A Space for EveryBody

Candoco is a world-leading professional dance company. Bridging the mainstream and the experimental, the company’s bold approach and powerful collaborations create distinctive performances and far-reaching learning experiences. Candoco celebrates different ways of seeing, of being and of making art, putting us them at the forefront of conversation around dance and disability and continually expanding perceptions of #whatdancecanbe.

Founded in 2007, Maya Dance Theatre (MDT) is a non-profit professional interdisciplinary dance theatre company, with a focus on arts for a social cause. MDT received the SEED Grant from National Arts Council, Singapore from 2012–-2015 and is recognized as a Citizen Ambassador of Singapore International Foundation for promoting Arts for Good through its community initiative, Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC). The collective was formed in 2018 by artistic director Kavitha Krishnan and programme leader, Subastian Tan, along with six founding members living with Down Syndrome.

The creative space of DADC enables the co-existence of professionals with diversely-abled dancers, serving also as a bridge between PWDs and arts practitioners. The team learns dance techniques drawn from MDT’s training inspired from bharatanatyam and contemporary dance.

They have also worked on a variety of performances, including one for the President’s Star Charity 2021 and international features in India, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Founded in 2007, Maya Dance Theatre (MDT) is a non-profit professional interdisciplinary dance theatre company, with a focus on arts for a social cause. MDT received the SEED Grant from National Arts Council, Singapore from 2012–-2015 and is recognized as a Citizen Ambassador of Singapore International Foundation for promoting Arts for Good through its community initiative, Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC). The collective was formed in 2018 by artistic director Kavitha Krishnan and programme leader, Subastian Tan, along with six founding members living with Down Syndrome.

The creative space of DADC enables the co-existence of professionals with diversely-abled dancers, serving also as a bridge between PWDs and arts practitioners. The team learns dance techniques drawn from MDT’s training inspired from bharatanatyam and contemporary dance.

They have also worked on a variety of performances, including one for the President’s Star Charity 2021 and international features in India, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Since joining DADC in 2019, Jiaying has shown much development and is now a co-trainer of the team. She is employed as an administrative support in Apsara Asia Pte Ltd, a social enterprise that trains and employs persons with disabilities especially with special needs. Jiaying supervises her colleagues in housekeeping and other basic administrative duties. She is also able to hold the space as a solo performer with ease and loves to perform bharathanatyam dance.

Jiaying has had many diverse appearances, having acted on television before. Her current ambition is to become a choreographer. Jiaying is also part of the DADC team that brings joy to seniors through movement engagement via their Body in Motion programme, designed by seniors for seniors. Recently, she led her friends in the movement session by DADC with seniors from Muslim Kidney Association Council, where she enjoyed sharing time with the seniors.

One of DADC’s founding members, June has extensive performance experience that spans over twenty years. An avid dancer, June loves the stage and performances. From international collaborations, to productions and arts education programmes, she’s done it all and wishes to inspire her team members. She is also currently working with Kavitha Krishnan, artistic director of Maya Dance Theatre and DADC, as a mentor for a student with cerebral palsy at WOW! Programme by Rainbow Centre. June enjoys sharing her skills with her new buddy and seeing through her achievements; she sees pride in the journey as a co-trainer and mentor. June is also the only DADC member who performed for Chingay 2023 and a proud recipient of the prestigious Goh Chock Tong Award 2022.

Here’s a striking fact: June once represented Singapore in the Special Olympics Bowling team and won a bronze medal for the country!

A proud self-advocate living with Down Syndrome, Jaspreet is no stranger to the stage. Holding her own on multiple platforms, she has made speeches and performed internationally to share her story. She has performed in two editions of DADC’s SEEDs dance film and was part of theatremaker Jeffrey Tan’s (Theatre Today) collaboration with No Strings Attached Disability Theatre company from Adelaide for the digital production, SAME-SAME, supported by Singapore International Foundation (2020). The work has been featured in both Australian and New Zealand Fringe Festivals in 2021–2022.

Jas is also involved in theatre with companies like ART:DIS and recently staged a solo performance with playwright, Haresh Sharma and mentored by theatre practitioner, Peter Sau from ART:DIS.

With seniors, she shares her love for Bollywood dance to bring joy and laughter. Jas teaches as co-trainer at Pathlight School and is also a proud recipient of the Goh Chock Tong Award 2022.

Adele is a Singapore-based contemporary dancer and choreographer who works across different formats (live, digital, interactive) of dance performance. Adele’s movement practice is constantly evolving, but has strong influences from somatic-based techniques, gaga and flying low. She sees improvisation as a crucial part of her dance and choreographic practice. In recent years, she has created, collaborated and performed for different platforms including M1 Contact Contemporary dance Festival, Arts in Your Neighbourhood, ArtScience Late at Home, da:ns festival and Odoru-Akita Dance Festival. Adele graduated from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. From 2013-2018, she was also a company artist with Frontier Danceland.

Edwin Wee is the co-founder, joint artistic director, and producer of Decadance Co. Graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts with a Diploma in Dance, he was invited to present his graduating choreography, The Shaman's Cat, at the da:ns Festival 2008 at Esplanade. He was part of Generations Spotlight: Moscow (2008) directed by Ivan Heng, where he performed for the President of Russia, Dmitriy Medvedev, and Singapore's Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong. He later performed for His Excellency President of Singapore SR Nathan at the Singapore Design Awards 2008. He has directed, curated, designed and choreographed more than 20 staged and site-specific original productions.

Notable performances include The Rite of Spring: A People’s Stravinsky (2013); Temple Reimagined (2013), a dance film; Future Feed (2014), a collaboration with Irene K Compagnie and presented in Belgium; In the Name of Red (2015), a site specific performance commissioned by National Gallery Singapore; Fire Monkey, a site specific performance for the arts festival Mapping Melbourne (2016), and again at Northcote Townhall, Melbourne (2018).

Using her body as the starting point, Hasyimah Harith works with the Malay identity and female sexuality, as a way to reclaim the agency over her body. Her working method involves strategies such as vulnerability, pleasure and confession. She believes in the power of the body to confront and overcome the conditioned shame that is often attached to Malay-Muslim female sexuality. 

Driven by adrenaline, Ammar loves pushing and transcending boundaries. Ammar was born hearing and became deaf growing up. Despite his deafness, he has had a passion for dance since he was young. His work is focused primarily on the relationship between his body, disability, and music. He has created performance lectures with The Bhumi Collective, site-specific works at The Theatre Practice and The Substation, and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality dances with Pluritopia. He is also developing Tell-Tale Signs, a devised theatre work in Singapore Sign Language, supported by ART:DIS Singapore. Through his work, he always emphasised that talent comes first and disability last. 

Rachel Lum is the co-founder, joint artistic director and choreographer of Decadance Co. Rachel began her journey with a Diploma in Dance from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Upon graduation, she joined Frontier Danceland as an apprentice. She was a founding member of Re:Dance Theatre (RDT), performing in all core and external productions in renowned festivals such as M1 Contact Dance Festival, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Singapore Night Festival and NUS Arts Festival. Rachel was also the choreographer and training mentor for RDT’s second company, Re:Dance Theatre 2. 

In her own artistic practice, Rachel has created and produced numerous acclaimed dance works which have premiered internationally in festivals such as the Lift Off Dance Festival in Bracknell, United Kingdom, DANCESTAGES in Shanghai, and CDE Springboard Dance Festival in Macau. 

Born in Hong Kong, Ka Wai is a theatre practitioner, educator and writer based in Singapore.

Selected works include Glimpse by Access Path Productions and RJ Thomson (Light to Night Festival 2023), Love Talk Show by Love 97.2 (2022), Pán by T.H.E Dance Company (2021), Dance at Dusk: Parallel by T.H.E Second Company (2021), What If by ArtsWok Collaborative (M1 Peer Pleasure Youth Festival 2020), Eve of the Wedding Day by Singapore Chinese Orchestra and Capital 95.8 (2020).

Ka Wai teaches Chinese, drama and creative writing at local schools and institutions. He also works with UFM100.3 on "Script It Right" Chinese Radio Drama Script Writing Competition organised by Committee to promote Chinese Language Learning.

Ka Wai is always on the lookout for new creative opportunities and collaborations.