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Esplanade’s da:ns Festival

Saturday September 15 2012

Esplanade’s da:ns Festival

At its very heart, dance is about using the human body to tell its stories. And many of our stories centre on one of the most celebrated of the human spirit: the ability to love, and be loved. 

da:ns festival 2012 presents artists who have delved into the deepest and most intimate aspects of the human heart, and with their works, lead us to reflect on the way we live, and love. 

Take the perfect partnership between Silvia Azzoni and Alexandre Riabko, the premier couple of The Hamburg Ballet, whose pas de deux in Aspects of Love are a testament to their dazzling chemistry and dedication to their craft. Their riveting tumult of emotions in Lady of Camellias, an intricate piece about jealousy and betrayal, also echo in the beautifully intense duet in Paris 1994/Gallery, which revolves around the remembering of relationships lost and found again. 

In TeZukA, we invite back Belgian choreographer Sidl Larbi Cherkaoui to stage his tribute for manga extraordinaire, Osamu Tezuka, famous for the much-loved anime characters like Astro Boy. His love towards his craft inspires, and multiplies in the world of art and pop culture. Speaking of pairings, Singapore choreographer Kuik Swee Boon teams up with indie musician Bani Haykal for the first time in the da:ns festival commission, Silences We Are Familiar With, an ode to the relationships we forge.

From the fiery passion of the flamenco dancers in Flamenco Sin Fronteras to the lyrical meanderings of birth, death and rebirth in Sankai Juku’s Tobari – As if in an inexhaustible flux, we celebrate both the joy and experienced in human existence. 

But most of all, we celebrate our love for dance. Join in our ever-popular What’s Your Move free mass dances underneath the stars, or be entralled by the magic of ancient art in Rasas, where we present traditional Asian dance lovingly passed down over generations. 

From the intricacies of love between two people to the human ties between cultures, we celebrate love in all ways. Dance unites humanity, and tells of its past, present, and future. I hope you enjoy this journey. 

Love: intense desire or feeling 

In 2012, Esplanade commemorates its 10th Anniversary in service to the community with the theme Celebrating Life – The best of the Human Spirit through the Arts. The da:ns festival celebrates the theme of Love. 

Of all our emotions, love has perhaps received the greatest attention. At one level primitive, mysterious and intense, at another, it moves individuals and whole communities to heights of divine ecstasy. In whatever form it takes, whether maternal or fraternal, romantic or compassionate, love in its most fundamental aspect reminds us that we cannot be alone, that we can be who we are, and celebrate life in all its glory, only when we are in a relationship with another. 

Esplanade’s da:ns festival invites one and all to fall in love with dance and find a renewed love for life.

“Dance is the language of the soul.” – Martha Graham