EMERGENCE 2021: Chinese Dance New Works Showcase

Having last year’s EMERGENCE put on hold, the Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre (SCDT) is glad to share that its 7th series of EMERGENCE 2021: Chinese Dance New Works Showcase will be happening this year on 10th December (8pm) and 11th December (3pm & 7pm) at Goodman Arts Centre’s Blackbox.

PRICE: SGD 15

EMERGENCE 2021: Chinese Dance New Works Showcase

It is an initiative by SCDT aimed to provide an avenue for budding choreographers to develop their artistic skills and for them to have an opportunity to present their works to and be recognized by an audience.

The theme for this year’s EMERGENCE is “昨日·今日·明日 (Yesterday·Today·Tomorrow)”, and as the young choreographers create their works based on the theme, they will also be exploring and experimenting various ways of incorporating Chinese dance elements into their works.

This EMERGENCE, we will see 11 participating choreographers, the most since its establishment in 2014, including a participant from abroad. Chan Kar Kah, a dance practitioner from Malaysia, will be showcasing a piece titled “回家 (Going Home)”, to be performed by SCDT’s company dancer, Wong Zhuo Qin. Her piece explores the experiences and uncertainties surrounding one’s identity faced by Malaysian Chinese dancers who are away from home, while reflecting upon how an individual’s dance vocabulary and Chinese dance fuse and extend into each other. It has been a unique experience for Kar Kah connecting with everyone during the dance workshops and choreography mentorship sessions through digital platforms. Having welcomed its first digital and regional collaboration, SCDT looks forward to establishing further similar collaborations in future iterations of EMERGENCE.

Apart from having a participant from abroad, EMERGENCE 2021 will also be an eye-opening experience for many of the other participants. As some of them are new to Chinese dance and choreography, having to choreograph while integrating Chinese dance elements into their works will definitely challenge their creativity while deepening their understanding of themselves as budding creators.