Dance at Dusk

Let the thrill of movement wash over you against the night lights of the city! Catch the lithe dancers of The Human Expression’s Second Company at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre as they bring you bite-sized excerpts of contemporary dance works that paint a playful yet poignant portrait of our human psyche.

Japanese choreographer Mikiko Kawamura’s Gear, first choreographed and presented at the 6th edition of the festival, makes an energetic return with an all-new cast. Unique individual rhythms form a complex, yet cohesive collective, creating a pulsating score that perhaps mirrors our societal bustle.

Also making its return is Playing Stone by South Korean choreographer Ji Kyungmin, first created and performed at the 10th edition of the festival. Drawing from the humble yet resilient stone, the familiar cast embrace the awkward, the unnatural, and the uneven in a metaphor of persistence against all odds.

Festival Director Kuik Swee Boon’s As It Fades, first commissioned and premiered in 2011, brings the evening to a whole with an urgent yearn for reconnection with the fading past. Against a stirring score by Singapore musician Bani Haykal, the stage becomes an emotionally-charged landscape of generational memories and heritage lost, fragmented, and incomplete. This restaging includes a live audio description for blind or visually-impaired audiences to experience contemporary dance; first-time audiences may also find spoken word helpful in anchoring their experience of the work.