SoftMachine – The Return: An Interview with Choy Ka Fai on a decade of collaboration, innovation, and the future of Asian contemporary dance

When artist Choy Ka Fai reflects on his collaborators, his language meanders like a dance itself; improvisatory, sudden shifts, and heartfelt pauses. “In the arts scene, no matter how close or friendly you are, it’s rare to remain friends and collaborators,” he says. “Which is why SoftMachine is such a rarity. We premiered it in 2015 with four solos, and toured two of them all … Continue reading SoftMachine – The Return: An Interview with Choy Ka Fai on a decade of collaboration, innovation, and the future of Asian contemporary dance

Preview: da:ns focus – CAN – Connect Asia Now (2025) by Esplanade

The third edition of the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now (CAN) takes place over a weekend this September, presenting three works that push the boundaries of dance, and uniting the unique perspectives of artists from the Asia Pacific. Imagining the future through dance, watch as Antony Hamilton, Choy Ka Fai and Pichet Klunchun reimagine the limitations and potentials of physical … Continue reading Preview: da:ns focus – CAN – Connect Asia Now (2025) by Esplanade

★★★★★ Review: Lived Fiction by Stopgap Dance Company

More than just a showcase of accessibility, Stopgap Dance Company elevates inclusivity to an artform of the future. For years, accessibility in the performing arts has too often carried an unfortunate association with charity—where the presence of disabled artists on stage is seen as a benevolent gesture rather than a celebration of creative excellence, where artists and companies are assumed to be platforming disabled artists … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Lived Fiction by Stopgap Dance Company

Preview: da:ns focus – EveryBody (2025) by Esplanade

The third edition of da:ns focus – EveryBody by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay returns next week, from 9th to 13th April, and as with previous editions, aims to break boundaries and show that dance is for everyone and every body, with no need for a ‘perfect’ body to participate in the beautiful art form of dance. Launched in 2023, EveryBody presents high-quality performances and experiences centred … Continue reading Preview: da:ns focus – EveryBody (2025) by Esplanade

★★★★★ Review: Corps extrêmes by Rachid Ouramdane and Compagnie de Chaillot

The majesty of the great outdoors captured in a risk-taking theatrical presentation. The realms of sports and arts may seem worlds apart, but French choreographer Rachid Ouramdane has found a veritable link between the two, with beauty in the human spirit to triumph against all odds. Such is the nature of his work Corps extrêmes, which made its Singapore debut as part of the Esplanade’s … Continue reading ★★★★★ Review: Corps extrêmes by Rachid Ouramdane and Compagnie de Chaillot

★★★★☆ Review: A Reason For Falling by Hwa Wei-An

Finding meaning and momentum in persevering through the pain. No matter how many times it happens, the act of falling will always be coupled with a sense of fear, often from the knowledge that the point of impact is going to hurt. Yet when it becomes incorporated into one’s daily life, the pain that comes from each fall becomes somewhat more bearable when one becomes … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Review: A Reason For Falling by Hwa Wei-An

da:ns focus – Out of Site: An Interview with choreographer Rachid Ouramdane on ‘Corps extrêmes’ and staging the power of the human spirit

In a feature article on French choreographer Rachid Ouramdane, New York Times arts critic Gia Kourlas described him as ‘the choreographer bringing hope to the stage and beyond’. It’s a big title to live up to, but one that Rachid lives up to and carries well, particularly with his work Corps extrêmes. Playing at the Esplanade this weekend as part of their da:ns focus – … Continue reading da:ns focus – Out of Site: An Interview with choreographer Rachid Ouramdane on ‘Corps extrêmes’ and staging the power of the human spirit

da:ns focus – Out of Site: An Interview with choreographer Hwa Wei-An on the power of falling, and what keeps him going

To make art is to live life dangerously and vulnerably, consistently putting one’s creativity and a part of one’s self up and subject it to as much criticism as awe and adoration. For Malaysian choreographer Hwa Wei-An, that danger comes very literally, and plays out prominently in his solo dance piece A Reason For Falling, which plays this December as a part of the Esplanade’s … Continue reading da:ns focus – Out of Site: An Interview with choreographer Hwa Wei-An on the power of falling, and what keeps him going

Preview: da:ns focus – Out of Site by Esplanade

In the final edition of da:ns focus this year, the Esplanade presents da:ns focus – Out of Site, a weekend of dance performances that foregrounds the intersection of extreme sports and dance. Presented from 6 – 8 December, it’s time to break new ground as these programmes consider how sites of extreme sports function as catalysts for dialogues with risk that unlock new thresholds and stir … Continue reading Preview: da:ns focus – Out of Site by Esplanade

★★★★☆ 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)