Asia Dance Channel

Spotlight on Singapore Dance Theatre – An Experience of a Lifetime

9 – 10 April 2010

KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPac)

By Christine Teh

Being a balletomane, I was really excited to watch what Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) was going to present this time. I have been watching many ballet performances and I have to say that this is the best treat ever as SDT offered a triple bill performance which included ‘Piano Concerto No.2 Opus 102’, ‘Glow-Stop’ and ‘Act III of Raymonda’. Iwas able to experience three different ballets all in one night!

The clock was 8.15pm and many people could be seen mingling around, waiting for the doors to be opened. By 8.30pm, everyone was already seated, the lights gone down signalling the show was about to begin. When the music was played and the dancers came out to take their places, I felt like I was in my little world of ballet.

The first ballet piece they performed was ‘Piano Concerto No. 2 Opus 102’. This 20-minutes long piece, accompanied by Shoskatovitch’s music portrayed the dancers’ strength in ‘allegro’ (jumps with fast tempo). With the fast-paced music, these amazing dancers managed to dance elegantly and gracefully, not to forget the lovely pointe work (dance on the tip of the toes using special blocked shoes) performed by the female dancers. In this contemporary piece, both male and female dancers dressed really simple without any tutus worn by the female dancers.

After the first piece, there was a 15-minutes intermission. I was waiting in the theatre, feeling even more excited. The next piece was ‘Glow-Stop’ which was originally created for American Ballet Theatre. The most remarkable moments in this piece was definitely the ‘pas de deux’ (dance for two or partnering work) parts. The daring lifts got me speechless. I was just so mesmerized by their coordination and techniques in ‘pas de deux’. I have learnt that performing these daring stunts and movement was definitely not a piece of cake and it required a lot of connection between the two dancers. Timing plays an important role in ‘pas de deux’ in order to perform smooth and ethereal movements during the lifts.

The first two contemporary ballet pieces definitely opened my eyes to a different perspective from those classical ballets that I usually watch. After the second piece, there was another 15-minutes intermissionfollowed by the final piece of the night. It was a classical piece from ‘Act III of Raymonda’. All the dancers were dressed in beautiful, glittering, sequin-filled costumes which really caught the audiences’ attention. The female dancers also wore a tiara which made them looked as beautiful as a princess. Apart from those attractive costumes, the music together with the dance really got me. I enjoyed itfrom the beginning until the end of the piece. Those swift, whipping movements of the head during their pirouettes made those multiple pirouettes perfect.

In a nutshell, throughout the whole performance, all the dancers portrayed their strength, great control, balance and technique in every movement. Not only that, they did not just perform the steps in the choreographed dance but they danced with much expressions and connected with the audiences really well during the performances.

As a dancer myself, I am truly inspired to train really hard to have those beautiful control, balance and pointe work one day. It is definitely not a piece of cake to be a great dancer such as the SDT dancers. I believe these dancers have been training thoroughly all their life for the achievement they have today. Through this experience, I am really inspired by the dancers and I believe that inspiration is really vital especially in this form of art that requires one to persevere a lot in order to see desired results.

Lastly, I would like to thank Asia Dance Channel for giving me this opportunity to have this awesome experience with SDT!