National University of Singapore

New Centre For The Arts, Sports and Learning

Monday, 06 May 2013

Stephen Riady Centre at University Town

Officially opened on 8 March by Guest of Honour, Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat, the new Stephen Riady Centre at NUS’ University Town adds a new dimension to the campus’s multi-faceted learning environment.

Fiesta Rondalla 2013

Thursday, 28 March 2013

The NUS Rondalla is proud to bring Fiesta Rondalla 2013 on Thursday 4 April 2013, a musical experience that is also an introduction to Rondalla Music. Look forward to a repertoire which includes the famous classic Granada and soundtrack from the romantic sci-fi film Somewhere in Time arranged by alumni Bill Sheng Yuan. Although a common classic, Granada’s vitality and flamboyance are enhanced by a quick tempo score.

There will be a special appearance by Flamenco dancers led by Antonio Vargas and Daphne Huang, accompanied by the music by NUS Rondalla. It will be an unforgettable musical evening!

Dancers bring a dash of colour and life with their energetic hops and steps.

The preparation for this annual concert has seen the Ensemble rehearsing hard every Saturday evening, with senior members coaching their juniors in musical knowledge and skill.

NUS Arts Festival 2013 Closes in on Open Questions

Thursday, 21 March 2013

For the past two weekends, the 8th NUS Arts Festival (NAF) was a bazaar of colour and sounds. Supported by passionate and dedicated artists, undergrads, alums and staff, the campus’ flagship arts platform, featuring 36 shows in total, will draw to a close this weekend.

Resonating to the theme of “Open Questions,” the Fest featured a diverse lineup in its first two weekends, ranging from Chinese dance to theatre improv, from film screenings to electronic music. For those who missed the shows, here’s a brief snapshot of the highlights.

Going Full Circle

Monday, 28 January 2013

The Face To Face platform returns to the Fest for a third year, showcasing works by young NUS art makers mentors by arts professionals. The platform moves from its sole focus on budding choreographers towards also nurturing NUS theatre talents. Featuring choreographer Samantha Eva Ho and director Chen Yingxuan, both NUS students are deeply committed to their artistic genres. They will be mentored by T.H.E Dance Company’s Lee Mun Wai and The Finger Players’ Company Director Chong Tze Chien respectively.

The show, titled Face to Face III : Full Circle, is further underpinned by the expertise of lighting designer Lim Woan Wen who will be mentoring first time lighting designer, NUS alum Liu Yong Huay, as well as sound artist Darren Ng who will be mentoring first time sound designer Sarah Sum, for original soundscape and compositions for the production.

Face To Face III also taps the creative energies of three NUS alum playwrights – Eleanor Neo, Faith Ng and Wang Liansheng – whose scripts in the show first appeared in the volume Platform Campus 2012 – Circle Lines, a volume commissioned for the Singapore Arts Festival. For that project, the three writers were mentored by Chong Tze Chien, Ben Slater and Kaylene Tan.

Joyful Songs in the City

Friday, 25 January 2013

For many NUS students, the month of December usually means fun, rest and fuel, but for the choristers in The NUSChoir, December is the season to spread the excitement and happiness in the air, also the beginning of a Joyous Christmas season filled with carolling gigs around Singapore.

In preparing for our carolling gigs, it is The NUSChoir’s tradition to organise our annual choir camp. In the span of three days from 10 to 12 December, we rehearsed and refined over 20 Christmas carols and bonded with choir members through fun games and a barbecue. The close of the camp also began our 12 day carolling season from 13 to 25 December. We visited many places, bringing the Christmas cheer to the crowd at the Esplanade Library, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and office buildings Capitol Tower and HSBC Building. We also visited shopping malls in the heart of the city like Marina Square and hotel Conrad Centennial Singapore.

Carolling 2012: Singing Christmas carols at Capitol Tower

Triple Stars of Solo / Duet

Monday, 14 January 2013

Led by Artistic Director and Founder Kuik Swee Boon, T.H.E Dance Company returns for a second highly anticipated installment of Solo / Duet. This successful dance exchange will see the talented dancers of T.H.E. Dance Company travelling overseas to work with choreographers, with whom the dancers extend the limits of their artistic skills within and without the context of culture. Read on for more about the choreographers behind this artistic venture that is a highlight at this year’s NUS Arts Festival 2013.

Kuik Swee Boon

Artistic Director and Founder, T.H.E Dance Company

Former principal dancer of the Compania Nacional de Danza in Spain (CND), Kuik Swee Boon, has worked with Nacho Duato as well as many renowned choreographers including Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin and Wim Vandekeybus. 

Giving It Their Best Shot

Monday, 14 January 2013

Slapped with hair gel and cosmetics, faces doodled on and breathless from leaping repeatedly, young students from NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA) spent a hectic October afternoon with their instruments and costumes. However, they weren’t rehearsing. Instead, they were at a photoshoot for NUS Arts Festival 2013, bringing their concert to life in a different way.

Dancing through December

Tuesday, 08 January 2013

The December semester break has come again! But for the NUS Chinese Dance, this is not just any ordinary holiday as it marks the start of an exciting, enriching learning experience for dancers who will be performing in Mirror.Moon《镜水月》in the NUS Arts Festival 2013 (NAF) from 9 – 23 March.

On 11 December 2012, we welcomed the arrival of our guest choreographer Wang Cheng Laoshi (Mandarin for Teacher) and his teaching assistant, Tao Wen Jun Laoshi from Anhui, China. Having met them at the Taoli Cup Competition in August 2012, we are indeed honoured to be able to invite Wang Cheng Laoshi to choreograph four of our eight items in Mirror.Moon for NAF 2013.

Getting Rest and Modern Feeling

Friday, 04 January 2013

Two of Korea’s new generation contemporary dance talents and choreographers, Lee Jae Young and Lee Insoo, will be breaking stereotypes at the NUS Arts Festival 2013

Premiered in 2011, Rest, like the other works by 30-year-old Lee Jae-Young, relates to human society. Using a basketball to reflect the constant movement and pauses of our lives, the 18-minute work explores the desperation for relaxation after continuous activity and the subsequent emptiness of that rest.

Talking Sex, Money and Politics

Wednesday, 02 January 2013

This semester, the campus’ Chinese theatre community will break the rules of polite conversation with two farcial comedies by two Italian playwrights whose lives are separated by more than a century. 

 
KEVII Hall Chinese Drama. Photo by Zhou Shuo