Spotlight on Singapore Dance Theatre
Malaysia Tour

19 March 2010 - This April, the Singapore Dance Theatre will be touring to Kuala Lumpur and Penang with a triple bill of both contemporary and classical ballet – a suitable showcase of the company’s versatility to the audience in Malaysia, where SDT last performed about a decade ago, at the Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur, in 2000. SDT has also previously performed in Malaysia in 1989 and 1995, in Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang, and the Oditorium Dewan Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur.

SDT will perform on 9th and 10th April at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), and on 15th April at the Dewan Sri Pinang. The Kuala Lumpur shows are presented by sponsor PowerSeraya Ltd, a diversified energy company, and supported by YTL Corporation Berhad, Lee Foundation, and the National Arts Council, Singapore.

The Penang performance is sponsored by Crest Ultrasonics, and supported by Lee Foundation, the Sunway Group, and the National Arts Council, Singapore

Featuring Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102 by Edmund Stripe (UK/Canada), Glow-Stop by Jorma Elo (Finland), and classical excerpts from Raymonda and Swan Lake, Spotlight on Singapore Dance Theatre is a perfect introduction to the verve and vitality that is synonymous with SDT's unique identity as a company that is equally adept at these challenging and varied genres of dance.

Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102 (music composed by Dimitri Shoskatovitch) by Edmund Stripe, is a 20-minute piece that features 7 female and 9 male dancers on stage in a fast-paced and exciting work. Audiences will probably find the music of the first movement of this choreography familiar as it was featured in the Disney movie, Fantasia 2000. When it was first performed in the Company’s Ballet Under The Stars platform in 2007, this piece was described by Straits Times review June Cheong as “a sprightly affair of flashing feet and fast turns… (where) the female dancers dazzled with their fleet-footedness… (and) their male counterparts entertained with a series of quick turns.”

Created for the American Ballet Theatre, Glow-Stop has been described as "dynamic and devilish” with gravity-defying gyrations, kinetic and static from one moment to the next. Set to music by Mozart and Philip Glass, Glow-Stop engages the audience in a breathtaking flow that is reminiscent of a light that is switched on, then off, in rapid succession, in an unfettered passion of movement that is the trademark of Elo. At its Singapore premiere within the 2008 Singapore Arts Festival, Straits Times reviewer Tara Tan called it “the gem of the evening” and praised the dancers, who “evoked poetic imagery of broken dolls and at times, moved across the stage like red rose petals discarded in the wind.”

Raymonda divertissements and Swan Lake Act II are perennial favourites of ballet-lovers. With dazzling costumes, showstopping movements and music that engages the senses, these excerpts from classical ballet productions will showcase the Singapore Dance Theatre’s distinctive grace and artistry. During its Company premiere in December 2007, international publication Dance Europe reviewer Jamaludin Bin Jalil lauded SDT for “a valiant effort” that “demonstrated that it is indeed capable of competently presenting one of the classics of the ballet repertory.”

For its second staging in December 2009, Straits Times reviewer Stephanie Burridge said that “the dancers were technically strong and… the company performed creditably.” She also commented that SDT’s performance of Swan Lake was “a surprising, breathtaking ride for the audience”.

In Kuala Lumpur, at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), SDT will perform Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102 first, followed by Glow-Stop, and Swan Lake Act II on the first night of 9 th April. On the second night, Raymonda divertissements will be the finale to the triple bill.

In Penang, the Company will open with Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102, with Glow-Stop as the second piece, and Swan Lake Act II as the finale.

Spotlight on Singapore Dance Theatre