Annex 1
SAKIKO OSHIMA
Artistic Director & Choreographer
H. Art Chaos
The world created on the stage by Oshima has a Dionysiac power that incessantly rejects order. In the world of chaos where Eros and Thanatos confront, the audience finds pleasure which accompanies a dizzy feeling.
Praised as one of the visionaries of Japanese contemporary dance, Oshima has been involved in the field for over twenty years. Born in Tokyo and graduated from the Department of Management, AoyamaGakuinUniversity, she is the President of H. Art Chaos, which is a company she founded in 1989. Her works employ various stage effects and ideas including the unique method of air-hanging. Her novel and skillful direction reveals that she is a long-waited talent in the dance scene. Dynamic and unrestrained choreography, precise and unfailing construction and deliberate direction – these are the main characteristics of her works.
Her activity is not limited to stage direction itself. She often takes part in talk-shows or gives special lectures in universities. She also writes articles on her original dance theory as well as essays. She has her own philosophy about dance and therefore speaks on it with her own language.
She is a prolific artistic director and her activities cover a wide range. She produced many works in collaboration with other artists and musicians. For example, she choreographed “Takarazuka” and other musical plays. She undertook the general artistic direction/choreography for “Via Crucis”, the 3rd anniversary collaboration project at the Landmark Hall. Beside these collaborations. She occupies a seat in the art-supporting committee of the Kirin Beer Corporation. She also acted as a judge in Kirin Contemporary Award.
Touring extensively since 1996, Oshima’s dances have been performed throughout North America and in Paris and have received unprecedented zealous support from the audience. Thus she may be considered as one of the new top artists in the world. Her creative activities based on her own sense of beauty and philosophy received attention from the media all over the world, who introduced her as the leading figure in the contemporary dance scene.
Some of her works that have been taken abroad include: her work in “Mask … and Confession” was performed in Montreal, New York and Los Angeles, December 1996. Then in February 1997, “Romeo and Juliet” was performed during the festival at Paris (la Biennale National de Danse du Val-du-Marne). From November to December of the same year, she made 20 performances of her 2 works “The Rite of Spring” and “ABYSS” in 8 different cities of the North America. This tour was a great success because in every single theatre her works received standing ovation.
1993Received 1st place in dance section at Kirin Contemporary Award for “Signifian Signifie Little Mermaid”
1994Mastered Noh from the Headmaster of the KONPARU, as an intern designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs
1996Received the Award for the New Figure of the Year from the Dance Critics Society of Japan
Awarded the Special Choreography Award from the Japan Ballet Association for the work “Cinderella”
Participated in the International Choreography Regency as guest choreographer under the official invitation by the American government. She was the only delegation from Japan that year
1997Received Muramatsu Award
1998Awarded the Grand Prize from the Dance Critics Society of Japan
1999Awarded for the Special Award for Choreography from the 3rdJapan International B.M.D.C.
Annex 2
SINGAPORE DANCE THEATRE
Described as “a well-kept Asian jewel” by Australian choreographer Petal Miller Ashmole of The Red Shoes, and “an outstanding company of versatile dancers and a full and mixed repertoire that could grace stages worldwide” by Margaret Willis of the periodical Dancing Times in the United Kingdom, the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) aspires to develop into an arts company that all Singaporeans would be proud of associating themselves with. This is a strategic intent to become a strongly established home-grown brand name, known locally and internationally for excellence in performance.
This year, the SDT celebrates its 15th anniversary. Within its short span and its inception in 1988, SDT has accomplished so much and can lay claim to being one of the most popular arts companies in Singapore.
Setting Standards and Meeting Expectations
The SDT has played a key role in building the discerning audience for dance. In raising standards performance after performance, the dance enthusiasts now expect the best of the dancer and the dance. Led by Artistic Director Goh Soo Khim, the SDT dancers from all over the Asia Pacific are highly skilled, varied in experience and are committed to honing their craft through hours of rigorous practice.
The Company has also been committed to developing young talents. Locally-groomed company dancers who have risen up the ranks from apprenticeship include Jeffrey Tan (currently pursuing further education in dance overseas), Kuik Swee Boon (who has joined Nacho Duato’s prestigious Compania Nacional de Danza) and Ricky Sim. In addition, the SDT by far has the largest number of recipients of the Young Artist Award for Excellence in Dance given by the National Arts Council in a single arts institution.
The annual seasons have been specially programmed to include both works from the established repertoire which enable dancers to improve through deeper discovery about each piece and newly commissioned works by internationally renowned choreographers to ‘stretch’ their capabilities further.
In October 2002, the SDT was chosen by the Esplanade Co. Ltd to open Singapore’s new performing arts centre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The world premiere of Indonesian choreographer Boi Sakti’s full length Reminiscing theMoon played to critically acclaimed international audience including arts experts, press and dignitaries. The honour demonstrated the standing that the SDT has attained in the artistic landscape of Singapore. Although the piece was one of SDT’s most ambitious project to date, both dancers and management rose to the challenge and by so doing, achieved a new level of maturity and artistic development.
The 2,000-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Theatre has been the performing home of the SDT since December 2002.
Besides developing its full-length repertoire, the company is also dedicated in nurturing young choreographic talents outside of the SDT. Its popular Ballet Under The Stars series has become a platform for young choreographers from Singapore and the Asia Pacific region to premiere their works through the Asia Pacific Choreographic Workshop and the Singapore Young Choreographers’ Dance Platform.
Education and outreach programmes remain crucial components of the company’s activities as it continues to make school visits and conduct specially-designed dance courses for non-dancers. Recently, the SDT launched its Dance Exchange programme that aims to involve students in various aspects of the professional dance scene through interaction with SDT dancers and activities.
In addition, the SDT will launch its Dance in the Heartlands series to make dance more relevant to the heartlanders and inspire them to appreciate and participate in dance. This is in collaboration with the five Community Development Councils (CDCs). The SDT has also partnered the Lifeskills and Lifestyles Division of People’s Association in bringing the Step By Step – Bringing Dance Closer to You series to three new venues this year. These help the SDT take a step closer to realising its vision of sharing the beauty and joy of dance with the community.
In dedication to their educational cause, the SDT has also put in place two schemes to nurture local talents and to enable them to pursue their career in dance. They are namely; the Scholarship Scheme which allows young dance students to be attached to the SDT for further training in ballet. The Apprenticeship Scheme however, seeks to provide opportunities to the more mature ballet students to be trained by the Company and to be featured in full-length ballet productions and in time to come become fully professional company dancers.
The SDT has enchanted audiences not just in Singapore but has become the nation’s dance ambassador through tours in Mexico, France, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.. The standing ovations, high praise and critical dance reviews achieved at the Le Temps d’Aimer La Danse a Biarritz in France in 2001 and then the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico in 2002 attest to the SDT’s growing reputation in the international dance scene today.
The outstanding performances at both these events saw a number of international agents inviting the SDT to consider tours in Russia, Germany, France and Spain. Its showing at the first Asian Arts Market June 2001 in Singapore attracted enquiries for SDT to perform in the Asia Pacific region. The SDT is currently also negotiating to perform in North & Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.
Soaring Greater Heights
The Company is not content to rest on its laurels but aims to continue striving towards greater achievements. It intends to further its technical mastery of various dance vocabularies, to acquire and commission new works which will empower the SDT to make its mark as a dance company with its own distinct style, dance language and movement of its own. With this commitment to the craft, the Company hopes to inspire more people through dance.
The SDT and its missions are ably managed by a full team of six administrators led by Ng Siew Eng who directs the daily operations, fundraising and marketing of the company. The SDT is fully supported by a Board of Directors headed by two extremely dedicated Chairmen Michael Hwang and Tan Kin Lian who have always encouraged the company to pursue its highest potential as Singapore’s first professional dance company. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan was appointed Patron of the SDT in October 2002. He succeeded the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong, former President of the Republic of Singapore.
Goh Soo Khim
Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Goh Soo Khim, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Singapore Dance Theatre, is a highly respected figure in Singapore’s dance scene and has been closely associated with the development of ballet in Singapore.
Goh and SDT Co-Founder, the late Anthony Then, were instrumental in developing the SDT from a fledging company of seven members, into one of the leading dance companies in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.
Goh, who comes from a family of well-known dancers and teachers, received her early training at the Singapore Ballet Academy (SBA), under the Academy’s founding directors - Soonee Goh, Frances Poh and Vernon Martinus. She then furthered her professional training in Australia in 1964, becoming the first Asian dancer to be admitted to the Australian Ballet School. On her return to Singapore, Goh taught at the SBA and was a soloist and principal dancer in all its performances. In 1971, Goh assumed the responsibilities of Director and Principal of the Academy and has since trained, guided and inspired many young talents towards achieving a professional career in dance.
In 1977, Goh represented Singapore in the 2nd ASEAN Radio and Television Cultural Exchange Programme and in the following year, revealed another facet of her artistic personality: her creativity as a choreographer, first with Temple Tone Poem (1978) and then with Goodbye Again (1980). Her specially commissioned works Dilemma and Five Emotions were premiered at the 1982 Singapore Festival of Arts.
Goh was then appointed Co-Artistic Director by the then Ministry of Culture in 1984, to nurture the Ballet Group of the National Dance Company. The Group performed her specially commissioned ballet Environmental Phases which won acclaim for its originality in the 5th ASEAN Festival of Performing Arts in 1985. Goh also collaborated with Anthony Then to produce At the Ballet and Ballet Premiere for the Singapore Festival in 1984 and 1986.
Her first choreography for the SDT was Brahms’ Sentiments, which premiered in the company’s second season. In 1990, she re-staged Environmental Phases for SDT in a celebratory concert for Singapore’s 25th Anniversary. More recently, Goh has been actively providing opportunities for dancers to develop their potential as choreographers. She has been invited to adjudicate ballet competitions in Malaysia, Indonesia and is also on the international panel for the Asia Pacific Ballet Competition in Japan since 1991. She became the first Asian representative to be invited as a jury member for the pretigious “Benois de la Danse” Prix that took place in Moscow in April 2003.
Goh was awarded the prestigious Cultural Medallion in 1981 and the National Day Public Service Medal in 1989 for her outstanding contribution to dance in Singapore. In 2002, Goh was awarded a Fellowship of LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts.
Annex 3
Naoko Shirakawa
Principal Dancer
H. Art Chaos
Shirakawa’s dance, coming from her privileged body, exposes unrivaled juvenile transparency. The amazing dance techniques and bracing sensitivity are cores of her movements. The moment she digests the Oshima’s choreography and embodies it, amplitude of her dance is even more spread out, which gives a new life to the space.
Having practiced classical ballet in her early life, she converted to contemporary dance at the age of 18. Establishing her soloist career in various dance companies, she founded H. Art Chaos with choreographer Sakiko Oshima in 1989. Shirakawa formulates a space full of enigmas as mysterious as a creature having both genitals. Her emergence has been celebrated for a worthy event in Japanese dance circles, for she is a distinguished dancer who proves by her performance that dance really fascinates and excites people.
Among foreign artists, she is the only Japanese who won the best dancer of the year from the dance authorities in Japan for 6 years running and enjoys a reputation as a dancer of talent. She is an artist who seeks to pioneer the physical art of next generation, not only in the domestic but also in the world-wide arena.
In February 1997, she was invited to participate in the French festival (la Biennale National de Danse du Val-du-Marne), by the representative director of the festival Mr Michel Caserta. She has also made a great success in her special soloist performance “Romeo and Juliet” at the Maison des Arts Creteil in Paris. In September 1999, she was invited as a main performer in the Dance Festival “Sidance 99” of Korea, Seoul, which was received with wonderful reviews.
Unmistaken in her perfection in dance, she has garnered rave and outstanding reviews in every place abroad where she has visited for her performances. She has also earned for herself outstanding acknowledgements through the media as “the re-advent of Nijinsky”, or “the miracle of body” etc.
Annex 4
Cheah Mei Sing
SDT Dancer
Studied under Goh Soo Khim, Carol Ainsworth and Anthony Then at the Singapore Ballet Academy (SBA). As a SBA and SDT scholar, Cheah was selected as a SDT apprentice in 1991. In 1992, became a scholar of the Shell Centenary Scholarship for the Arts to study at The Australian Ballet School (ABS) and, full-time SDT dancer in 1995. Roles include: Clara in Anthony Then’s The Nutcracker; one of the step-sisters in Graham Lustig’s Cinderella; Pigtails in Colin Peasley’s Graduation Ball; the lead white in Goh Choo San’s Double Contrasts. Also performed lead roles in Jean-Paul Comelin’s Mozart’s Requiem, Thierry Malandain’s Sextet, Jan De Schynkel’s She Is As He Eats and Jiri Kylian’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Rehearsal assistant for SDT’s production of The Nutcracker in 1998.
Chen Wei
SDT Dancer
Trained at Beijing Dance Institute, China. Upon graduation, became a member of the Tianjin Ballet Company for a year before joining SDT in November 2002. Performed in Petal Miller-Ashmole’s The Red Shoes.
Cheng Hsienfa
SDT Dancer
Graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts with an Honourable Ballet Dancer award. Cheng was subsequently engaged by Alicia Alonso to perform John Butler’s Carmina Burana and Giuseppe Carbone’s Carmen at the 14th World Ballet Festival in Cuba. Cheng has also danced with the Atlanta Ballet, the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Contemporanes de Caracas in Venezuela before joining SDT in 1995. Roles with SDT include: principal dancer in George Balanchine’s Rubies; the Prince in Graham Lustig’s Cinderella; Franz in Coppélia; Albrecht in Jean-Paul Comelin’s Giselle; the shoemaker in Petal Miller Ashmole’s The Red Shoes; Jiri Kylian’s Stamping Ground and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Richard Wherlock’s Stetl; Thierry Malandain’s Sextet; Nacho Duato’s Jardi Tancat and Joachim Schloemer’s Petruschka.Guest performed in La Sylphide by Kaoshiung City Ballet in August 2001.
Fu Liang
SDT Dancer
Trained at Beijing Dance Institute, China. Whilst studying, Fu performed in The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Performances include Don Quixote and Giselle “peasant pas de deux” and “pas de quatre”and, with the Hong Kong Ballet in July 2000. Joined SDT in July 2001, and has since performed in The Nutcracker, Jean-Paul Comelin’s Giselle, Edmund Stripe’s Five Love Poems, Bowl of Containment, b.r.e.a.k.d.o.w.n, Joachim Schloemer’s Petruschka, was one of the five pas-de-deux in Jiri Kylian’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and was Victoria’s partner in Petal Miller-Ashmole’s The Red Shoes.