CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL
9 JUNE - 5 AUGUST 2018 Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay & Goodman Arts Centre
KUIK SWEE BOON FESTIVAL DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 谢谢大家对去年的 M1触•现代舞蹈节的肯定！上座率 93% 绝对是一个积极的讯息，今年的策划也因此会建立 在去年调整过的方向和基础上。
今年，本地女性新锐编导蒋佩杉和刘汶钧将发表《我应该自杀还是喝杯咖啡》，作品启发是诺贝尔文学奖得 主艾伯特•加缪的荒诞哲学。加缪思想的核心是二元对立中体现人的尊严与人道主义，拭目以待这个舞蹈节 全力支援的本地独立编导创作。
另一位独立编导华维安则被选中参加新加坡韩国驻村交流。他的伙伴是两位同具街舞背景的南韩编导，Kim
Ho-yeon 和 Lim Jung-ha。国际合作总是充满沟通的难度，挑战个人艺术理念和国际视野是否兼具开放及互
相学习精神，就像现今的国际关系一般复杂。和维安同台的还有同样来自南韩获选 2015 “Who’s Next” Kim Bora，新西兰后起之秀 Natalie Maria Clark，她们将和舞人二团合作两个全新作品，关心本地半专业训练和独 立艺术家的朋友请留意。
去年已介绍过的 Humanhood 目前在英国和欧洲正受注目；这次我们选择 “土” 这个自然元素为题目，让他们 和舞人驻团编导金在德一起发表双舞作。期待他们欧陆风格的纯肢体和专业的舞人一团擦出的火花！
除了六个新创作今年我们也将重点介绍多过十个国内外重演作品，包括去年刚得到日本 “土方巽大奖” 的 Ruri Mito 和西班牙 MASDANZA 最佳表演得主 Chey Jurado。本地知名编导张咏翔，新生代的傅明文，吴守益和洪 国峰等也有完成或进行中作品发表。
去年广受好评的“舞在黄昏”滨海室外 免费演出今年将会由余绍芬和我一同 策画，希望更多人了解现代舞强调的 多元开放自由精神与特色，如果有人 因此开始喜欢上当代舞而走进剧场， 我们将会更开心，亦是对我们过去八 年辛勤工作的进一步肯定。
期待大家来参与第九届的的 M1触•现 代舞蹈节！ 郭瑞文
艺术总监
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To our friends, supporters and returning audience, thank you for making last year’s M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival a resounding triumph! A record 93% filled seats is a true affirmation of the importance of the Festival and the hard work that we put in. The programming for 2018 has thus been mapped upon the directional shifts that surfaced in 2017, as well its core successes. This year, two of the most interesting female
Also being closely observed in the UK and Europe
voices emerging from Singapore’s arts scene
dance scene is the choreography duo known by
are commissioned to create a new work: Chiew
the name Humanhood. Having performed at last
Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun’s Should I Kill Myself
year’s Festival, Humanhood will create a new
Or Have A Cup Of Coffee draws inspiration from
work for T.H.E Dance Company in a double bill
the Absurdist philosophical discourse by Nobel
that also features T.H.E resident choreographer
Prize winner Albert Camus, who is famed for his
Kim Jae Duk, both works centred on the thematic
thinking on the opposing binaries that surround
element “Earth”. It’ll be refreshing to see how our
human dignity and humanitarianism. Bolstered
professional main company dancers synergise with
by our Festival’s resources, I can’t wait to see
Humanhood’s European style of pure physicality!
the exciting work that these two independent choreographers will produce!
In addition to these 6 new creations, the Festival is proud to present more than 10 restaged
Another familiar face is independent artist
works, including award-winning ones that have
Hwa Wei-An, selected to participate in the 2018
premiered in Singapore and on international
chapter of our long-running Singapore-South
stages. These include works by Odoru Akita’s
Korea collaborative exchange. He partners street
Tatsumi Hijikata Memorial Award winner Ruri
dance-trained South Korean duo Kim Ho-yeon
Mito (Japan), MAZDANZA’s Best Performer Award
and Lim Jung-ha. Just as how modern politics
winner Chey Jurado (Spain), established local
has shown cultural diplomacy to be a complex,
choreographer Albert Tiong as well as emerging
messy affair, such cross-cultural collaborations
Singaporean artists Marcus Foo, Goh Shou Yi, and
are rife with linguistic challenges, and are the
Hong Guofeng - amongst a diverse array of finished
ultimate litmus test to find out if one’s artistic
works and works-in-progress.
convictions and cosmopolitan worldview possess the vital qualities of openness and generosity
Dance at Dusk, a well-received free outdoor
necessary to a mutually beneficial collaboration.
showcase by the Festival that made its debut
Sharing the stage with Wei-An are two new
in 2017 at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, is
works by choreographers Kim Bora from South
co-curated by myself and Anthea Seah this
Korea, a recipient of the prestigious “Who’s
year. My wish is for more people to embrace the
Next” award in 2015, as well as up-and-coming
emblematic spirit of inclusivity and freedom that
New Zealand artist Natalie Maria Clark, both of
contemporary dance celebrates! It would an added
whom will work with T.H.E Second Company. For
bonus and a further validation of our efforts in
those keeping an eye on our local talent pool of
promoting contemporary dance over these past
semi-professional and young leading lights of the
8 years if the programme gets people interested
future, this showcase is a must-watch!
enough to venture into a ticketed theatre show!
I look forward to seeing all of you at the 9th edition of M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival! 3
EARTH A double bill by T.H.E Dance Company featuring Filled with sadness, the old body attacks by Kim Jae Duk and EARTH by Humanhood. Unleashing the unique worldviews of two choreographers with performers from T.H.E Dance Company, this double bill takes audiences on a sensorial trip from secretive inner worlds to the forceful sway of nature’s elements. Billed as “ingenious and fresh” (The Business Times), award-winning South Korean artist and T.H.E’s resident
Price: $36 / $20*
15 June 2018, 8PM^ 16 June 2018, 3PM & 8PM 1 hour 15 minutes (with intermission) Esplanade Theatre Studio
choreographer, Kim Jae Duk flips the switch on his trademark style and reimagines the body driven to its edge by the raw, primal force of emotion. Set to a heartpounding music score created by Kim and featuring a ‘live’ performance by local tenor Leslie Tay, Filled with sadness,
the old body attacks captures the heightened tragicomedy of life.
EARTH draws from the fluid potency of this most grounded element in nature. Tethered to a powerful core, bodies flow and shift effortlessly in a mesmerising interplay of delicacy and dynamism. Crafted by Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert Parés - collectively known as Humanhood -
EARTH is the first in a commissioned series exploring the elements, developed as part of a wider artistic vision involving collaborations within different fields. Having captivated last year’s Festival audiences with their exquisite duet, the world created for T.H.E’s dance artists in this work reflects Cole and Robert’s fascination with fusing Eastern mysticism and Western physics.
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DANCE AT DUSK
Price: FREE
Returning after its popular debut last year, Dance at Dusk resurrects two standout works adapted from T.H.E’s main and second companies’ repertoires, Organised Chaos by Kuik Swee Boon and Kim Jae Duk, and She’s Chinese And
I’m Twenty-Five by Lee Ren Xin. Performed over three nights with six shows by the two companies, this event at the Esplanade Outdoor
22 June 2018, 7PM & 8:30PM 23 June 2018, 7PM & 8:30PM 24 June 2018, 7PM & 8:30PM 45 minutes Esplanade Outdoor Theatre
Theatre is specially curated to showcase contemporary dance in its most charismatic form. Both young and old will enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at this free-and-easy event, making it effortless to experience quality contemporary dance in bite-sized, interactive segments.
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OFF STAGE Off Stage celebrates and supports
Nine distinctive voices make their Off Stage debut
young Singaporean and Southeast
in 2018 including local dance-makers Chan Wei
Asian choreographers. This mixed bill
Chee, Chua Chiok Woon and Hong Guofeng from
is a rare opportunity for the public to
SIGMA Contemporary Dance Collective, LASALLE
see new works-in-progress from each
arts graduates Neo Jialing and Aricia Ng, overseas-
choreographer and learn about their
trained dancers Amelia Chong (University
creation process in an intimate
of Auckland) and Shermaine Heng (Victorian College
studio setting.
of the Arts, Melbourne), independent Vietnamese artist Thanh Chung Nguyen who was recently featured at the Tokyo Performing Arts Market 2018, and last but not least, South Korean artist Jun Boram who won the choreography award at the 9th Seoul Dance Collection in 2015.
Price: $5 17 July 2018, 8PM^ 18 July 2018, 8PM^ 1 hour 15 minutes (with intermission) T.H.E Dance Company’s Studio @ Goodman Arts Centre
BONUS PROGRAMME: SCOPE
FREE
Fuel your interest in choreography by attending a non-curated weekend of presentations by independent dance artists, held by one of our programme collaborators, Dance Nucleus. For more information, visit www.dancenucleus.com.
21 & 22 July 2018 Dance Nucleus
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M1 OPEN STAGE + DIVERCITY M1 Open Stage + DiverCity has been hailed for its “open, diverse and accessible” curation, where up-and-coming choreographers evoke the “power, potential and universality
Price: $25 / $15 *
of contemporary dance for all audiences” (The Straits Times).
19 July 2018, 8PM
M1 OPEN STAGE This year, with an increased number of international programme collaborators, M1 Open Stage features innovative and exhilarating works by a diverse range of dance artists over
(Programme A) 20 July 2018, 8PM (Programme B) 2 hours (with intermission) Esplanade Theatre Studio
two nights. PROGRAMME A: Annamaria Ajmone (Italy), Marcus Foo and Goh Shou Yi (Singapore), Mai Kubota (Japan), Ryu Jinyook and Kim Hyeayoon (South Korea), and Gil Kerer and Korina Fraiman (Israel). PROGRAMME B: Albert Tiong (Singapore), Chey Jurado (Spain), Ruri Mito (Japan), Tom Tsai (USA/Taiwan), and Jung Logyee (South Korea).
DIVERCITY Are we all living to die? Influenced by Albert Camus’ philosophy of “the Absurd”, Singapore-based choreographers Chiew Peishan and Liu Wen-Chun explore the absurdity that every living being faces death eventually in a new work for DiverCity. Created in collaboration with Taiwanese film artist Chen Yan-Hong and local dramaturg Neo Kim Seng, Should I Kill Myself Or Have
A Cup Of Coffee? visualises the choreographers’ personal musings on this absurdity.
Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee? 7
ASIAN FESTIVALS EXCHANGE (AFX) In this innovative platform, choreographers across our partner festivals gather to present award-winning works and new creations.
Price: $28 / $20*
South Koreans Kim Ho-yeon and Lim Jung-ha present their award-winning work from the 11th Seoul Dance Collection, First Abundance Society. Intrigued by the idea that preparing for the future doesn’t guarantee a better quality of life,
31 July 2018, 8PM 1 hour 40 minutes (with intermission)
they imagine paradise to be the society of the hunter-gatherer according to Marshall Sahlin’s
Esplanade Theatre Studio
“original affluent society” theory. The pair’s visual wit is a perfect match with collaborator Hwa Wei-An (Singapore/Malaysia) in a new creation that will be performed by the trio as a work-in-progress at the end of AFX.
Selected from the Yokohama Dance Collection, Kenji Shinohe’s K(-A-)O examines the phenomenon of emoticons and how the spectrum of human emotional expression has become oversimplified in the information age. Capping off the night is a twin bill by T.H.E Second Company created by bold, assured female choreographers, Natalie Clark and Kim Bora. The New Zealander multi-hyphenate Natalie Clark has taken on hot-button issues with humour, from the dark side of millennial existentialism to divine and occult feminine symbolism. Since being talent spotted at “Who’s Next” at SIDance, South Korea’s Kim Bora’s experimental cross-disciplinary and diverse tastes promises a creation that is visually striking and highly sensorial.
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BINARY – INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS SHOWCASE This double bill from selected international artists is a tour-de-force of works that evoke the gravity of the body.
Price: $36 / $20*
Shamel Pitts is a performance artist, dancer and spoken word artist from Brooklyn, who spent seven years in Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company. His multidisciplinary work, Black
Velvet, created together with co-performer Mirelle Martins and lighting and projection
3 August 2018, 8PM^ 4 August 2018, 8PM 1 hour 15 minutes (with intermission)
designer, Lucca del Carlo, is “a heart-piercing
exploration of gender, race, identity, love and
Esplanade Theatre Studio
friendship” (Time Out Israel).
Vestige, on the other hand, is an intense “pure movement performance
that fascinates from the beginning” (Theaterkrant, Netherlands). Created by Astrid Boons (Belgium/ Netherlands), a rising choreographer who has worked with renowned dance-makers such as Ohad Naharin and Jirí Kylián, this duet is an intriguing physical journey that attempts to empty the body of its humanness. Vestige was shortlisted in the top five performances of 2017 in an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper, Het Parool.
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L
U
J
N
U
J
(11:30am - 1.00pm)
Tom Tsai (I/A)
22nd SUN
(9.30am - 11.00am)
(9.30am - 11.00am)
(11.30am - 1.00pm)
Kim Bora (I/A)
Mai Kubota (B/I)
15th SUN
(12.00pm - 3.00pm)
Jae Duk (P)
Kim Bora (B/I)
14th SAT
(7.00pm & 8.30pm)
Dance at Dusk
22nd FRI
The Power in
(11.30am - 1.00pm)
Fluidity by Kim
Workshop:
Asian Festivals Exchange (AFX) (8.00pm) Kim Ho-yeon (I/A) (11.30am - 1.00pm)
Lim Jung-ha (I/A) (11.30am - 1.00pm)
Astrid Boons (P) (10.00am - 11.15am)
Lim Jung-ha (B/I) (9.30am - 11.00am)
Kim Ho-yeon (B/I) (9.30am - 11.00am)
31st TUE
(8.00pm)
(Programme A)
29th SUN
(8.00pm)^
(8.00pm)^
DiverCity
M1 Open Stage +
19th THUR
(10.00am - 11.15am)
Anthea Seah (P)
28 THU th
Earth (8.00pm)^
15th FRI
(8.00pm)
(Programme B)
DiverCity
M1 Open Stage +
(10.00am - 11.15am)
Ajmone (P)
Annamaria
20th FRI
(10.00am - 11.15am)
(P)
Billy Keohavong
29th FRI
8.00pm)
Earth (3.00pm &
(9.30am - 12.30pm)
Robert Parés (I/A)
Cole & Júlia
Practice by Rudi
Humanhood
Workshop:
16th SAT
Technique Class: $25 / $18*
28th SAT
Off Stage
18th WED
Off Stage
17th TUE
Dance at Dusk (7.00pm & 8.30pm)
Dance at Dusk (7.00pm & 8.30pm)
(B/I/A) (12.00pm - 3.00pm)
(B/I/A)
Kuik Swee Boon
Kuik Swee Boon (12.00pm - 3.00pm)
Hollow Body and T.H.E Repertoire by
Hollow Body and
Workshop:
Workshop: T.H.E Repertoire by
Goh Shou Yi (B/I) (9.30am - 11.00am)
Jackie Ong (B/I)
24 SUN th
(10.00am - 11.15am)
Kim Jae Duk (P)
12th TUE
(9.30am - 11.00am)
23 SAT rd
Robert Parés (P) (10.00am - 11.15am)
Robert Parés (I/A)
Rudi Cole & Júlia
11th MON
Shows: $0 - $36*
(9.30am - 11.00am)
Rudi Cole & Júlia
10th SUN
(B/I/A)
Kim Jae Duk
(9.30am - 11.00am)
Clark (B/I)
Natalie Maria
9th SAT
CALENDAR
(2.00pm - 3.30pm)
Ruri Mito (I/A)
(11.30am - 1.00pm)
Chey Jurado (I/A)
(9.30am - 11.00am)
Tom Tsai (B/I)
21st SAT
(9.30am - 12.30pm)
Parés (I/A)
Cole & Júlia Robert
Practice by Rudi
Humanhood
Workshop:
17th SUN
Workshop: $60 / $48*
G
U
A
SPECIAL DEALS
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SHOW PASS
Select from: • Earth • Binary - International Artists Showcase • Asian Festivals Exchange (AFX) • M1 Open Stage + DiverCity [Programme A or B]
(Usual Price: $125)
$100* for 4 shows
Workshop: An Insight into Astrid’s
Astrid Boons (I/A) (2.00pm - 3.30pm)
& B
Pay less to experience more in this twin deal!
A
$38* to watch both programmes of M1 Open Stage + DiverCity (Usual Price: $50)
M1 OPEN STAGE TWIN DEAL
Limited spaces available.
Email info@the-dancecompany.com to redeem your free class.
Buy 5 technique classes and get 1 free!
+
CLASS PACKAGE
Boons (I/A) (9.30am - 12.30pm)
International Artists Showcase (8.00pm)
Practice by Astrid
Binary -
Choreographic
5 th SUN
(I/A)
Showcase (8.00pm)^ (11.30am - 1.00pm)
Shamel Pitts & Mirelle Martins
Binary -
4th SAT
International Artists
3rd FRI
TICKETING
P: Professional
A: Advance
I: Intermediate
B: Beginner
Legend
(10.00am - 11.15am)
Astrid Boons (P)
1st WED
OCBC Credit
Cardholders
^ There will be a post-show dialogue after these performances.
* Ticket prices are not inclusive of booking fee.
for any further discount.
senior citizens. Concession tickets are not eligible
Limited concession tickets for students, NSFs and
Cardmembers
Platinum
OCBC Arts
Esplanade&Me
Cardmembers Members
T.H.E Friends
10%
PAssion Card
Early Bird (till 1 May 2018)
M1 Customers (with valid code)
15%
20%
DISCOUNTS
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www.peatix.com
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All secondary schools, JCs, CIs and ITEs may use the Tote Board Arts Grant to subsidise up to 50% of selected performance ticket costs.
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Supported by:
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Photo Credits (in order of appearance): Tommer Halperin, Bernie Ng, Robin P.E. Chee, Shaun Ho, Kuang Jingkai, ONE DANCE WEEK, Chung Tou Suk, Robert Benschop, ElĂas Aguirre.
T.H.E Dance Company Ltd, 90 Goodman Road,
T.H.E Dance Company is supported by the
Goodman Arts Centre, Block M, #01-51
National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme
Singapore 439053
for the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020.
+65 6345 8454
UEN: 200818017E
www.the-contact.org @TheHumanExpression.Contact