masterwordsmith-unplugged

When I was in KL on Saturday, my former student Alvin Goh (who recently wrote to Malaysian Insider and works at the Managing Director's Office, YTL Corporation Bhd) called me to let me know about the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) that will be performing in Penang on April 15th 2010 at Dewan Sri Pinang. The performance in Penang is sponsored by Crest Ultrasonics, and supported by Lee Foundation, the Sunway Group, and the National Arts Council, Singapore. The performance in KL on 9th and 10th April was sponsored by PowerSeraya Ltd, YTL Corporation Berhad, Lee Foundation, and the National Arts Council, Singapore.


In Penang, the Company will open with Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102, with Glow-Stop as the second piece, and Swan Lake Act II as the finale. The Singapore Dance Theatre is well-known for its verve and vitality and ability to adapt to challenging and varied genres of dance.

Swan Lake Act II are perennial favourites of ballet-lovers. With dazzling costumes, showstopping movements and music that engages the senses, this excerpt will showcase the Singapore Dance Theatre’s distinctive grace and artistry. When it first premiered in December 2007, international publication Dance Europe reviewer Jamaludin Bin Jalil lauded SDT for “a valiant effort” that “demonstrated that it is indeed capable of competently presenting one of the classics of the ballet repertory.”

When staged a second time in December 2009, Straits Times reviewer Stephanie Burridge said that “the dancers were technically strong and… the company performed creditably.” SDT’s performance of Swan Lake was then described as “a surprising, breathtaking ride for the audience”.



Their presentation of Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102 (music composed by Dimitri Shoskatovitch) by Edmund Stripe, is a 20-minute piece that features seven female and nine male dancers on stage in a fast-paced and exciting work. The music used for this piece was featured in the Disney movie, Fantasia 2000. It was first performed in the Company’s Ballet Under The Stars platform in 2007. Then, Straits Times review June Cheong described it as “a sprightly affair of flashing feet and fast turns… (where) the female dancers dazzled with their fleet-footedness… (and) their male counterparts entertained with a series of quick turns.”

Originally created for the American Ballet Theatre, Glow-Stop is akin to a "dynamic and devilish” presentation with gravity-defying gyrations, kinetic and static from one moment to the next. With music by Mozart and Philip Glass, the Glow-Stop segment will engage the audience in a breathtaking flow that is reminiscent of a light that is switched on, then off, in rapid succession, in an unfettered passion of movement that is the trademark of Elo. When it premiered in the 2008 Singapore Arts Festival, Straits Times reviewer Tara Tan called it “the gem of the evening” and praised the dancers, who “evoked poetic imagery of broken dolls and at times, moved across the stage like red rose petals discarded in the wind.”

Alvin requested me to feature this ballet concert in my blog and it is my pleasure to comply. He was ecstatic about the capabilities, style and skill of the SDT which last performed about a decade ago, at the Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur, in 2000. SDT has also previously performed in Malaysia in 1989 and 1995, in Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang, and the Oditorium Dewan Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur.

If you are interested to watch this concert, tickets are priced at RM20 and RM10 only. For purchases call SDT Penang Hotline at 04-6467866 & 012-4072426. Tickets are also available at:
Intrenasionale, Krystal Point Corporate Park, Level 4 Suite 1, No 1 Jalan Tun Dr Awang in Bayab Lepas. Tickets will be sold at the venue from 6 pm onwards on 15th April. Thanks!