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The Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT)

Singapore's first professional ballet company, the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) was established in 1988. Co-founded by its artistic director Goh Soo Khim and the late Anthony Then, it is a "public non-profit dance company that strives to provide quality performances and productions to Singaporean and international audiences." To date, it has staged popular classics such as Anna Karenina, Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, La Traviata, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet, and contemporary works such as Project I, Project II, Why Not?, Living Greens, Earth. Man. Woman. and A Season Of Contemporary European Choreographers.

Formation
The Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) was officially launched in 1988. However, it had its beginnings in 1984 with the formation of a ballet group. At that time, the former Ministry of Culture collaborated with Goh Soo Khim to form a western component for the National Dance Company. The group then decided to turn professional in August 1987. At its official launch in 1988, the SDT had only seven dancers, three Singaporeans, three from the Philippines and one Malaysian. The company had its debut performance at the Singapore Festival of the Arts in 1988. Celebration, with performances created by ASEAN choreographers, marked the company's first year anniversary programme, in June 1989.

Contemporary developments
The SDT did not have its own premises when it first started. Initially, it borrowed the studios of the Singapore Ballet Academy in Lloyd Road, while its administrative office was located at Robinson Road. However, with governmental support and funding under the Arts Housing Scheme, the Far East Command Building, a pre-war military building at Fort Canning, was renovated for the SDT's permanent premises. The two-storey building was transformed into three dance studios, a demonstration studio shaped like an auditorium for previews, a props studio and workshop, a wardrobe room and a cafeteria. The new premises occupies some 2, 700 sq m. of the former British army barracks, and was declared open on 22 November 1991.

In December 1992, SDT produced its first full-length ballet, The Nutcracker, at the Kallang Theatre. The two-hour, two-act production had a cast of 160 ranging from 20 professional dancers to teachers and students from 40 ballet groups and schools.

1995 marked another milestone for the company as it merged with the Singapore Ballet Academy (SBA). The SBA, founded in 1958, has produced choreographers and dancers like the late Goh Choo San, who was Goh Soo Khim's brother, the late Anthony Then (SDT's co-founder) and Han Kee Juan. Upon merging, SDT took over the activities and programmes of SBA, while the academy continued to train students in classical ballet. The administrative functions of the two entities remain separate. The Ballet Under the Stars programme, a key outdoor dance event performed at Fort Canning Green, also began in 1995. This annual event, which features both classical and contemporary dance, has attracted thousands of people who savour picnicking under the stars while watching dances by the company. 1995 was also a significant year for SDT as its co-founder and former artistic director, Anthony Then, passed away in December that year.

Apart from dance performances, SDT offers courses such as ballet classes for adults and conducts dance education programmes, lectures and presentations in schools. An increasing number of schools have invited the company to give talks on ballet education. When the company was formed in 1988, only two schools took up its offer to give lecture demonstrations. Since then, it has given hundreds of presentations.

SDT is also committed to nurturing young choreographic talents in the region. In 1993, it began the annual Asia Pacific Choreographic Workshop. Choreographers from around the region were invited to participate and, upon acceptance, would get a chance to create a public dance piece for the SDT dancers. The first workshop in 1993 culminated in the production of Project I, which showcased the choreographic talents of four of its participants from New Zealand, Australia, China and Hong Kong

In 1998, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, SDT produced Ballet Gems, a triple bill consisting of George Balanchine's Rubies, Jean Paul Comelin's Requiem and Goh Choo San's Unknown Territory. It also launched a 48-page coffee-table book, Touches, which was written by Arts Magazine editor Phan Ming Yen. In addition, it re-staged its first full-length ballet, The Nutcracker, for Christmas that year.

Apart from building up its repertoire, which ranges from classical, neo-classical and contemporary dance, the SDT has worked with renowned choreographers such as the French-Russian Andre Prokovsky and Australian Graeme Murphy. As its artistic director, Goh Soo Khim, asserted in 1998, "We are always looking at new challenges; trying out new repertoire, choreography and audiences."

The company now has full-time professionals who are trained in both modern and classical dance styles. Its repertoire of works ranges from the classical and neo-classical to contemporary dance, by local and internationally acclaimed choreographers. The company has also toured internationally and has performed in Mexico, USA, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, China and ASEAN countries such as Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Its performances were critically acclaimed at Le Temps d'Aimer la Danse a Biarritz in France 2001, and the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico in 2002. On 12 October 2002, at the inauguration of the Esplanade - theatres on the bay, the SDT staged Reminiscing the Moon, a ballet choreographed by Indonesia's Boi Sakti.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References 
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. (2003). Singapore 2003 (p. 287). Singapore: Author.
(Call no. RSING 959.57 SIN-[HIS])

Singapore Dance Theatre (1998). Touches: 10 years of the Singapore Dance Theatre. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: SING 792.8095957).

Dance Theatres permanent home opens. (1991, November 23). The Straits Times.

Khor, C. (1989, May 17). Company steps out to celebrate its first year. The Straits Times.

Khor, C. (1992, December 7). What a cracker. The Straits Times, Life, p. 9. 

Koh, B. P. (1995, October 4). More students discover beauty of ballet. The Straits Times.

Koh, J. (1988, March 5). And now, a professional dance group. The Straits Times. 

Singapore Dance Theatre to set up home in Fort Canning. (1988, November 6). The Sunday Times. 

Ong, S. C. (1990, March 30). Singapore Dance Theatre to move into Fort Canning home. The Straits Times, p. 31.

Spore Ballet Academy and Spore Dance Theatre to merge. (1995, June 22). The Straits Times.



Further Readings
An easy rapport always keeps them on their toes. (1997, March 4). The Straits Times.

Dance Fest opens with flutter of petals. (1996, December 10). The Straits Times.

Lee, J. (1997, July 19). Singapore Dance Theatre: Four put their footprints on Asia. The Straits Times. 

Lee, J. (1999, December 14). Keep up the momentum. The Straits Times.

Lim, S. (1997, December 15). Romance danced with passion. The Straits Times.

Tan, S. E. (1998, September 14). Ballet by the stars: Growing by leaps and bounds. The Straits Times. 

Tsang, S. (1996, July 22). Soul food under the stars. The Straits Times. 

SDT invites new dance ideas from regional experts. (1996, September 18). The Straits Times.

Splendour in the grass. (1997, April 27). The Straits Times.

Singapore Dance Theatre. (n.d.). Singapore Dance Theatre. Retrieved June 8, 2004, from www.singaporedancetheatre.com/flash.html

 

The information in this article is valid as at 1998 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Arts>>Performing Arts>>Dance
Ballet companies--Singapore
Arts>>Dance

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