Arts Picks: Chunky Move’s U>N>I>T>E>D, Ballet Under The Stars and Difference Engine’s book launch
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U>N>I>T>E>D by Australian dance company Chunky Move will be staged at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre from Sept 26 to 28.
PHOTOS: GIANA RIZZO
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U>N>I>T>E>D
Australian dance company Chunky Move returns to Singapore with this visual spectacular co-commissioned by the Esplanade.
Six dancers, outfitted by Bali-based streetwear label Future Loundry and Australian animatronic design company Creature Technology, take centre stage in this vision of “machine mysticism”. This science-fiction-inspired dance piece is set to otherworldly sounds by Balinese experimental music group Gabber Modus Operandi. Director Anthony Hamilton envisions a speculative future where humans commune with machine gods.
The production is part of the Esplanade’s da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now, which is on from Sept 25 to 28.
Look out, too, for Berlin-based Singaporean multidisciplinary artist Choy Ka Fai’s SoftMachine: The Return, a follow-up to SoftMachine, an Esplanade commission for the 2015 da:ns festival.
The 2025 production reunites five artists from the previous work. Indonesia’s Rianto reflects on his search for love, while India’s Surjit Nongmeikapam tackles Manipur’s history of ethnic conflicts in his dance of resilience. China’s Xiao Ke and Zi Han explore the country’s re-emergence as a superpower in their dance. Japanese artist Yuya Tsukahara’s appearance is mediated through digital formats.
Thai dancer Pichit Klunchun will present a work at the Esplanade’s da:ns focus – Connect Asia Now.
PHOTO: NIKKASIT WONGSAWAS
Dance fans will also want to catch Esplanade regular Pichet Klunchun’s Chapter 2, in which the Thai dancer engages in a live conversation with ChatGPT in an examination of how tradition and physical bodies can co-exist with technology.
Where: Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 8 Raffles Avenue sistic.com.sg esplanade.com/dans
MRT: Esplanade
When: Sept 26 and 27, 7.30pm and Sept 28, 3pm
Admission: $58 from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to
Info:
Ballet Under The Stars
Singapore Ballet's Ballet Under The Stars returns over two weekends in September.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BALLET
This event is a staple on Singapore Ballet’s performing calendar and a good way to introduce kids to dance in a relaxed, outdoor environment.
Dance fans, too, will appreciate the annual airing of works by legendary Singapore choreographer Goh Choo San. Over two weekends in September, two of Goh’s pieces will be performed – Momentum and Double Contrasts.
Also on the dance card for Sept 19 to 21 are Edmund Stripe’s Piano Concerto and Marius Petipa’s Paquita, while Sept 26 to 28 will see Incomparable Beauty by Ma Cong and Blue Snow by Toru Shimazaki completing the programme.
More reason to jump into ballet if you are in two minds – the show is eligible for Culture Pass credits, and you can get four tickets for $100 if you use the code BUTS4CP at checkout.
Where: Fort Canning Green, Canning Rise singaporeballet.org/ballet-under-the-stars-2025
MRT: Dhoby Ghaut
When: Sept 19 to 21, Sept 26 to 28, 7.30pm
Admission: $48
Info:
How Are You Feeling? A Comics Anthology Book Launch
Nurulhuda Izyan wrote and illustrated A Drip. A Drop. A Deluge: A Period Tragicomedy.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NURULHUDA IZYAN
Home-grown publisher Difference Engine’s DE Shorts imprint has been a platform for some smart storytelling about serious issues. This anthology collects the first three issues: A Drip. A Drop. A Deluge: A Period Tragicomedy; Bearing Witness; and Worlds Apart: A Conversation About Mental Health.
The first is a must-read for girls and women, dealing with the seldom publicly discussed topic of menstruation. Bearing Witness is about pregnancy loss, while the last title is exactly what it says.
The authors will be around to share why they wrote these graphic stories and to sign books.
The book launch will be followed by a junk journaling activity led by mental health collective Longkangbrain. Take along paper scraps and bits and bobs for this activity.
Where: Alma House, 03-03, 46 Kim Yam Road howareyoufeeling.peatix.com
MRT: Fort Canning
When: Sept 20, 7.30 to 9pm
Admission: Free with registration on Peatix
Info:
