Exploring Emotions Through Dance with Unión de Ritmos

It is 8pm on Monday and I am tucked in a sequestered corner of SIM. As I pull the doors to the dance room, my ears are immediately introduced to a hint of mellifluous music. Under the watchful eyes of an instructor, a coterie of students hit the floor with silky dance numbers, arms and legs stretching hither and thither to match the beats of the music. The assistant director peers from the sidelines and funnels her keen observations into circles and lines on a notepad before debating the finer points of prop management with the stage manager.

For the cast and members of upcoming musical Unión de Ritmos, this is just another busy day of rehearsals. As the practice draws on, lassitude crawls in yet a measure of commitment and passion brushes it off almost as quickly. A collaboration between SIM, NTU, Republic Poly and Ngee Ann Poly, Unión de Ritmos is an ambitious production that treads on the rare opportunity to weave the emotions of a romantic quagmire with the earnest bodily expressions of dance from genres like hip hop, contemporary, salsa and ballroom.

Set in 1942, Unión de Ritmos tells the fictional tale of an ingénue and her paramour whose romance suddenly becomes entwined with war as the Japanese invasion rolls onto local shores. Where many merely surrender their love to the winds, the couple arm themselves with lust and youthful endurance to overcome the hardships of war and get together.

To uncover the dynamics of Unión de Ritmos, we spoke to assistant director Chitra Jayabal and explored the art of dancing with 2nd year and 3rd year students Shuwei and Ricky respectively.

What was the inspiration behind the story in Unión de Ritmos?

Chitra: I would say that there wasn’t any specific inspiration behind the story. We tailored the story for the dance as we wanted the dance to carry the story forward. With a love story, we hope to showcase the various emotions that could be expressed through the different genres of dance. We also felt that a love story would be one of the ideal things people could easily relate to.

Do you think that dance is the best medium to portray a love story?

Chitra: We feel that dance is an expressive medium. It’s easy to express different emotions with contemporary dance because it’s one of the more expressive genres. Salsa is more of a social dance and you hardly get to express emotions like anger and happiness unless it is choreographed to express such emotions. This is one of the rare occasions where Salsa gets adapted for play so I think it’s an experience worth looking forward to. Ballroom, on the other hand, is generally a romantic dance and doesn’t really express other emotions besides love and heartbreak. How do we use these distinct genres of dance like hip hop which is so strong, contemporary which is so expressive, salsa which is so social and ballroom which is so romantic to pull a story together? It’s exciting. That’s what Unión de Ritmos is all about.

This is a collaboration between many different local institutions. What were some of the challenges faced in the coordination of rehearsals?

Chitra: We started planning for Unión de Ritmos at the start of the year and when we decided to pull the different dance clubs together just before June, we had issues when some schools couldn’t perform because of examinations and holidays. There were also clubs which left. That was definitely one of the more trying hurdles. The dance clubs which are here now are all very understanding and I have to say that they are a bunch of people who are committed and passionate about what they are doing.

Does SIM have any plans for similar events in the future?

Chitra: This is the first time we are having this kind of performance but we have all sorts of plans for the future. We are always aspiring to do something unique but it depends on the interests of our future club members. If they are still keen on such a performance, you’ll definitely see one again next year! An annual performance, if possible.

What got you into dance?

Shuwei: I have been dancing for about 7 years now. I actually had no intention of joining dance but my mother corrected my CCA form in secondary school and that’s how I got into a dance club. I wasn’t keen on dance but my friends’ passion rubbed off on me and I became passionate about it too.

Ricky: I only started dancing after I joined SIM. That’s 2 years. Actually, I was aware of dance before I joined SIM but that was a decade ago. My brother took dance lessons then and when I saw him dancing, I decided to take a lesson with him but I didn’t return after that lesson. When I saw the recruitment drive in SIM, I wanted to try something new other than sports.

What does dancing mean to you?

Shuwei: It’s an expression of life. Dancing is like dreaming. You can do whatever you want in dance. In a way, it’s also like acting as you can imagine yourself to be another person. But I feel that dance is more artistic as it involves more bodily expressions.

Ricky: When I dance, another me emerges. I just feel happy when I dance.

What style of dance do you specialise in? Is there anything unique about this kind of dance that attracts you to the hobby?

Shuwei: I started off with jazz and I am still doing it now. But I am new to Salsa. I like Salsa because it’s a very ad hoc dance. It’s a dance that you can do without any choreography and I find it fun because you don’t know what to expect when you dance.

Ricky: I do salsa, ballroom, contemporary and jazz, but salsa was the first dance which I picked up. I like Salsa as it’s a dance style that provides you with the freedom to create your moves. You can move freely rather than be restricted to a certain set of moves. This is unlike ballroom where there’s a fixed routine that you need to obey in competitions. In salsa, the guy also gets to lead the lady!

Could you briefly describe your role in the play?

Shuwei: I am the female lead. There are a few other couples, but my partner and I are the focus couple. I also have quite a number of lines that I need to read.

Ricky: I am playing a slave – a prisoner of war. Before capture, I am a kampong boy. When the Japanese comes in, I would be running away and leaving my loved ones behind so I will be portraying lots of sadness, despair and confusion.

What are the challenges faced in the portrayal of your character?

Shuwei: I am not really used to partnering work as only half a year out of my 7 years has been spent on it. I have also faced difficulties in the chemistry between my partner and I. There are some intimate moments and moves in the musical which require much chemistry and I think that’s been quite a huge challenge for me.

Ricky: It can be rather difficult to dance and act at the same time. Getting myself into the role hasn’t been easy.

What’s your favourite part of the show?

Shuwei: I like the outfits. That’s where the girls exude all their sexiness. Those are really very special and sexy costumes.

Ricky: The musical involves lots of emotion portrayal. It happens during a tragic time so there would be many opportunities for various emotions to show.

The Lion King at Marina Bay Sands broke local records to become the best selling musical during its stay earlier this year. Do you think the recent surge of popularity in musicals have propelled people to pick dance up?

Shuwei: I believe that people were mesmerised not only by the dance but also the drama – and perhaps by the singing too. I feel that more people are arts inclined now. When I started 7 years ago, not many were interested in dance. But from what I have observed, there is a great increase in people picking dance up.

Ricky: I feel that the government has been really successful in promoting arts as more people are now aware of dance as a form of arts. Initially, there were only 2 dance clubs in SIM but there are now 4: SIM Dance Sports, SIM Dance Art which focuses on contemporary and jazz, Salsa En Soul which is the organiser of this event and DreamWerkz which emphasizes on hip hop.

What encouragement can you give to aspiring dancers?

Shuwei: Perseverance is very important in dance. If something doesn’t go right, try harder and continue dancing, and you will definitely reach your goal if you have a vision.

Ricky: When I first started, I couldn’t really dance as I had a ‘cycle motor’ problem. But when I look at old performance videos now, I feel proud of myself because there has been a great improvement and that has inspired me to continue with dance. Don’t give up if you face difficulties. When you dance, feel it with your heart and you should be fine.  

Unión de Ritmos will be performing at The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Poly on Fri, 16 Dec 2011. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to purchase your tickets now at $22 each.

Interested in dance? Join the SAFRA Dance Fiesta 2012 competition or take part in the dance workshops conducted by the top dance schools. For more information on how you can be part of the fun, click HERE.

Story by Loh Yong Jian