Odyssey Dance Theatre (Singapore)

The Story Begins (Full-length work)

Performances:
23 August 2007
3.30pm and 8pm
Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore

Synopsis:

A brand-new work by Artistic Director Danny Tan, ‘The Story Begins’ depicts the different emotional bonding processes among people, while capturing the meaningful and memorable moments within our space. The full-length repertoire will include the usage of multi-media projection and live piano accompaniment – to trace the past, present and future and the human spirit in people development, and the usage of dance theatre to synergize our people-to-people relationships. The work is presented in collaboration with film director and pianist Wen-Shing Ho, an Assistant Professor with the School of Art, Design & Media, Nanyang Technological University.

Choreography: Danny Tan
Film Direction & Music: Wen-Shing Ho
Dancers: Lo Pni Sze, Goh Shou Yi, Linnea Ong & Ong Zhihui

DANNY TAN
Choreographer

“In Tan’s performance, simplicity was the key and the movement remained contained spatially within a circle of light – dynamic and expressive. He should really dance more often.”
The Business Times on Tan’s ‘A New Dialogue’

“Chinese choreographer / performer, Danny Tan takes us to the heart of his culture with the excellent Providence”.
The Scotsman, Edinburgh 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) …. It was a very professional production, well-lit and inventive;”
Ballet.co.uk, Sept 06 issue

Danny Tan, 2004 Young Artist Award for Dance, was trained in ballet and contemporary dance since 1993. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the Queensland University of Technology in 1999, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Odyssey Dance Theatre Ltd.

As an internationally praised dancer & choreographer, his works have graced theatres and festivals in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Taiwan, Malaysia and Korea. His company made its European debut at the HIGH FEST Armenian International Theatre Festival in 2005.

As choreographer and performer, Danny Tan celebrated three world premieres in 2006: ‘Providence’, ‘Homely; Heart’, and ‘Garden in my Heart’ at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ‘Providence’, which has toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 20th World Congress of Dance in Athens and Montenegro. In 2007, ‘Providence’ had toured to Italy and will be performed in France and Kentucky, with the support from Singapore International Foundation and Energizer.

As producer for 3 biennial dance festivals – Xposition ‘O’ Contemporary Dance Fiesta, DanzINC – Int’al Dancers & Choreographers Residency Festival and Summer DanceFit, Tan has created 10 full-length works, more than 20 short works, and has directed 29 mainhouse seasons, bringing the passion and beauty of contemporary dance to over 78,000 visitors. The registered dance instructor has conducted numerous lectures, workshops and master classes locally and internationally. Tan founded the first Dance Artiste-in-School Programme in Singapore in 2000, and continues to facilitate a series of long-term dance programmes for schools.

At XPOSITION ‘O’ 2007, Danny Tan will present his new full-length choreography ‘The Story Begins’, in collaboration with film director and pianist Assistant Professor Wen-Shing Ho.

WEN-SHING HO (Taiwan)
Film Director & Pianist

Ho Wen-Shing studied Graphic Communications at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. She pursued further study in Film and Electronic Media Production at the American University, Washington DC, and started teaching film production, animation/motion graphics and web design at the faculty of DeSales University, Pennsylvania in 2002.
Wen-Shing, director, cinematographer and editor, makes films about strong passions and life’s struggles using positive messages, creating films of “poetic comedy”. Wen-Shing’s films and photography have won many awards, including an Honorable Mention as Best Director for her film ‘Ku’ at the Georgetown Indy Film Festival and First Place in the Single Image category for her photography ‘Me Mirror Myself’ at the American Vision Festival. In 2002, Wen-Shing was invited by Systems Recordings, NYC, to direct a music video for the drum ‘n’ bass artist, Diesleboy.