An invitation to watch and be watched. A tennis player’s obsession with victory. A dancer wonders if the body holds a separate memory bank. Daring, exuberant and utterly contemporary, M1 Open Stage is the Festival’s annual excursion into the curious minds of choreographic talents from Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond.Selected by an international panel from almost 200 entries, these 12 works are a fascinating glimpse into the creative processes and themes that drive the current generation of contemporary dance artists. At once profound and questioning, playful and reflective, come delve into the creativity and passion of these dance talents.

Street dance is storming onto the Centrestage of da:ns festival! Watch out for this epic showcase of mind-blowing street dance from some of the best crews from Japan, Taiwan and more, coming to you from slaying the stages of World of Dance and Hip Hop International. With immense creativity, various street dance styles and unique choreography, they prove that age, gender, location and language are no barriers to the power of dance.Featured crews include s**t kingz (Japan), Fabulous Sisters (Japan), IP LOCKERS (Taiwan) as well as our very own Singapore crews from this year’s Sixteen da:ns Challenge, an annual street dance mentorship and showcase programme for local street dancers. Stay tuned as other exciting artists will be announced!

A connection in existenceOf beings, of space, of time, and of circumstance,But moments last not forever,So I pen our crossing into a poem, and make us eternal.This year, the Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre’s core production “Crossings: A Double Bill” touches on chance and evoking sentiments. Drawing inspiration from encounters and conflicts in our lives, the production combines traditional elements and characters with contemporary ideas and expressions in its artistic creations. In the first half of the double bill, Artistic Director Lim Moi Kim looks at the crossing of time, and of people. A revisit to scenic cultural sights plays the vivid scenes of legendary characters and their stories before us, as if the writings we read in books had the ability to come to life. The second half, a dance-drama by guest choreographers Jiang Wei (China) and Zhang Yapeng (China), is an exploration of the connection, conflict and internal struggle of individuals using an abstract and contemporary approach. Accompanying the double bill is a collaborating group of talented musicians to compose for the works, bringing its aesthetic quality to a new, refreshing level as the beauty of music and dance blend in an evening’s harmony of traditional and contemporary art.

A three-way collaboration that features performance presenting the perspectives and interpretation of dance choreographers on literary works of famous female Singaporean author, Rongzi's work. The life of Rongzi is full of ups and downs, thus shaping her perspective of life. Renowned Taiwanese choreographer based in the U.S.A, Kun-Yang Lin, will also present his perspective based on the work of male poet Pan Cheng Lui. The interaction of tradition and modernity is reviewed in great intensity as movement and literary arts work intersect in its most earnest moment.                               

Calling out to all Tigers! Perth Tanapon is coming to Singapore for his first solo Fan meeting ‘Happy Perth Day 2019 in Singapore’ on August 10, 2019 at The Summit Auditorium & Studios. The event is promoted by Tsuiyang Entertainment and co-organized by Red Spade Entertainment Pte Ltd.Perth Tanapon is a thai actor/singer and started in 'Please... Seiyng Reiyk Wiyyan' in 2017.A young actor who is well-known after playing a hit TV series ‘Love By Chance'. Following the success of the solo Fan meeting in Vietnam and Myanmar, ‘Happy Perth Day 2019 Singapore’ will hit Singapore shore this August. Be prepared for an unforgettable afternoon of surprises and sweet memories with Perth Tanapon!Besides from singing and playing games, Perth Tanapon has also prepared special performance for the show in Singapore. Interactions with fans through benefits such as Hi touch are for ALL the ticket holders!

Masterpiece in Motion is back! As SDT’s annual triple-bill evening, this season is truly unlike any other. A phenomenal line-up including George Balanchine’s Serenade and Theme and Variations, as well as Choo-San Goh’s Fives, this season is unparalleled in its presentation of world renowned works. This season is set to leave you charmed and captivated the moment the rich scores tingle your ears. Masterpiece in Motion presents a true reflection and statement of Singapore Dance Theatre’s brilliance and remarkable skill. Immerse yourself in the sophisticated world of dance, and let us transport you into the mesmerising of realm of delicate and dynamic artistry.

Nominated for an Olivier Award 2018 for Best New Dance Production and for Outstanding Production in the Bessies 2018. Won a 2019 Dora Award for Outstanding Touring Performance and nominated for Best Dance Production in the 2019 Helpmann Awards.Internationally celebrated choreographer Hofesh Shechter’s latest work for Hofesh Shechter Company, Grand Finale, is a spectacularly bold and ambitious piece featuring 10 dancers and a live band of musicians. This work makes its Asian premiere in Singapore, with the company’s first appearance here since 2010. Grand Finale is at once comic, bleak and beautiful, evoking a world at odds with itself, full of anarchic energy and violent comedy. Filtering this irrepressible spirit, Shechter creates a vision of a world in freefall—part gig, part dance, part theatre, and wholly original.It would be impossible to miss the fact that Grand Finale reflects the uncertainty and confusion of the troubled times we are living in. Shechter captures a sense of helplessness and a macabre mood of crisis, but also the regenerative promise of chaos. The 10 dancers are a vision of a post-apocalyptic society. They pulse through kaleidoscopic formations as one body, one tribe, separating briefly for moments of fervent celebration, individual anguish, tenderness, and rag-doll collapse.This portrait of the struggle of the human spirit against apocalypse is intensely cathartic. Shechter leads us ultimately past despair to euphoric release, and a collective sense of having undertaken a monumental journey together.Shechter is recognised as one of the most exciting artists working today, renowned for composing atmospheric musical scores to complement the unique physicality of his movement. Based in the UK, but playing on major stages throughout the world, Hofesh Shechter Company is a boundary-breaking dance company that produces exceptional work created by Hofesh Shechter, with at their core a diverse tribe of extraordinary international dancers.Produced by Hofesh Shechter Company and commissioned by Georgia Rosengarten.Hofesh Shechter Company’s Commissioning Partners are Sadler's Wells, Théâtre de la Ville-Paris / La Villette-Paris and Brighton Dome and Festival. Co-commissioned by Colours International Dance Festival Stuttgart, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Romaeuropa Festival, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Marche Teatro / Inteatro Festival together with Danse Danse Montréal, HELLERAU-European Center for the Arts Dresden in cooperation with Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Dansens Hus Oslo, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, HOME Manchester and Scène Nationale d’Albi.Grand Finale is generously supported by the International Music and Art Foundation.

In this restaging, two emerging dance choreographers present their original choreographies, bringing to light the invisible standards and responsibilities that women bear, through a dialogue between poetic narrative and contemporary movement. With dramaturgy by Beto Ruiz, original music by Bani Haykal and choreography mentorship by Raka Maitra.The Last Walk for Water.by Karishma NairWhat makes a young girl choose death over facing her family after losing a day’s water? The Last Walk for Water stages the true and tragic final moments of Letikiros Hailu, a young Ethiopian girl who, like most women and girls in the region of East Africa, spend eight hours a day waiting and walking for water. On one fateful day, she slips, falls and breaks her full pot of water. More than eight hours of walking and waiting are undone through a single misstep. Instead of going home, Letikiros takes that same rope that held the clay pot to her back, ties a noose around her neck, climbs a tree and hangs herself.The Last Walk for Water explores the state of mind of this young girl as she watched the water spill out on the dusty ground. The unfortunate circumstance of her birthplace, gender and the increasing effects of climate change put her in a position that made her value a single pot of water over her own life, at the age of 13.This work is a response to the ever growing risks and effects of global warming and the lives that are most deeply affected by it, and is inspired by The Last Walk for Water by Scott Harrison, Founder of charity:waterMan. Untold.by Sandhya SureshWhere does the need to be feminine come from, and why is it defined as such? It would seem that a woman’s strength lies in her ability to internalise—to withstand wrongdoing, absorb anger, and endure pain. Though it cannot be denied that women have become increasingly vocal and outspoken about equality, there is still a pervasive need for women to define themselves by the same standards of femininity.When a woman shows aggression or uses a commanding voice, she is derided for her masculine qualities. Since external assertions of strength are denied to her, is internal strength the only kind allowed for a woman? A woman takes care of her beauty. She watches her figure. She smiles at strangers. As if she is not yet a person of substance, but instead someone constantly performing as a perfect woman, waiting to be discovered.

For the fourth time running, Celebration in Dance is a collaboration between Singapore Dance Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) for a one-night-only performance. This production presents a unique and brilliant opportunity for RAD students in Singapore to perform on the prestigious stage at the Esplanade Theatre.Along with the school performances, Singapore Dance Theatre will also be staging George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Nils Christe’s ZIN! to heighten the spectacular night’s performance.“(Celebration in Dance 2018) comprised a good blend of young students demonstrating the polonaise and mazurka and how to carry out the perfect pas de bourrée, older students showing their proficiency in the tango rhythm, the tentative beginnings of pointe work plus a rendering of the stars and stripes in true cheerleader fashion, all of which had been meticulously rehearsed, the partisan audience naturally full of praise and appreciation.” – Alison Kent, Dance Europe (October 2018 issue)

Following an exceptional career, acclaimed international ballet superstar Carlos Acosta brings his company, Acosta Danza to da:ns festival for its first performance in Singapore.Raised in an impoverished district of Havana, Acosta’s talent and drive fuelled a meteoric rise that saw him become the first Cuban principal dancer of London’s Royal Ballet and one of the most celebrated dancers in the world. This international mixed bill includes works which pay tribute to Acosta’s Cuba and presents the exceptional talent from his beloved country. Dancers from the company combine both classical and contemporary dance effortlessly, imbibed with Cuba’s rich musical and dance influences. In the programme are two enchanting duets on mythical creatures by the renowned choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, with Mermaid featuring a rare guest appearance by Acosta. Like a fish out of water trying to walk on dry land, or a stranger in unknown territory, the mermaid looks for help and guidance. With fluid virtuosity, she slithers like a human wave around Acosta’s deft partnering. The second duet, Faun, is inspired by the 1912 ballet by Vaslav Nijinsky, L’après midi d’un faune set to Debussy’s original score with additional music from Nitin Sawhney. The reprised dance of desire between a faun and a forest nymph takes on a new lithe, loose-limbed strangeness. The original Debussy score has been framed in a multi-layered soundscape with electronic and South Asian undertones by Sawhney.In Paysage, Soudain, La Nuit (Landscape, Suddenly, The Night) Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg connects to the soul of Cuba. The light and lively piece is set in a field at twilight, its playful choreography pulsing with the rhythms of the Cuban Rumba as dancers spin and leap in through buoyant ensembles and duets. The programme is rounded out with the energetic Alrededor No Hay Nada (Everywhere there is nothing, or Nothing is everywhere) by Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero. The ensemble moves through a series of dramatic tableaux coloured with jumps and acrobatic lifts, sliding and leaping in and out of light and darkness to spoken poems and jazz songs in Spanish.With the support of Sadler’s Wells in London and Valid Productions, Acosta Danza is driven by Acosta’s vision to give the next generation of Cuban dancers world-class opportunities. The company has received international ovations as an exciting new force in dance. Produced by Sadler’s Wells and Valid Productions.

Suffused with dark humour and inventiveness, Mr. Sign is an excavation into the workings of a hierarchal society – a furious search to locate one’s place within it and the meaning of human communication, explored through the lens of contemporary dance.The bold musical score arranged by resident choreographer, and original composer Kim Jae Duk features an idiosyncratic mix of influences, from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Indonesian gamelan to traditional Korean trot music. Known for his high-octane performances, Kim translates the playfulness and metaphorical wit of his stylistic movements with an all-new six-member cast from T.H.E Dance Company.Mr. Sign premiered at the M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2013, Singapore. Updated and restaged in 2019, a featured programme as part of Esplanade's Feed Your Imagination (F.Y.I) 2019, a dedicated series for schools, and for the 10th edition of the M1 CONTACT Festival.