s been staged since its premiere in 2017, and showcases the company’s ability … Continue reading Review: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

Connect Asia Now: An Interview with Joshua Serafin on healing, spirituality and the cosmos in ‘PEARLS’

Multidisciplinary artist Joshua Serafin is a force to be reckoned with. The 28-year old is already making waves across the festival circuit, with their provocative, viscerally-charged work often leaving a deep emotional impact on viewers as they reel from the sheer force of it. From performing at the Venice Biennale in 2024, to receiving nominations for the 2023 ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art … Continue reading Connect Asia Now: An Interview with Joshua Serafin on healing, spirituality and the cosmos in ‘PEARLS’

Connect Asia Now: An Interview with Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera on broomsticks, witchcraft and domestic work in ‘Magic Maids’

Artists and choreographers Eisa Jocson (Philippines) and Venuri Perera (Sri Lanka) may both hail from the same continent, but it took both of them being at a residency in Switzerland to finally properly befriend and begin working together. “We’ve met here and there in various places over the years, and I’ve been a fan of Eisa for some time now,” says Venuri. “But it was … Continue reading Connect Asia Now: An Interview with Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera on broomsticks, witchcraft and domestic work in ‘Magic Maids’

Preview: da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) 2024 by Esplanade

In the Esplanade’s latest edition of their da:ns focus series, they’re turning the attention back to Asia with a series of programmes for 2024’s Connect Asia Now (CAN). The annual programme is a dedicated platform that sees the Esplanade supporting artists from the region and introducing their work to Singapore audiences, connecting them to each other to advance Asia’s contemporary dance scene together. This year, … Continue reading Preview: da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) 2024 by Esplanade

Preview: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

“The lights on myself, the suspension of time as I move, the applause or criticisms after – for all the world to witness. I am likened to Shiva on stage. But how much of that matters off stage? Who am I really when the lights are gone?” Following successful premieres in Chennai, India in February 2017 and Singapore in May 2017, FAÇADE is set to … Continue reading Preview: FACADE – Two Parallel Lives by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy

An Interview with SMU Arts Fest 2024 Festival Directors and producers on student development and the power of collaboration

While most students in Singapore are better known as hardcore bookworms constantly preparing for exams to hit their elusive 4.0 GPA, students at Singapore Management University (SMU) are able to do all that and more. Being management students specifically, there’s that careful balance of work and play, the latter of which takes centrestage at this year’s SMU Arts Fest, aptly dealing with the theme of, … Continue reading An Interview with SMU Arts Fest 2024 Festival Directors and producers on student development and the power of collaboration