POP has invaded our world at Artitute. It’s been a bright, fun, colourful experience and we were left buzzing after the opening of Burton Morris’ new show at Pop and Contemporary Fine Art. But this week’s burning question is – what happens when POP mixes it up with other disciplines and happenings?
We were excited to learn more about the roster of events that are taking place during the POP in the City show, held by Pop and Contemporary Fine Art. In particular there is one very profound and moving event that will dance into the gallery space this coming weekend.
The Singapore based dance company, Just Live Dance Productions have teamed up with the folks at Pop and Contemporary Fine Art, and together they present WE ARE.
Our minds are tingling to imagine what will happen when these talented performers move, twist, turn, and float into Morris’ colourful exhibition which is already high on the sense-tingling scale. The performance will explore the definition of identity. Who are we if we take away our passport, name and nationality? Who are you?
Such deep philosophical questions can be explored through both classical and contemporary dance interpretations, and Just Live Dance invite us to experience the dancers’ interpretations and different approaches towards these topical issues.
When we spoke with artist Burton Morris last week, he explained how his art is based on his own identity and experience of life, which also reflects universal identities: “I don’t search for images, they jump out at me because they represent something meaningful in my life. For instance when I paint a coffee cup it is because it represents the coffee shop culture as a whole. Something that is very much a part of my daily life.” (Check out our article & interview with him here.)
Art is known for helping to visualise, verbalise or materialise ideas of identity, and we are excited to compare, contrast and see how it works together when choreographers and the world famous Pop artist unleash their creativity into the same space.
We recommend you also watch out for Just Live Dance’s upcoming events – they will have three performances at The Substation in December, but next up is their China tour to Shenzhen at the end of November. If you can’t make it to Shenzhen, fear not, they have invited Artitute readers for a sneak peek on 2 November in their Singapore studio!
Delving behind the scenes, we found that the individual members of Just Live Dance having an exciting resume. As a group the company begun in Singapore only this year, yet already they have had performances in churches, museums, galleries, on TV screens, hospitals, and in the community, as well as of course on public stages. Their neo-classical ballet, contemporary and fusion dance has allowed them to connect with new audiences and across disciplines.
In the spirit of giving back to the community, this December Just Live Dance will take four dancers and ten volunteers into NUH hospital, dancing room to room, to attend and dance for over 300 patients as part of their social outreach.
Artistic director Soren Niewelt tells us that “JSLN believes in the potential of Singapore’s dance scene to develop into a level of maturity equivalent or surpassing that of its global counterparts and achieve greater representation in the International dance arena. We aim to play a significant role in the nurturing of local dance artistes with excellent technical standards and highly attuned social consciousness so that they can contribute to their communities and by extension, Singapore. … JSLN aims to create a sense of shared ownership amongst the local audience and local artists with the anticipated outcome of forging a stronger sense of pride in the Singaporean identity.”
The performance at the Pop and Contemporary Fine Art exhibition has been specially created by Soren Niewelt, Jessica Sarah Larbig and Jet Leang. Music has been exclusively created for this event by Luqman.
Performance: Sunday 27 October, ION Gallery, ION Orchard, level 4.
Time: 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm
Free admission.
RSVP: on Facebook
Full exhibition of Pop in the City: 18th – 31st October 2013, ION Art Gallery, 2 Orchard Turn, Orchard Ion Level 4, 238801. Mon-Sun: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Photos: Courtesy of Just Live Dance Productions and Pop and Contemporary Fine Art Singapore
