Hybrid
Moves, which showcases the National University of Singapore's
(NUS) six student dance groups, was remarkable for the sheer number
of dancers on stage. It reflected a passion for dance that seems to
pervade Singaporean youth, from the hip-hop crews rehearsing in the
underpass leading to the Esplanade to these close-knit university clubs.
This year, the groups were asked to present works based on the themes
of "Peranakan" and "hybridity", and they chose to
tackle these themes in the form and content of their choreography. Energy
and commitment were abundant; technical skill was obvious in some items,
but in others, the dancers just wanted to have fun. While some of the
choreographers tried to tease out some deeper concepts and ideas, the
showstoppers were definitely the mass-dance pieces.
In this respect, the NUS Dance Ensemble's Samsara, choreographed
by Zaini Mohd Tahir, stood out with precise Balinese-inspired movements
and lavish gold costumes. The women achieved the bent-back fingers,
arm and head postures associated with Balinese legong, while the men
had their moments to show off their skills. Their dancing achieved a
high level of unison, though it lacked the spiritual basis and intention
of the traditional form as it rushed through the series of dance steps.
It was a lost opportunity for the dancers - and the audience - to dig
below the surface to find a more expressive connection to the dance.
Ding Hong's My Homeland for NUS Chinese Dance and Rentak
Funky (Funky Beats) by Patrick Loo for NUS Dance Blast!
were amazingly similar in some ways. Each concentrated on setting dance
steps within a loose narrative that remained in the background, the
dancers grouping into various formations and enjoying the buzz of being
onstage. NUS Dance Blast! featured a virtuosic hip-hop performer in
white carrying a camera, lifting the energy of the group and giving
the fairly lame setting (mannequins in a Peranakan museum coming alive)
some focus. In contrast, Ding created quiet harmony using traditional
Chinese dance steps and props.
NUS Indian Dance's From Where I Am Standing by Santha Bhaskar
used Heng Siok Tian's poem Sayang Airwell as an inspiration
for the dance, setting it in an airwell that is typically found in Peranakan
homes. The dance began intriguingly with one dancer reciting the poem
while another performed short phrases around the stage. This was followed
by fairly standard Indian dance moves to contemporary music that worked
better in some instances than in others. (Unfortunately, none of the
interesting music used in the show was credited in the programme.)
In Fan Dong Kai's Passage for NUS Dance Synergy, a hair-combing
ritual served as a metaphor for a matriach's journey through life. This
image recurred throughout the dance and provided a "scene change"
between sections in various styles. The last scene, showing old women
crossing the stage, was both comic and poignant - it was well acted
by the group.
Artistically, the most satisfying for me was Osman Abdul Hamid's Nadi
for NUS Ilsa Tari, an evocative, beautifully-lit creation with layers
of subtlety in concept and movement. Not only did it explore the theme
of searching for soul and identity in some depth, but the dynamics,
spatial and group patterns were also varied throughout the choreography.
While it was good to see so many dancers onstage, at some point, some
of them may want to break out of the current concert-style formula and
challenge themselves with more creative concepts. Across the world,
universities have often been at the forefront of the creative expression
of ideas in the arts. Each of the NUS dance groups has talented dancers
that could extend themselves as performers and choreographers of the
future. Singapore's dance scene would certainly benefit from such a
move.
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"While it was good to see so many dancers onstage, at some point,
some of them may want to break out of the current concert-style formula
and challenge themselves with more creative concepts"
Credits
Performers: NUS Chinese Dance, NUS Dance Blast!, NUS
Dance Ensemble, NUS Dance Synergy, NUS Ilsa Tari and NUS Indian Dance
Choreography: Ding Hong (My Homeland), Fan Dong Kai
(Passage), Osman Abdul Hamid (Nadi), Patrick Loo (Rentak Funky), Santha
Bhaskar (From Where I Am Standing) and Zaini Mohd Tahir (Samsara)
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