PROVIDENCE – World Premiere
WEAVING TRADITIONS & BELIEFS OF A SINGAPOREAN TEOCHEW WITH CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Choreographed by Artistic Director Danny Tan and a commission of the Singapore Arts Festival 2006, the repertoire explores Tan’s long-time wish to integrate the two most important influences on him as an individual – his traditions as a Singaporean Teochew and his constant pursuit of Asian contemporary aesthetics.

Tan (2004 Singapore Young Artist Award, Dance) is the founder & artistic director of Odyssey Dance Theatre. He presented his solo debut at the Singapore Arts Festival 2006 in his personal capacity as a performer. He traces his roots in PROVIDENCE through the vocals of Teochew opera performed by Ms Lee Sze Yau (2000 Young Artist Award, Theatre), bridging the Chinese tradition with contemporary sensibility.

June 9 – 10, 2006
World Premiere – Singapore Arts Festival 2006
Esplanade Theatre Studio

August 6 – 11, 2006
2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Main Hall, Roxy Art House

September 6 – 9, 2006
DanzINC – International Dancers & Choreographers Residency Festival
Black Box, Singapore Indoor Stadium

October 23 – 29, 2006
20 th World Congress of Dance Athens, Greece
Montenegrin Theater Podgorica, Republic of Montenegro

June 23 – 24, 2007
International Center of Art 2007
Siena, Italy

August 2 – 4, 2007
Theatre de la Danse Golovine
Avignon, France

October 6 – 8, 2007
The Blue Grass State International Dance Festival
Louisville, Kentucky (USA)

May 6 – 10, 2008
Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane Season,
Australia

June 8, 2008
Juksan International Art Festival
South Korea

 

International Critics for PROVIDENCE

“Intense, emotional, yet controlled and precise, this absorbing piece is full of yearning. Tan is a very focused and grounded dancer, combining athletic strength with great delicacy.” Dance Australia, Aug – Sept 2008

“He shoots the long tentacles unfurling up, sideways and forwards with bursts of emotion and then as they fall ruched, he symbolically catches each. Eventually, he sheds the garment like a skin, the deeply personal struggle etched on Tan's face at the conculsion.” The Courier-Mail (Australia), May 2008

“Using his props water sleeves – long, trailing sleeves used in Chinese classical dance to accentuate a performer’s femininity – Tan weaved a metaphor of the burden and yet necessity of tradition in modern society.” The Straits Times (Singapore), June 2006

“Danny Tan, founder and artistic director of Odyssey Dance Theatre, provided the cultural underpinnings for the night” The Business Times (Singapore), June 2006

“Top of the tree was 'Providence', an innovative and enjoyable solo, created and danced by Danny Tan (the founder and artistic director of Odyssey Dance Theatre in Singapore) with an emphasis on Chinese movement and music. It was a very professional production, well lit and inventive: half way through the work, Tan dons a linen shirt with 2-metre long sleeves, creating a new performance dimension by using the flow of the fabric within the choreography, rolling and unfurling the sleeves to complement the body's movement. “ Ballet Magazine (UK), September 2006

“Chinese choreographer/performer, Danny Tan takes us to the heart of his culture with the excellent Providence. “ The Scotsman, August 2006

“I thought Danny’s work was beautiful … the content was excellent” Jacqueline M. Smith-Autard (USA), Dance Author

“People sometimes ask where all the choreographers of the future are. I'm telling you, some of them are here.” David Mead/Critical Dance, United Kingdom