*SCAPEdance On Beat is a dialogue platform where we invite leaders, collaborators and youth to discuss topics relevant to Singapore’s dance scene. On 30 May 2020, *SCAPEdance organised its first webinar to understand and hear how youth dancers from different institutions of higher learning had been coping with the challenges during circuit breaker, how they envisioned the “new normal” and their wishes or ideas for the future dance programmes.
We had the pleasure of inviting youth dance leaders from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Jie Ying from Chinese Dance and Wei Xiang from Dancesport, and Republic Polytechnic, Chanel from Style Groovaz Crew and Jannah from Dharma Endari. In keeping abreast with the dance community, these selected student panelists shared important perspectives on how and what the future of the dance community might look like from their viewpoints. The session was moderated by Dr Edmund Chow who is the Programme Leader of the M.A. Arts Pedagogy and Practice at LASALLE College of the Arts.
A screenshot of the panelists and moderator of the webinar *SCAPEdance On Beat: Wild Thoughts held on 30 May 2020.
The webinar opened with questions about how restrictions had affected the students, how it affected them mentally having to suddenly stop their routine practice schedules and their wishes for the future of dance.
The student panelists with different dance backgrounds similarly missed having their usual physical dance practices. They are adapting by using video conferencing tools, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, for dance practices. They amusingly pointed out quirky adjustments they had to make during video calls, such as making sure everyone walking in the background was presentable on camera, and shared tips on improving the effectiveness of using Zoom as an alternative to physical dance classes. Though helpful, there were limitations to using the video conferencing tools, such as the delays in latency, the lack of ability to fully view each other’s movements and accurately adjusting the movements without the help of an instructor.
Throughout the webinar, there were opportunities for the audience to pose questions to the panel and shape the discussion by participating in the various polls prepared. The results were informative and insightful. We found that audiences had similar sentiments as the panelists, such as 70% of the audience members felt that they were having lesser dance practices during this period and 69% hoped that the future of dance would look the same as it did before the circuit breaker. This was unsurprisingly apparent due to everyone in the audience agreeing that participating in physical dance classes were more effective than online dance classes.
Audience poll results of the webinar *SCAPEdance On Beat: Wild Thoughts held on 30 May 2020.
Participant poll results of the webinar *SCAPEdance On Beat: Wild Thoughts held on 30 May 2020.
Participant poll results of the webinar *SCAPEdance On Beat: Wild Thoughts held on 30 May 2020.
Overall, it is understood that the Circuit Breaker period had been tough on our youth dance community having to readjust to the “new normal”. However, Dr Edmund brought up an interesting quote by Friedrich Nietzshe, “And those were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music”. There is no right or wrong way to approach the situation. We are encouraged by the youthful spirit of the participating student leaders who never ceased to move forward in whichever way they can to engage and communicate creatively with their fellow dancers. During this period, we see the advantages and disadvantages of technology and how it can play a vital role in keeping us connected. The future of dance perhaps lies in the ways we can take advantage of using the technology to perform and practise our dances, especially when it can reproduce the intimacy and impact of physical dance classes.
*SCAPEdance would like to thank everyone that attended the session, Republic Polytechnic and their dance youth leaders, Chanel and Jannah, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and their dance youth leaders, Wei Xiang and Jie Ying and last but not least Dr Edmund for moderating.
To find out more about ongoing dance events: https://www.scape.sg/whats-on/?category=dance
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