|
Continued from
FrontPage of Article
Arts
from New Territories
In keeping with the Festival’s continuous desire to introduce new
finds and artists from less familiar regions, Festival will be
introducing artists from countries of Central and
South-east Europe
and
Central Asia.
These works include two powerful contemporary interpretations of
classics by choreographer Edward Clug – The Architecture of
Silence performed by the Slovene National Theatres Opera &
Ballet Maribor and Lujbljana, and the Singapore Festival Orchestra
(Slovenia/Singapore), and Radio and Juliet by the
Slovene National Theatre Maribor (Slovenia).
East West Theater Company (Bosnia
&
Herzegovina)
will perform Class Enemy, which sets Nigel Williams’s
play of the 1980s in present-day
Sarajevo,
while artists from
Azerbaijan,
Kyrgyzstan
and
Kazakhstan
will bring audiences their rich musical traditions in
Spiritual Sounds of
Central Asia:
Nomads, Mystics and Troubadours.
Water Wonders, Amazing Arts
Together with its
new partners PUB and Singapore International Water Week, Festival
will be
celebrating the value of arts and water
on two major water bodies
in the programme series Water Wonders.
Be
enthralled by the lyrical poeticism of the dreamscapes in
Water Fools by Ilotopie (France) on the
Singapore
River
at the Festival Opening at Boat Quay. The powerful theatrical acts
engineered by The Lunatics (The Netherlands) in Hydro Sapiens
at the Bedok Reservoir will wreak havoc at the spectacular closing
celebrations.
To bring the public a taste of the
exciting Festival experience in an interactive way, the Festival has
also commissioned a Festival Maze, an installation by
designer Chia Yu Hsien titled disSPACEments. As the public
wander through the maze of towers outside the Raffles City Shopping
Centre, they will be able to find information on the Festival amidst
this installation. The Festival Maze will be open to the public in
May.
Spectrum of Artistic Intensity and
Exciting Fun
Be
enthralled by the Festival’s programme ranging from the traditional
to the avant garde. The Festival
continues to explore the interdisciplinary possibilities presented
by the re-imagination of music rooted in traditions and avant garde
music-making of the 20th and 21st centuries in
productions, such as London Sinfonietta (UK)
and the Festival co-commission
awaking. This cutting-edge crossover can also be found
recorder collective QNG – Quartet New Generation (Germany);
The Lord of the Rings Symphony by the
Singapore Festival Orchestra, Chorus of the Slovene National
Theatres Maribor and Ljubljana, and the Singapore Lyric Opera
Children’s Choir; as well as Sonos ‘E Memoria (Italy).
Themes
of confronting indifference, ignorance and prejudices run deep in
works such as Class Enemy (Bosnia
&
Herzegovina)
and For all the wrong reasons by Victoria/Contact
(Belgium/UK). Nine Hills One Valley by Indian theatre
luminary Ratan Thiyam’s Chorus Repertory Theatre of Manipur (India)
and Back To Back Theatre’s small metal objects
(Australia). Innovative and edgy expressions can also be seen in
dance works such as Nibroll’s no direction (Japan)
and
Dance Theatre
ON’s
Ah Q (South
Korea),
while La La La Human Step's Amjad (Canada),
led by renowned choreographer, Édouard Lock,
inspires
with its virtuosic interpretations of ballet classics.
Arts
For All
A host
of entertaining and engaging events also awaits the public in the
Festival’s Outreach Programme.
KIDSFEST
is back with a difference this year, with segmented theatre
programmes for kids of different ages, a storytelling competition
for schools, and Taster Workshops for kids to be exposed to
different arts activities. Free activities for everyone also abound
in the Festival. Familiar favourites
such as Arts on the Move and Asian Showcase will also be back.
Catch
Maha Mela from the
Asian
Showcase
at
Little India in a dusk-to-dawn special, celebrating the Indian
cultural heritage.
Asian
Showcase also features rich traditions of
Asia
in
Cantonese Opera Delights,
and the Malay musical theatre Gentarasa’s
Metamorphosis.
Under Arts on the Move this year, there are also 2 new
commissions for street theatre, namely Three Tai Tais and
One Table Three Chairs by Frontier Danceland.
Besides
bringing three full weeks of daily performances to public venues,
Arts on the Move will comprise a new element in the form of
Arts Where We Eat, featuring street performers at various hawker
centres.
Known for championing
Singapore
musicians, Timbre has been designated as the Festival Club
for Festival 2008.
The
spirit will run high at its outlets this year, at two prominent arts
venues The Arts House and The Substation. The festivities will also
spread to the heartlands through the North East District Arts
Festival, a result of the PA-NAC Memorandum of Understanding
signed in 2006. This District Arts Festival returns with its annual
dance competition, together with rock bands and a brand new musical
casting senior citizens.
On the
visual arts front, one of
Singapore’s
most internationally prolific artists, Matthew Ngui, will hold his
first solo exhibition in
Singapore
titled Matthew Ngui: Points of View. The exhibition
will feature a collection of his past two decades' work which
includes key installations, sculptures and video works, apart from
new works created specifically for this exhibition.
Workshops, Masterclasses & Talks
Most of the
productions will also feature pre- or post-show talks with the
artistic directors and key artists. For more information, please
visit
www.singaporeartsfest.com. More
information on Festival shows can be found in
www.singaporeartsfest.com.
Please find the following annexes enclosed for information:
Annex 1 – Key Dates
Annex 2 – Fact Sheet
Annex 3 – Discount and
Ticketing Details
Annex 4 – List of Festival
Partners
Source:
www.nac.gov.sg News Release 10
Apr 2008
|
Singapore Arts Festival 2008
All rights reserved
