Childhood dream in motion: 17-year-old student to perform for first time in Chingay 2026
TLDR: Singapore Polytechnic student Sarah Marsh will perform at the Chingay Parade for the first time with a group from the Eurasian Association. It will be the first large-scale public performance for Sarah, who was trained in ballet and the Chinese instrument of suona.
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Singapore Polytechnic student Sarah Marsh during a rehearsal on Jan 26. She will perform with the Eurasian Association in Chingay 2026.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
SINGAPORE – When she was in primary school, Sarah Marsh watched a Chingay parade with her family, captivated by the lights, floats and costumes.
“It was so magical to me,” said Sarah, whose father is Eurasian and mother is Chinese. “I still remember quite clearly at that point in time, my mum did say maybe one day I can be like one of those Eurasian dancers.”
Now, her mother’s words are coming true.
The 17-year-old first-year student at Singapore Polytechnic will take part for the first time in the Chingay Parade on Feb 27 and 28
This year’s event, with the theme “Wish”, will involve about 3,000 performers in eight acts, four of which are inspired by Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas. The EA performers will appear in the act inspired by Christmas.
Sarah, who applied to join this year’s EA performers, said she was glad to be able to take part in the parade. She had tried applying a year or two ago but was unsucessful. “I think... communication got a bit lost and my e-mail application didn’t really go through,” she said.
Since November 2025, she has been busy rehearsing with other performers to perfect their routine.
During a rehearsal on the night of Jan 26 at the F1 Pit Building, they practised their moves to a medley of adapted Christmas jingles. Though they were in casual clothes for this rehearsal, they will soon move on to full-dress rehearsals, where the EA performers will wear costumes resembling gift boxes.
For Sarah, who learnt ballet from the age of four, the dance moves for the Chingay segment were fairly straightforward. She also had some performing experience, having played the suona, a woodwind instrument, in her secondary school’s Chinese orchestra and participated in the Singapore Youth Festival and community events.
Her challenge, however, lies in balancing rehearsals with her polytechnic schedule – including assignments and group work – and twice-weekly part-time work as part of a service crew.
Around November and December, the EA performers met every Tuesday at the People’s Association to practise for two hours. Since the start of 2026, the rehearsal frequency has increased to twice a week, including combined rehearsals with other performers. One weekend, for instance, the rehearsal ran from 11am to 10pm.
Still, Sarah takes the packed schedule in her stride. “I would say it’s really just like a dream come true to be able to perform in Chingay, especially representing the Eurasian Association,” she remarked.
For more information about this year’s Chingay Parade, check out this website /
