By Jerlynn Chia (20S03D), Chairperson, Karis Ma (20S03C), Secretary, and Ding Wenjun (20S06J), Treasurer/Wardrobe Mistress
Raffles Modern Dance is a tightly-knit family consisting of dancers who train, perform, and grow together. Though many enter with the sole goal of honing dance skills and performing on-stage, everyone eventually leaves with long-lasting friendships and a sense of belonging found nowhere else.
Under the tutelage of our resident choreographer, Mr Goh Shou Yi, our dancers grow into confident and creative individuals who are both team players and able performers. Through learning specific exercises and choreography, we reconnect with our bodies, and hone this ability to communicate ideas, feelings, and experiences.
A CCA largely focused on contemporary dance, sessions usually begin with a quick warmup and strength training routine before moving into practice of set exercises, choreography for upcoming performances, and even free improvisation sessions, all with the end goal of training aware, thinking dancers. But fret not, for fun is always to be had in each and every session, be it by our coach’s rather wry sense of humour, a quick joke by a batchmate, or a chorus of encouraging shouts for a fellow dancer!
Modern dancers also have various performance opportunities every year, including Teachers’ Day and Open House. For 2020, Modern Dance will be putting up our very own showcase, featuring pieces choreographed by not only our coach, but each and every CCA member. This allows you to not only develop a choreographic vision, but also step into the shoes of a professional dancer cum choreographer in producing a piece for all to see.
Our CCA sessions are held twice a week on Monday (4pm–6pm) and Wednesday (2.30pm–5.30pm). Nearing performances, practices will be lengthened and increased to three times a week, with the additional practice day being on Friday.
If you feel intrigued by what Modern Dance has to offer, here is the information on our auditions! Everyone is welcome to sign up, including male students, and no prior dance background is necessary. With auditions consisting of learning a couple of short routines, and finally an improvisation section, dancers will be selected based on their ability to pick up choreography quickly, and overall performance and bodily awareness. (For the concerned, flexibility is definitely not a must, as contemporary dance emphasises fluidity of motion, more so than the height of a leg!)
If you passionate about dance or just simply love the stage, do sign up for our auditions, and we look forward to welcoming you into our family!
