The Rhythm of Us | SIFA 2021

THE RHYTHM OF US

Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) & the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) (Singapore) 7 & 8 Aug 2021 Sat & Sun, 8pm Esplanade Theatre

MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR The world has changed dramatically in the last year. This is an extraordinary time for artists, where we have been asking ourselves: how can we still bring you great art and recreate the magic of the live experience? This is an enormous challenge, one which requires creativity, boldness and determination.

With over 60 productions and over 300 performances, SIFA 2021 has been curated as a direct response to the here and now.

It is a response to the care and compassion we need for ourselves, our community and our environment. It features exceptional artistes and companies who have learnt to adapt and present work that can reach audiences around the world, using a variety of technologies.

And it will feature a record number of Singaporean commissions and collaborations.

Besides shows that will take place in theatres and unique spaces around Singapore, SIFA 2021 will allow you to interact with artists “live” from around the world. There won’t be any shows that you watch passively on a screen. You can also expect the return of festival favourites such as our popular film offering, Singular Screens, as well as Festival House – the epicentre of the festival.

It’s been an honour to helm our national festival and see it grow in stature, both at home and internationally, over the past four years.

None of this would have been possible without the support of the incredible team at Arts House Ltd who have worked tirelessly to make this happen, and especially their Herculean efforts of mounting a festival of this scale during a pandemic.

In a time where most of us can’t travel, SIFA looks forward to bringing the world to you, and Singaporean artists to the world.

See you at SIFA 2021.

Gaurav Kripalani Festival Director

MESSAGE FROM SDT Collaborations have become the fuel of innovation in the arts in recent years. The particular blending of specific talents from SSO, SDT, plus three new individual works which includes a newly commissioned score for one piece from composer, Chok Kerong.

Pam Tanowitz, a well-known New York based choreographer, created a new piece via ZOOM rehearsals, working with SDT for the first time.

Her experience with the dancers was one of a kind. Christina Chan, paired with Chok Kerong created a truly unique piece that perfectly suits the nature of a blending of talents. The evening begins with Ng Pei-Sian and a single dancer, in a meditation of sound and response in movement, which opens out into a more personal piece from Pam Tanowitz reflecting the particular skills of dance maker and dancers in unison. Christina and Kerong’s piece will end the evening with the newness of creation and energy combining all the arts in sight, sound and atmosphere to complete the experience memorably.

Janek Schergen Artistic Director Singapore Dance Theatre

MESSAGE FROM SSO On 26 March 2020 Singapore’s performing arts venues turned off the lights and brought their curtains down.

It would be several months before any live performances took place. The SSO and our fellow arts companies faced an unprecedented crisis.

But in the midst of this crisis, people around the world turned to the arts.

SSO launched SSOPlayOn!, a digital season of concerts, conversations with artistes, classical music meditation and more. We wanted to continue creating musical memories for the people of Singapore, even though concert halls were closed. Going digital brought innovations – from an international collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to creating a ‘digital orchestra’ in which our musicians performed from their own homes, to a wildly popular digital collaboration “Dance to a New Beat” with the Singapore Dance Theatre.

Building on this successful online partnership, we are thrilled to be back in the Esplanade Theatre performing for you in a collaboration with our friends at Singapore Dance Theatre, as part of SIFA 2021. This performance not only marks the close friendship between two of Singapore’s flagship cultural institutions; it also marks a long-awaited reunion with the SDT on stage, since 2002.

For a production such as this – involving new choreography as well as new music – the timeline would normally be at least a year (or two!). But COVID has changed everything, even time, and this production has been put together in just three months.

This performance starts with one musician and one dancer, and the number of performers grows over the course of three movements. In parallel, the music moves from the 20th century to the modern day. The Rhythm of Us is a celebration of the performing arts, an explosion of optimism after a turbulent year and a reminder of the transcendent power of music and dance.

Hans Sørensen Director of Artistic Planning Singapore Symphony Group

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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION A long-awaited performance by two of Singapore’s pre-eminent arts companies, The Rhythm of Us is a transcendent evening of dance and music for these uncertain times.

The Rhythm of Us marks the exciting collaboration between Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) – one bound to delight fans and new audiences as the companies break new ground in this cross-disciplinary concert.

Buoyed by a collective longing for the theatre, The Rhythm of Us leads audiences on a lyrical journey with three works, culminating in the remembrance of the transcendence and wonder of live music and dance.

Three contemporary musical pieces will come to life with new choreography by Artistic Director of SDT Janek Schergen, well-known local choreographer Christina Chan and special guest Pam Tanowitz.

Tanowitz’s new work marks the first showing of her work in Singapore.

Programme Partner

The evening opens on a meditative note with William Walton’s Passacaglia for Cello, performed by Ng Pei-Sian, SSO’s Principal Cellist and The HEAD Foundation Chair, along with dancer Chihiro Uchida. The evening builds up to a crescendo with Henry Cowell’s Variations on Thirds, featuring a string ensemble and six dancers.

In the performance’s effervescent finale, expect a brand-new piece, The Light Behind Us, by local jazz pianist and composer, Chok Kerong, matched by fresh choreography by Christina Chan and a dazzling ensemble of musicians and dancers (as far as safe management measure will allow!).

A testament to hope and the indomitable spirit of the arts, The Rhythm of Us is an unprecedented treasure by two of Singapore’s most celebrated arts companies and a rare treat for these challenging times.

PROGRAMME NOTES Meditation Dance Choreography by Janek Schergen Music by William Walton Costume Design by Chloei Hew Cast: Chihiro Uchida Ng Pei-Sian, Principal Cello, The HEAD Foundation Chair The sound of a cello is unique and personal to me and the quality of a single cellist evokes a mood, which is primary in this piece. It is meant to be a communication between cellist and a single dancer and, in some way, expresses the inner thoughts and memories of a person in the experience of contemplation and reflection.

Music William Walton: Passacaglia for Cello Walton’s position in English musical society was never in doubt from the moment Façade hit the theatre in 1923.

“Naggingly memorable”, wrote one critic, even though the audience hated the surreal setting and Edith Sitwell’s poetry.

The stunning 1929 Viola Concerto swept him to the top, and Belshazzar’s Feast two years later kept him there, though he knew he was living on musical borrowed time.

Modernism would overtake him as Britain adjusted to the post-war era, and music

Music courtesy of Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishers Limited on behalf of Oxford University Press

had moved on from the beautiful, sincere, lyrical lines Walton was so adept at spinning, rather enjoying the irony-tinged music of Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett instead.

That mid-century generation enjoyed the friendship of great Soviet musicians wielded as ambassadors to the West by the state during the Cold War. Rostropovich in particular was instrumental in the creation of Britten’s suites for solo cello, and though Walton never took up to the instrument as easily, his Passacaglia was written in 1980 as an offering to Rostropovich (in the hopes that the cellist would also play his earlier Cello Concerto).

A theme is followed by ten wide-ranging variations, walking a tightrope between elegy and wry, sardonic humour. The theme itself plumbs the depths of the cello range, and the variations start out low and lyrical, before the energy picks up and introduces a soaring melody. Chromatic harmonies begin to creep in, and the rhythmic impulse of the music gets carried along by quick repeated notes for a while. An obsessive left-hand plucking marks the seventh variation, sounding like a funeral drum, and the last three variations are a quick whirl of energy, incorporating unpredictable pauses, time-signature changes, and a virtuosic flood of notes at the end.

Variations From A Distance Dance Choreography by Pam Tanowitz Assistant to the Choreographer: Melissa Toogood Costume Styling by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung Music by Henry Cowell Conducted by Joshua Tan Cast: Elaine Heng, May Yen Cheah, Yeo Chan Yee, Etienne Ferrère, Shan Del Vecchio, Timothy Ng

Part of the reason for that is Cowell’s jail term for being a sexual and political radical, which stamped out his most radical speech. He was content after to let others spearhead the progressive movement, and continued his studies into non-European musical traditions. His music also took on a much more traditional bent, and this late work shows a distinct debt to sources as various as the Baroque suite, Mendelssohn’s string symphonies, and the neoclassicism of Stravinsky and Ravel.

Solo viola: Manchin Zhang and Marietta Ku “Variations from a Distance” is just that; a dance created virtually and entirely on Zoom. Set to Henry Cowell’s composition Variations on Thirds, the dance gleans its basic structure from the score but is not bound by it. Tanowitz digs into her own body of work, weaving it with new movement for six dancers of Singapore Dance Theatre.

Music Henry Cowell: Variations on Thirds Spanning six movements, Cowell’s Variations on Thirds is a surprisingly conservative and tonal work for listeners used to the wild sonic experiments of his early years. One of the first composers to treat the inside of a piano as a percussion instrument in its own right, inventing the first “extended techniques” along the way, the Variations sounds almost British in its uprightness and straight-faced treatment of the two viola soloists.

The six movements of this piece inhabit an uncanny valley: the work itself is new, just over sixty years old, and yet it sounds hauntingly familiar. In fact, the most surprising thing about the work is that it was written by Cowell; it sounds like it could have arisen in Paris 40 years earlier, perhaps devised by Milhaud or Poulenc.

The extremely serious exploration of F major and D minor throughout the first four movements means the bitonality of the fifth is an arresting moment in the course of the music: a broken mirror of the music of ages past, with the orchestra floating unmoored in pure counterpoint.

The finale starts as a fugue — another archaic form — and expands to fill the full range of the orchestra.

The Light Behind Us Commissioned for SIFA 2021 Dance Choreography and Costume Design

by Christina Chan Music by Chok Kerong Cast: Chihiro Uchida, Elaine Heng, May Yen Cheah, Tamana Watanabe, Yeo Chan Yee, Etienne Ferrère, Ivan Koh, Jasper Arran, Satoru Agetsuma, Shan Del Vecchio, Timothy Ng Drawing inspiration from the accretion of our shared human experience, The Light Behind Us is Christina Chan’s latest world premiere created for Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) for SIFA 2021.

Music Writing programme notes on my own work has always been a challenge for me.

I’m hesitant to describe the music because I’m more interested in what the piece might mean to the listeners, what worlds it might create in their minds, and what memories it might bring forth. Let’s leave ourselves open to feel the music, and allow it to spark the imagination.

I’m grateful to Christina Chan for her creative energy and honesty. Working on this project with her was nothing but inspiring.

Set to composer Chok Kerong’s latest piece inspired by his recent conversations with Christina, this piece will explore various genres in dance. Incorporating the strengths of multiple generations from SDT, ranging from the most seasoned to the newest of the company’s dancers, The Light Behind Us explores the winding paths of the future, each step forward guided by the light of all that came before.

Music Notes for Meditation and Variations From A Distance written by Thomas Ang Music Notes for The Light Behind Us written by Chok Kerong Dance Notes written by Janek Schergen, Pam Tanowitz and Christina Chan respectively *Due to the prevailing restrictions, the four wind instruments - flute, clarinet, oboe, horn - are pre-recorded and mixed with the live strings and percussion ensemble performing tonight.

INTERVIEW WITH

THE ARTISTS Hans Sørensen (HS), Director, Artistic Planning of SSO and Janek Schergen (JS), the Artistic Director of SDT share: How do you feel about being part of SIFA 2021?

HS: It is great for the SSO musicians to be performing for audiences in another joint collaboration with SDT and in partnership with SIFA. JS: We are pleased to be involved in a collaboration that involves new choreography, great music and an opportunity to present ourselves in the theatre once again.

What can audiences look forward to for your programme?

HS: A new original production with a new commissioned piece as part of the music for this ballet.

JS: There will be three pieces with major new additions from Pam Tanowitz, creating a new work for six SDT dancers to Cowell’s music. Singaporean choreographer, Christina Chan, will make a full-cast, new creation using newly commissioned music from Chok Kerong, which should be unique and exciting.

What was the inspiration behind the work that will be presented as part of SIFA 2021?

JS: We always try to balance the three pieces in terms of music, qualities of the different works in temperament and overall look plus build in scale as the evening progresses.

How, if at all, has the pandemic influenced your process in creating this work?

HS: For the overall planning, the timeline was very short. Normally this process takes one to two years, but this time it was a 3-month timeline.

JS: Pam Tanowitz’s work is being choreographed through Zoom video sessions, which is unprecedented and unique. It is working out far better than either Pam or the dancers expected. You don’t get the one-on-one physical experience that is at the core of dance movement, but we’ve found a way around that. The new piece is taking shape extremely well.

SDT CREDITS Artistic Team Janek Schergen

Artistic Director ​

​Mohamed Noor Sarman

Ballet Master ​

​Rosa Park

Assistant Ballet Mistress

Chihiro Uchida, Kwok Min Yi,

Principals

Etienne Ferrère, Kenya Nakamura Akira Nakahama, Chua Bi Ru, Elaine Heng,

​​Soloists

May Yen Cheah, H ​ uo Liang, Jason Carter,

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Kensuke Yorozu, Satoru Agetsuma

​ ​

Beatrice Castañeda, Kana Minegishi,

Demi-Soloists

Nanase Tanaka, Yeo Chan Yee

​ ​

Esen Thang, Henriette Garcia, Jessica

Artists

Garside, Leane Lim, Ma Ni, Mai Suzuki,

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Marina Yatsushiro, Stephanie Joe, Tamana

​

Watanabe, Valerie Yeo, Ivan Koh, Jasper

​

Arran, Jeremie Gan, John De Dios, Justin

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Zee, Reece Hudson, Reo Mizuno, Shan Del Vecchio, Takeaki Miura, Timothy Ng Felicia Er, Ma Xiaoyu, Reiko Tan,

Apprentices

Sayaka Yamauchi Chiam Zhi Bin and Gabriel Hoe

Company Pianists

Executive and Administrative Team ​Amanda Teo ​

Company Manager (Artistic)

Paul Ang

Senior Manager (Finance & Administration)

​Tracey Pan ​

Acting Finance & Admin Manager

Nilar Win

Senior Executive, Accounts & Admin

​Larissa D’cruz ​

Assistant Marketing Manager

Chang Zi Min

Ticketing & Marketing Executive

​Narapadsorn Koh ​

Marketing & PR Executive

Kimberly Tong

Digital Marketing Executive

Benjamin Kok

Executive, Education & Outreach /Artistic Administration

Sri Mayasari

Senior HR & Admin Executive

Helen Tan

Customer Service Officer

Production Team Jasmine Leong ​

Production Manager

Gordon Lai

Stage Manager ​

Adrian Tan

Lighting Designer

Edafi Johar

Production Coordinator

​Chloei Hew ​

Wardrobe Executive

Florence Sim

Wardrobe Supervisor

​ ​ ​ ​

SDT CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES Janek Schergen - Choreogapher

After a full career as a professional dancer, Janek became a teacher and ballet master at Washington Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Norwegian National Ballet. As the Artistic Director of The Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation, Janek stages the works of Singaporean choreographer, Choo-San Goh. As the Artistic Director of Singapore Dance Theatre, he has been responsible of the artistic development of SDT for more than a dozen years. Since 2009, SDT has added 31 world premieres, 19 company premieres of international repertoire, plus established programmes like One @ the Ballet, Ballet Associates and Scholars courses, Ambassador’s Circle, Made In Singapore choreographic workshop and many more initiatives to further the artistic development of the company. He has worked closely with the Singapore National Arts Council over the years to encourage the development of dance, in all its forms, within Singapore.

Pam Tanowitz - Choreogapher

Pam Tanowitz is a critically acclaimed American choreographer and founder of Pam Tanowitz Dance. Quick-witted and rigorous, she has steadily delineated her own dance language through decades of research and creation. Tanowitz is a 2020 Doris Duke Artist and is currently choreographer in residence at Fisher Center at Bard. Other notable honors include an Herb Alpert Award, BAC Cage Cunningham Fellowship, two Bessie awards, Foundation for Contemporary Arts award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her work was included in New York Times “Best of Dance” 2013-2020.

She has created for Australian Ballet, New York City Ballet, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, Royal Ballet, Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America, Juilliard Dance, Ballet Austin, and New York Theatre Ballet.

Other commissions include Bard Summerscape, Joyce Theater, Barbican Centre, Vail Dance Festival, and Guggenheim Works & Process.

Tanowitz holds degrees from Ohio State University and Sarah Lawrence College, and is a visiting guest artist at Rutgers University.

Christina Chan - Choreogapher

Born in Singapore, Christina studied at The Boston Conservatory and was awarded the prestigious Arthur B. Whitney Medal for highest scholastic achievement after previously training at The New Zealand School of Dance.

Her work in dance has taken her around the world, to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Korea, the UK and Africa; working with artists including Noa Zuk, Stephanie Lake, Sita Ostheimer, Byron Perry, Liu Yen Cheng, Matej Kejzar, Stephanie Batten Bland, Shahar Binyamini, Wallie Wolfgruber, Gabrielle Nankivell, Victor Fung, Lewis Major and more.

At home, Christina has been working with Singapore Dance Theatre since 2011, enjoying a close mentor-mentee relationship with Artistic Director Janek Schergen. She was previously a full-time artist and the rehearsal director at Frontier Danceland from 2011-2016. Christina has also created work for NAFA, Lasalle and Sigma Contemporary Dance, where she is currently a resident choreographer. She also has a collective, dancemeasheep with French artist Aymeric Bichon.

Mohamed Noor Sarman - Ballet Master

Mohamed Noor Sarman joined SDT when the company was first established in 1988. In 1993, he was awarded a French scholarship for an attachment at IFEDEM Paris, academy for contemporary dance.

He was also a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award in 1995 for his contribution to dance. In 1996, his choreographic work, Living Greens, represented Singapore in the 8th ASEAN Dance Festival and was later performed in the Philippines (1998) and in Australia (1999). Mohamed Noor was appointed Assistant Ballet Master in 1997 and was promoted to Ballet Master in 2009. He has worked with many choreographers like Nils Christe, Val Caniparoli, Natalie Weir, Ma Cong, Edwaard Liang, Kinsun Chan, Timothy Harbour, Toru Shimazaki and Francois Klaus. In celebration of SDT’s 30th Anniversary as well as for the Nation’s birthday, Mohamed Noor recently choreographed the dance music video for NDP 2018 theme song ‘We are Singapore’.

Rosa Park - Assistant Ballet Mistress

Rosa excelled in numerous and abundance of principal roles and represented SDT, inspiring many young dancers. In 2015, she was featured on the cover of Dance Europe and received an overwhelmingly positive review of her performance in Dance Europe’s Feature article for SDT’s premiere of Don Quixote as Kitri. She also received plaudits for her astute performance in classical ballet pieces such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, and many more and danced in several pieces choreographed by Choo San Goh. After she decided to take her final bow as the Principal Artist in 2016, Rosa joined SDT as a full-time staff in January 2021, as the company’s Assistant Ballet Mistress. She is frequently invited for master classes and coaching as well as a judge. She holds a B.A. in Dance from Ewha Womans University and a Master’s in Dance from Sejong University in Korea.

Chihiro Uchida - Principal

Chihiro began her dance training at Classical Ballet Academy S.O.U. in Japan. In 2001, she won the Idemitsu Kousan Scholarship at the 8th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, and was later accepted into The Australian Ballet School.

Upon graduation, she joined SDT in July 2005 and has taken on principal roles in Jeffrey Tan’s The Nutcracker as Clara, Sometimes I think I Remember and Breath of Love, Graham Lustig’s Cinderella, Kuik Swee Boon’s Pellucid, Jorma Elo’s Glow-Stop, and many more. Chihiro danced the principal roles of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (2009, 2012, 2015), Giselle in Giselle (2010, 2013, 2018), Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (2010, 2012, 2015, 2018), Juliet in Romeo & Juliet (2011, 2014, 2020), Paquita in Paquita (2012, 2016, 2017), Swanilda in Coppélia (2013, 2017), Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker (2013, 2016, 2017), and as Kitri in Don Quixote (2014, 2016).

Elaine Heng - Soloist

Born in Singapore, Elaine trained at the Singapore Ballet Academy from the age of six. In 2007, she received the Singapore’s National Art Council Arts Bursary to further her training at the Central School of Ballet, London, where she had the opportunity to work with guest teachers such as Matz Skoog, Aurora Bosch, Darshan Singh-Buller and Christopher Bruce. Elaine joined SDT in January 2011 as an apprentice, was promoted to Artist in May 2011 and to Soloist in January 2015.

Elaine’s repertoire highlights include a soloist role as Dewdrop in The Nutcracker (2011, 2016), Big Swan (2012, 2015, 2019), and pas de trois (2015, 2019), Spanish (2015, 2019) and Tarantella (2019) in Swan Lake, the pas de trois in Paquita (2012, 2016, 2017), Fate in Romeo and Juliet (2014, 2020), Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty (2015), Prayer in Coppélia (2017), Choleric in The Four Temperaments (2017) and Myrtha in Giselle.

May Yen Cheah - Soloist

May Yen started ballet at the age of 4 in Malaysia and moved to Australia at 6. She studied ballet and contemporary at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she received the Finley Award, Dame Peggy van Praag Award, and the Leinster Dance Scholarship. May Yen joined SDT in August 2011 and was promoted to Soloist in 2015. Her first feature roles were Spanish pas de quatre in Swan Lake (2012), Fairy of Abundance and Diamond (pas de trois) in Sleeping Beauty (2012, 2015), Val Caniparoli’s Chant (world premiere 2012), Natalie Weir’s 4Seasons (2014, 2015), Big Swans and Tarantella (2019) in Swan Lake, and others. Her repertoire highlights are Kitri’s Friend in Don Quixote (2014, 2016), Val Caniparoli’s Lambarena (2014, 2015) and Swipe (2014, 2016), Trio in Timothy Harbour’s Another Energy (2016), and Trio in Ma Cong’s Incomparable Beauty (2017).

May Yen most recently performed the roles of Fate and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (2020).

Yeo Chan Yee - Demi-Soloist

Chan Yee was born in Singapore, and at age 13, she was accepted into School of The Arts Singapore (SOTA), where she studied under the tutelage of Cheah Mei Sing and Natalie Clarke. In 2013, she went to New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD), completed a training course, graduating with a Certificate in Dance and a Diploma in Dance Performance. At NZSD, she worked with guest tutors such as Stephen Beagley, Anna-Marie Holmes, Wim Broeckx, amongst many others.

Chan Yee joined Singapore Dance Theatre as an apprentice in January 2016 and was promoted to Artist in January 2017. Her repertoire highlights include Big Swan and Princesses in Swan Lake (2019), Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and more.

Chan Yee was promoted to Artist in January 2017, and was promoted to Demi-Soloist in January 2020. She most recently performed the debut role of Juliet’s friends in Romeo and Juliet (2020).

Tamana Watanabe - Artist

Born in Mie, Japan, Tamana began ballet at the age of 3 with Haruko Ono at “Ono Haruko ballet studio” in Mie. At the age of 9, she started to learn ballet with Eriko Kushima at “Ballet Academy RELEVE” in Mie. In 2012, she joined Pittsburg Ballet Summer Intensive and moved to San Francisco Ballet School Summer Intensive in 2013. From 2014 to 2016, Tamana was training at National Theatre Ballet School in Australia under the direction of Beverly Jane Fry. Tamana joined Singapore Dance Theatre as an apprentice in January 2017, and was promoted to Artist in January 2018. Her repertoire highlights include Romeo and Juliet (2020), Cygnets in Swan Lake (2019), Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty.

She has also danced in 13th Heaven, Paquita, Linea Adora, SYNC, The Four Temperaments, Fives and The Third Reset (World Premiere, 2021).

Etienne Ferrère - Principal

At a young age, Etienne started dancing in Oyonnax, France. He joined the Paris Opera Ballet School in 2003. Upon graduation, Etienne joined the Paris Opera Ballet Company in 2009 and performed in the classical ballets Cinderella, Raymonda and Petrouchka.

Etienne joined SDT in November 2010 and danced classical roles such as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Gold (Pas de Trois) in Sleeping Beauty, Shepherd in The Nutcracker, the pas de Trois in Paquita or the principal couple in Allegro Brillante and Fearful Symmetries by Nils Christe, Swipe

by Val Caniparoli and Maninyas by Stanton Welch to name a few.

He was promoted to First Artist in January 2014. His role highlights include Raymonda (Principal Couple), Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Rubies, Gamache in Don Quixote, the pas de trois and tarantella in Swan Lake, Paquita (principal couple), Flower Festival, Fritz in Coppélia, White pas de deux in Double Contrast.

Since he joined SDT, Etienne has also been part of many creations such as Blue Snow, Chant, Another Energy, Opus 25 and Sticks and Stones.

He has also danced Traces We Left Behind, Piano Concerto No. 2 Opus 102, Age of Innocence, The Winds of Zephyrus, Midnight Waltzes, Divertimento No. 15, Theme and Variations, Serenade, Slide, Shadow’s Edge, Incomparable Beauty, 4Seasons, Jabula, Organ Concerto, ZIN!, Absence of Story, Lambarena, Triptych, Linea Adora, SYNC and Evening Voices.

Etienne was promoted to Principal in January 2018. He most recently performed his role debut in Romeo and Juliet (2020) as Romeo and Benvolio.

Satoru Agetsuma - Soloist

Satoru started ballet at Cygnus Ballet Studio when he was 8 years old.

While he was in Japan, he participated in many competitions. He was awarded a full scholarship from The Australian Ballet School at the Youth American Grand Prix Japan semi-finals 2014. He graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2016.

Satoru joined Singapore Dance Theatre as an apprentice in January 2017 and was promoted to Artist in January 2018. His repertoire highlights include the principal role of Prince in Swan Lake (2019), Coppélia, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty. He has also danced in Peter & Blue’s Birthday Party, Sticks and Stones, Symphony in Three Movements, 13th Heaven, Linea Adora, SYNC, Midnight Waltzes, Fives and Evening Voices.

Satoru was promoted to Soloist in January 2020. He most recently performed his debut roles in Romeo and Juliet (2020) as Romeo and Mercutio.

Ivan Koh - Artist

Ivan was born in Singapore; he took his first dance class at age 10. At age 14 he got accepted into School Of The Arts Singapore where he started contemporary and ballet training under Celine Tan, Cheah Mei Sing, Alice Lau, Natalie Clarke and Silvia Yong. In 2012 he was awarded a full scholarship from the New Zealand School of Dance and trained with them from 2013 to 2014. While at NZSD, he worked with numerous guest tutors including Matz Skoog, Sir Martin James, Pablo Aharonian, Edmund Stripe and Wim Broeckx.

Ivan joined Singapore Dance Theatre as an apprentice in September 2017 and was promoted to Artist in January 2018. He has performed as Harlequin in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Symphony in Three Movements, Midnight Waltzes, Schubert Symphony, Evening Voices, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet.

Jasper Arran - Artist

Born in London, Jasper started dancing when he was 13. In 2013 he continued his training at Central School of Ballet (CSB) and graduated with a BA (Hons) in professional dance and performance, he attended a post graduate year at Palucca Hoschule Fur Tanz in Dresden where he was involved in a new creation by Ihsan Rustem. Jasper also performed as a guest apprentice in Dresden Semperoper’s production of Manon in 2016.

In 2017, Jasper joined Ballet Ireland and performed in the company’s productions of Giselle and Romeo and Juliet.

Jasper joined Singapore Dance Theatre as an Apprentice in January 2018 and was promoted to Artist in January 2019. He has performed in Peter & Blue’s Birthday Party, Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Kitri’s Wedding in Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake (2019) and Romeo and Juliet (2020).

Shan Del Vecchio - Artist

Half Thai half Italian, Shan was born in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He started dancing at the age of 11, learning ballet at Chiang Mai Ballet Academy on a yearly scholarship from 2005 to 2013.

He trained under Kim Matthews and the director of the school, Preeyapun Sridhavat. Shan received the RAD Solo Seal Award in November 2012. He performed numerous lead roles with the Chiang Mai Ballet Performing Group and has won the first prize multiple times at the Asia Pacific Dance Competitions.

He joined Singapore Dance Theatre as apprentice in January 2014 and was promoted to Artist in January 2016. His repertoire highlights include Mandolin Dance in Romeo and Juliet (2020), Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Coppélia and Giselle. He has also danced in Opus 25, Midnight Waltzes, Theme and Variations, Peter & Blue series, Unexpected B, Double Contrasts, Linea Adora, Unknown Territory and Evening Voices.

Timothy Ng - Artist

Timothy was born in Singapore, and began learning classical ballet at the age of 7 under Ms Sylvia McCully. In 2011, after he finished his National Service, he joined Singapore Dance Theatre’s Scholars Program and performed with Youth Dancers Singapore in Ballet Under the Stars 2011 and Macau International Youth Dance Festival 2012.

Timothy holds a First Class Honours Bachelors degree of Engineering (Engineering Product Development – Mechanical Engineering) from the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Timothy joined SDT as an apprentice in January 2016 and was promoted to Artist in January 2017. He has performed the Mandolin Dance in Romeo and Juliet (2020), Spanish in Swan Lake (2019), Don Quixote, The Nutcracker as well as Theme and Variations, Peter and Blue Go Around the World, Symphony in Three Movements, 13th Heaven, Linea Adora, SYNC, The Four Temperaments, Midnight Waltzes, Schubert Symphony, Fives, Another Energy, Evening Voices and Shadow’s Edge.

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FIRST VIOLIN

FLUTE*

Chan Yoong-Han

Jin Ta Principal

Acting Concertmaster/Fixed Chair Ye Lin

OBOE*

Cindy Lee

Rachel Walker Principal

Foo Say Ming Marietta Ku (The Light Behind Us)

CLARINET* Ma Yue Principal

SECOND VIOLIN Zhao Tian

HORN*

Nikolai Koval

Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal

Wu Man Yun Chikako Sasaki

PERCUSSION Mario Choo

VIOLA Manchin Zhang Principal Marietta Ku Yang Shi Li

WILLIAM WALTON ​​

Julia Park

Passacaglia for Cello Ng Pei-Sian, Principal Cello,

CELLO

The HEAD Foundation Chair

Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair

HENRY COWELL ​

Wang Zihao

Variations on Thirds Manchin Zhang, viola

​DOUBLE BASS

Marietta Ku, viola

Karen Yeo Fixed Chair

*Due to the prevailing restrictions, the four wind instruments - flute, clarinet, oboe, horn - are pre-recorded and mixed with the live strings and percussion ensemble performing tonight.

SSO MUSICIAN’S BIOGRAPHIES Joshua Tan - Conductor

Joshua Tan was 2nd Prize winner of the Mitropoulos International Competition and received the Young Artist Award Singapore, Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award, NAC-Shell and the SSO/MOE Scholarship. For an unprecedented two years running, his performances of Bernstein’s Mass and Don Pasquale were selected by The Straits Times as the best classical concert of the year in 2018 and 2019.

Joshua has conducted the Mariinsky Theater, Beethoven Bonn, Tokyo Philharmonic, Sapporo Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, China Philharmonic Orchestras amongst others. His vast repertory covers symphonic, operatic, ballet, film and multimedia works.

Presently Principal Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and Director of the Asia Virtuosi, he has served successful stints as Resident Conductor of the NCPA (China) Orchestra, and Principal Conductor of the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he studied with James DePreist and Charles Dutoit.

Ng Pei-Sian - Cello

Principal Cello and The HEAD Foundation Chair, Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ng Pei-Sian was Commonwealth Musician of the Year in 2007, winner of the Gold Medal and First Prize at the 55th Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition held in London. Born in Sydney in 1984, he began studies in Adelaide, winning the prestigious Elder Conservatorium Overseas Scholarship to study at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where he studied under Ralph Kirshbaum and was subsequently awarded the college’s highest prize, the RNCM Gold Medal.

Pei-Sian has performed concertos with major orchestras across Asia and Europe, including Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Cello Concerto with The Festival Orchestra under the baton of the composer, and with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Cho-Liang Lin and Renaud Capuçon.

Pei-Sian is currently Principal Cellist, The HEAD Foundation Chair of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore. He performs on a 1764 Giovanni Antonio Marchi cello, Bologna.

Manchin Zhang - Viola

Born in Hunan, China, Manchin Zhang picked up the violin at age five and entered the Primary School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music at age ten. In the 1988 Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition, Manchin competed as a violist with the Shanghai String Quartet and won. She was subsequently awarded a full scholarship to pursue her Bachelor’s on the viola under Emanuel Vardi at the Manhattan School of Music.

In 1994, Manchin became the youngest and the first Asian in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and was later appointed Assistant Principal by Neeme Järvi. In 2005, Manchin moved back to Asia and collaborated as a soloist with several orchestras. She recently recorded and published the complete Brahms Viola Sonatas with pianist Albert Tiu. Manchin has been Head of Viola Studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music since 2005. She is also Principal Violist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Marietta Ku - Viola

Marietta Ku was born in Singapore into a musical family. The piano was her first childhood toy before she took up the violin. She subsequently studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, under an SSO-PSC scholarship. A student of violist Roger Tapping, violinist Howard Davis, and pianists Aaron Shorr and Antonietta Notariello, she graduated with a Master of Music, the Diploma of Advanced Studies, and the LRAM for violin, viola and piano.

In the UK, Marietta has worked with the Amadeus, Alberni and Chilingirian Quartets, and has been appointed Principal Violist at the Edinburgh Music Festival, the Reigate Music Festival and the Lake District Summer Music Festival. She is also the first Singaporean prizewinner at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition.

Marietta currently holds the dual post of violinist-cum-violist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Co-founder of the chamber group SPITZE, she is an active recitalist and chamber musician.

Chok Kerong

Chok Kerong has established himself as one of Singapore’s most versatile talents. He has distinguished himself as a swinging, harmonically inventive pianist and organist, and has emerged as a composer of extraordinary clarity and depth. ​​​​​ Chok’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by luminaries like Jeremy Monteiro, the T’ang Quartet, the Singapore Wind Symphony, and his own chamber ensembles. In 2017, he wrote Disquiet, a chamber work for pipe organ and strings, commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Group for the Victoria Concert Hall Organ Series and performed by eminent organist Dr. Margaret Chen. ​​​​​​ In 2018, his compositions for an 11 piece chamber ensemble were featured in Hong Kong as part of Departure, a project helmed by guitarist and composer Teriver Cheung. That same year, he wrote Sketches of Miles, commissioned by Jazz Association (Singapore), an episodic work for big band that showcases his fresh approach to orchestration and harmony. The piece’s premier performance in May 2018 featured trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist Antonio Hart and bassist Jay Anderson. In 2019, Chok presented PITCH, his second chamber ensemble project, featuring new compositions that meld 20th century chromaticism, soul, swing and Brazilian music. ​​​​​ ​ Chok also works in the production and songwriting realm. His contributions can be heard on the songs “Won’t You Come Around” (Charlie Lim and Aisyah Aziz), “Ashes” (Miho Fukuhara and Charlie Lim), “My Muse” (Rani Singam) and “Meant to Be” (Alemay Fernandez).

ABOUT

SINGAPORE DANCE THEATRE Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) was founded in 1988 by Goh Soo Khim and Anthony Then. Since then, SDT has developed into Singapore’s premier professional dance company comprising of 36 Company dancers plus four apprentices. In the course of each year, the Company performs six seasons annually, including the widely popular Ballet Under the Stars at the Fort Canning Park, two full length classics at the Esplanade Theatre, Masterpiece in Motion, our annual anniversary season which brings together three works of the finest international choreography and Passages Contemporary Season, which is dedicated to new works.

The Company’s repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary ballet, from renowned choreographers like Choo-San Goh, George Balanchine, Stanton Welch, Ma Cong, Val Caniparoli, Edmund Stripe, Kinsun Chan, Edwaard Liang, Nils Christe, Toru Shimazaki, Christina Chan, Timothy Harbour, François Klaus and Tim Rushton, and for the first time in Singapore, Pam Tanowitz. SDT tours internationally including performances in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Switzerland.

In 2008, Janek Schergen was appointed Artistic Director of SDT. Under his leadership, the Company has made new achievements in both internationally and locally. In the last 13 years, the Company has added 31 world premieres and 19 company premieres to the repertoire, in addition to numerous revivals of the existing Company’s repertoire.

SDT actively engages in public outreach to create greater awareness of dance through outreach to schools with its Arts Education Programme, Dance Appreciation Series (jointly presented with Esplanade Co.), Adults Dance Classes, Scholars Programme, and One @ The Ballet.

ABOUT

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan city-state. The SSO is led by Chief Conductor Hans Graf.

In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings.

Under the Music Directorship of Lan Shui from 1997 to Jan 2019, the SSO performed to acclaim in Europe, Asia and the USA, including at the Dresden Music Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie and the BBC Proms in London. The SSO has collaborated with such great artistes as renowned conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lorin Maazel, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Martha Argerich, soprano Diana Damrau, and violinists Janine Jansen and Gil Shaham.

The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works and all outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. Through the beauty of classical music, we aim to touch the hearts and lives of everyone, regardless of age, culture or background.

#HeartForArt One of the key missions of AHL and SIFA this year is to support as many Singaporean artists as possible during this challenging time.

Please consider making a donation directly to Singapore Dance Theatre & Singapore Symphony Orchestra to support their work.

Singapore Dance Theatre

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

giving.sg/sdt/rhythm-of-us

giving.sg/sso

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Singapore Dance Theatre (@singaporedancetheatre) Singapore Symphony Orchestra (@singaporesymphony) Thank you for your generosity.

* Donations go directly to the artists. Please contact the artists should you have other queries.

Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) and Arts House Limited (AHL) accept no responsibility or liability towards these donations.

ART HOUSE LIMITED BOARD

Chairperson Wilson Tan Members Kenneth Kwok Madeleine Lee Joseph Ong Lynette Pang Georgina Phua Adrian Tan Eugene Lim Yingjie Yasmin Hannah Ramle Ari Sarker

ABOUT ARTS HOUSE LIMITED

Arts House Limited (AHL) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to enriching lives through the arts. AHL manages two key landmarks located in the heart of Singapore’s Civic District – The Arts House, a multi-disciplinary arts centre with a focus on literary programming, and the Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall, a heritage building that is home to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. It also runs the Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre, two creative enclaves for artists, arts groups and creative businesses, and performing arts space Drama Centre. AHL presents the Singapore Internatiowwe annual pinnacle celebration of performance and interdisciplinary arts in Singapore commissioned by the National Arts Council.

AHL was set up in 11 December 2002 as a company limited by guarantee (CLG) under the National Arts Council and was formerly known as The Old Parliament House Limited. It was officially renamed Arts House Limited on 19 March 2014.

In 2020, AHL was appointed cultural place manager of the Civic District.

ABOUT SIFA

As Singapore’s annual pinnacle performing arts festival, the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) presents captivating and diverse works across theatre, music, dance, film and visual arts. First launched as the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1977, the festival has gone through several evolutions and inspired generations of arts lovers and practitioners. Today, the highly anticipated festival is a high point on Singapore’s arts and cultural calendar. SIFA continues its festival mission to champion the creation and presentation of Singaporean and international works.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT

Manager, Programming

Designer

Executive Director

Shridar Mani

Daphne Ong

Tan Boon Hui

Programmer

Ticketing Specialists

Festival Director

Nur Shireen Marican

Debbie Ng

Gaurav Kripalani

Producing Intern

Allison Lai

Senior Director, Finance

Ng Xue Qi

Copywriter and Social Media

Ng Soon Lee

PRODUCTION

Specialist

Senior Director, Strategy

Production Managers

Adeline Loh

& Planning

Chan Silei

Video Editor

Yeow Ju Li

Victoria Lim

Amelia Su

Head, Producing

Production Coordinators

Interns

Sara Fang

Celestine Wong

Chia Kai Lin

Head, Production

Melissa Chin

Denise Lim

Cindy Yeong

Assistant Production

PLACEMAKING &

Director, Marketing

Coordinator

PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

& Communications

Chong Wee Nee

Manager

Jasmine Gan

Technical Manager

Liza Mustapha

Director, Placemaking &

Kailash

ASSET MANAGEMENT & LEASING

Partnership Development

Technical Coordinator

Venue Managers

Lee Mun Ping

Huang Xiangbin

Sophie Sham

Director, Human Resource & IT

Assistant Technical

Rina Chan

Peggy Ng

Coordinator

Manager, Leasing

Director, Asset Management &

Muhammed Muzzamier Bin

Lucas Chiew

Leasing

Abu Bakar

HUMAN RESOURCE

Rachel Chu

Administrative Executive

Executives

Acting Head, Corporate

Nor Limah

Felicia Tay

Facilities Management

Production Intern

Tan Shu Xuan

Saburulla S/O Abdul Gani

Raudhah Binte Saifulrohman

Tan Zin Hui

Assistant Head, Event Services

MARKETING &

EVENTS SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Management

COMMUNICATIONS

Managers, Event Services

Emma Izzabella Tagoe

Senior Managers

Management

FINANCE

Elizabeth Wong

Patrick Anthony Chan

Managers

Winnie Chan

Nurashikin Binte Osman

Ng Jia Hong

Managers

Managers, Artist & Crew Logistics

Mandy Choo

Fiona Chua

Teo Huey Shyang

Executives

Khairi Johann Jasmin

Sheri Hogan

Ong Wei Ting

Rachel Chan

Managers, Front-of House

Izyan Nooraini Bte Ramlee

Assistant Manager

Sharon Wang Mei Yun

PROGRAMMING & PRODUCING

Kelly Roxanne

Sandhya Silvalingam

Deputy Head, Producing

Executives

Manager, Back-of-House Hospitality

Ye Junmin

Amanda Tan

Luc Toh

Producer

Vanessa Tan

Coordinator, Back-of-House

Fezhah Maznan

Senior Designers

Hospitality

Senior Manager, Programming

Hakim bin Rahim

Chin Weiting

Lisa Lip

Md Firdaus bin Wari

VISITOR SAFETY INFORMATION Arts House Limited (AHL) places the utmost importance on the safety and well-being of all patrons, staff and artists visiting our venues. Please be assured all our venues are SG Clean certified and that Safe Management Measures (SMMs) have been implemented across all venues.

For your health and safety, please observe the following when visiting any of our venues, including:

TraceTogether check-in and check-out required

Mandatory temperature- taking upon arrival

Face masks to be worn at all times

Ensure safe distancing of one metre at anytime

Sanitize hands before and after the session

As the COVID-19 situation in Singapore evolves, these measures will be updated in accordance to the latest advisories issued by the Singapore Government. For the latest advisories, please visit sifa.sg All information is correct at the time of print. Every reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information within, hence, Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) cannot accept responsibility for errors and/or omissions however caused. Every effort has been made to identify copyright holders. We deeply regret that if, despite our concerted efforts, any copyright holders have been overlooked or omitted. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the official policy and position of SIFA and their related corporations. Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of this publication is expressly prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted by SIFA or the appropriate copyright owner. SIFA reserves the right to make changes and modifications to the programme without prior notice. For updates, please visit our website at sifa.sg

Masterpiece Motion In

33rd Anniversary Season

24- 26 September 2021 Esplanade Theatre

singaporedancetheatre

singaporedancetheatre

All Information is correct at time of printing. Photo: Bernie Ng

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