ASSOCIATES | Dance Nucleus

DANCE
NUCLEUS

Image: Between Earth and Sky, by Alecia Neo

Credit: Alecia Neo

ALECIA NEO

ALECIA NEO IS AN ARTIST AND CULTURAL WORKER. HER COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE UNFOLDS PRIMARILY THROUGH INSTALLATIONS, LENS-BASED MEDIA AND PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOPS THAT EXAMINE MODES OF RADICAL HOSPITALITY AND CARE.

SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON CARE INDEX, AN ONGOING RESEARCH FOCUSED ON THE INDEXING AND TRANSMISSION OF EMBODIED GESTURES AND MOVEMENTS WHICH EMERGE FROM LIVED EXPERIENCES OF CARE LABOUR. CARE INDEX HAS BEEN RECENTLY PRESENTED AT THE ESPLANADE: THEATRES BY THE BAY, THE LISTENING BIENNIAL, ASSEMBLY FOR PERMACIRCULAR MUSEUMS (ZKM CENTER FOR ART AND MEDIA KARLSRUHE), NEW SEASON OF CARE (ASIA-ART-ACTIVISM) AND PRESENCE OF MIND (GALLERY LANE COVE, NSW, AUSTRALIA).

SHE IS THE CO-FOUNDER OF ART COLLECTIVE BRACK AND UBAH RUMAH RESIDENCY ON NIKOI ISLAND, BINTAN. ACTIVE SINCE 2014, HER ONGOING COLLABORATIONS WITH DISABLED ARTISTS CURRENTLY MANIFESTS AS AN ARTS PLATFORM, UNSEEN ART INITIATIVES.

DANCE
NUCLEUS

DANIEL KOK STUDIED FINE ART & CRITICAL THEORY (GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE, LONDON), SOLO/DANCE/AUTHORSHIP (HZT, BERLIN) AND ADVANCED PERFORMANCE AND SCENOGRAPHY STUDIES (APASS, BRUSSELS). IN 2008, HE RECEIVED THE YOUNG ARTIST AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL (SINGAPORE).

HIS ARTISTIC WORK DEALS WITH THE POLITICS OF SPECTATORSHIP AND AUDIENCESHIP, AND HAVE BEEN PRESENTED ACROSS ASIA, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA AND NORTH AMERICA; NOTABLY IN THE VENICE BIENNALE, MAXIM GORKI THEATER (BERLIN), RISING (MELBOURNE) AND FESTIVAL/TOKYO.

AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF DANCE NUCLEUS (SINGAPORE), HE FOCUSES ON BUILDING CAPACITIES FOR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT AND TRANS-LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. ANNUALLY, HE CURATES DA:NS LAB AND THE VECTOR EXHIBITION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ESPLANADE (SINGAPORE).

DANIEL KOK

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Image: HUNDREDS+THOUSANDS by Daniel Kok & Luke George

Credit: Emma Fishwick

DANCE
NUCLEUS

DAPHENY CHEN IS AN INDEPENDENT DANCE ARTIST WHO NEGOTIATES BETWEEN THE ROLES OF A CHOREOGRAPHER, PERFORMER, EDUCATOR AND MANAGER OF DANCE NUCLEUS

SHE IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROVOCATIONS, CONNECTIONS AND CRITICALITY THAT ARISE FROM MAKING AND VIEWING DANCE. BREAKING AWAY FROM HER CONVENTIONAL DANCE TRAINING, SHE EXAMINES SOCIO-POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES TO NAVIGATE THE POSSIBILITIES OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE, WHILE SEEKING TO CREATE ALTERNATIVE NODES OF EXPERIENCE AND ENTRY POINTS AS CONVERSATIONS FOR CHANGE AND KNOWLEDGE. HER PRACTICE EMBRACES THE MULTIPLE FACETS OF CHOREOGRAPHY AND DANCE THAT CHANGE WITH TIME AND STATE. WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THE AGILE AND TRANSIENT NATURE OF PROCESSES INVOLVED IN CREATION, SHE BREAKS DOWN PREVIOUS DEFINITIONS OF THE FORM TO REFORM NEW EXPERIENCES.

DAPHENY GRADUATED FROM LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS. SHE HAS SINCE DANCED WITH AH HOCK AND PENG YU (2004), L.A. DANCE CONNECTION (2003-2008), FRONTIER DANCELAND (2010-2011) AND RE:DANCE THEATRE (2012-2015). SHE IS TRAINED IN CONTEMPORARY DANCE, BALLET, JAZZ, HIP HOP AND SALSA.

DAPHENY CHEN

Image: Ball Measures #2, by Dapheny Chen

Credit: Jootz See

DANCE
NUCLEUS

HASYIMAH HARITH (SINGAPORE) IS A MALAY-MUSLIM FEMALE ARTIST THAT PERFORMS, CHOREOGRAPHS AND TEACHES MALAY FOLK DANCE. USING HER BODY AS THE STARTING POINT, HASYIMAH WORKS WITH THE MALAY TRADITIONS AND EROTICISM, AS A WAY TO RECLAIM AGENCY OVER HER BODY.

HER WORKING METHODS INVOLVE STRATEGIES OF BOOSTING LIBIDO SUCH AS FANTASY AND INTIMACY. HER WORKS HOPE TO CONFRONT AND OVERCOME THE CONDITIONED SHAME AND GRIEF THAT IS OFTEN ATTACHED TO FEMALE EROTICISM.

HASYIMAH IS COMPANY MANAGER OF P7:1SMA (PRONOUNCED AS PRISMA), A DANCE COMPANY FORMED IN 2016 THAT BELIEVES DANCE IS A STRATEGY, AND MALAY IS A CONCEPT. SHE IS A TRAINED VISUAL ARTS EDUCATOR WHO SPECIALISES IN TEACHING HOW TO CREATE AND APPRECIATE ART. SINCE 2010, HASYIMAH CONTRIBUTES AS A MALAY DANCE INSTRUCTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER AT AZPIRASI. SHE IS AN ARTIST-FACILITATOR IN THE PERFORMING ARTS FACULTY AT ART:DIS.

HASYIMAH
HARITH

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Image: Nak Dara by Hasyimah Harith

Credit: Grace Baey

DANCE
NUCLEUS

Image: The Art of Falling, by: Hwa Wei-An

Credit: Kaier Tan

HWA WEI-AN

WEI-AN HAS SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE FALLING DOWN; IT'S A BY-PRODUCT OF THE BELIEF THAT HE CAN, EVEN WHEN HE CAN’T – WHETHER THAT MEANT TRYING TO SPIN ON HIS HEAD OR BACKFLIP BEFORE HE WAS READY, OR LEARN HOW TO SNOWBOARD ON HIS OWN. AND THOUGH HE MAY NOT BE THE BEST AT THOSE ACTIVITIES, HE'S BECOME QUITE GOOD AT FALLING. HE HAS, IN FACT, BUILT HIS CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE AROUND HIS LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GRAVITY, AND THE CONNECTIONS THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE OF FLOW. OUTSIDE OF HIS CHOREOGRAPHIC WORK, WEI-AN’S OTHER INTERESTS INCLUDE DEVELOPING THE TEACHING OF THE ART OF FALLING, AND CONTINUING TO DIG INTO HIS STREET DANCE BACKGROUND TO FURTHER INTEGRATE THIS WITH HIS CONTEMPORARY DANCE PRACTICE, BOTH AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND IN DIALOGUE WITH OTHER DANCERS.

DANCE
NUCLEUS

JEREH LEUNG

JEREH LEUNG EXPLORES PERFORMANCE WITHIN THE SPATIAL CONTEXT OF DOMESTICITY AND ITS MEDIATION THROUGH EAST ASIAN MEDIA CULTURES.

AS AN ASSOCIATE ARTIST WITH DANCE NUCLEUS (SG) AND A MEMBER OF THE CRISOL PROJECT (IT), JEREH'S WORK HAS GARNERED SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL (SG), THE ARTS FUND (SG), AND GOETHE INSTITUTE SINGAPORE.

WITH A DIVERSE BACKGROUND AS A PERFORMER, JEREH HAS COLLABORATED WITH ARTISTS INCLUDING DANIEL KOK, CHOY KA FAI, LOO ZIHAN, BANI HAYKAL, RIANTO, ISABELLE SCHAD, ALEXANDRA PIRICI, XAVIER LE ROY, AND OLEG SOULIMENKO.

Image: Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow, by Jereh Leung

Credit: Jereh Leung

DANCE
NUCLEUS

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LEE MUN WAI WORKS INDEPENDENTLY BETWEEN BERLIN AND SINGAPORE.

HE STUDIED CHOREOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE AT THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED THEATRE STUDIES IN GIESSEN, GERMANY. IN HIS CHOREOGRAPHIC PRACTICE, HE EMPLOYS OPEN-ENDED STRATEGIES OF PERCEPTION, MEMORY, AND VIRTUALITY/ACTUALITY TO MOVE, PERFORM AND BE DYNAMICALLY SENSITIVE TO HIS ENVIRONMENT. THIS PRACTICE MOVES DANCE AWAY FROM AESTHETIC DISPLAYS AND SPECTACLE PRODUCTION TOWARDS EXPERIENCES OF RELATION AND COMMUNICATION, IN WHICH THE POLITICS BETWEEN HIS DANCING BODY, OTHER BODIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT ARE NEGOTIATED.

IN 2014, HE RECEIVED THE YOUNG ARTIST AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL (SINGAPORE). BETWEEN 2008 – 2015, HE WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER AS WELL AS FULL TIME DANCER WITH T.H.E DANCE COMPANY.

LEE MUN WAI

Image: Anita Mui, This Banana Thanks You by Lee Mun Wai

Credit: Cheng Yumo.

DANCE
NUCLEUS

NICHOLAS TEE

NICHOLAS TEE IS A LIVE ARTIST BASED IN MELBOURNE WHO COLLAGES ACTION, IMAGE, SOUND AND MATERIAL THROUGH BODY-BASED PERFORMANCE, PAIN AND ENDURANCE; THEIR WORK IS OFTEN POLITICALLY CHARGED, ANGRY AND MESSY.

NICHOLAS’ WORK HAS BEEN PRESENTED INTERNATIONALLY, NOTABLY AT HAUS DER KUNST (DE), MANCHESTER ART GALLERY (UK), ICA LONDON (UK) AND POINT CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART (CY). IN 2019, THEIR WORK WAS FEATURED IN THE BRITISH ART STUDIES JOURNAL PUBLISHED BY THE PAUL MELLON CENTRE.

Image: Nicholas Tee + Razan Wirjosandjojo, ELEMENT #15

Credit: Achri Hendratno

DANCE
NUCLEUS

NORHAIZAD
ADAM

NORHAIZAD ADAM (B. 1987) IS A DANCE ARTIST FROM SINGAPORE. HE PERFORMS AND CHOREOGRAPHS FOR UNCONVENTIONAL COMMUNITY SPACES, GALLERIES AND THEATRES. CENTRAL TO HIS MALAY DANCE PRACTICE IS CONSIDERING THE PERFORMATIVITY OF THE EVERYDAY RITUALS AND THE WAYS THAT ACCESSING TRADITION CAN BE A FORM OF WISDOM FOR LIVING IN THE DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL MODERNITY. HIS WORKS TALK ABOUT LABOUR, MORALITY AND BEHAVIOURISM IN MALAY CULTURE.

CURRENTLY, HE IS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF P7:1SMA(PRISMA), A DANCE PERFORMANCE COMPANY THAT HOPES TO RADICALLY SHIFT THE PERSPECTIVE OF MALAY DANCE THROUGH INTIMATE AND INNOVATIVE PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCES. IN 2021, HE RECEIVED THE NATIONAL ART COUNCIL’S YOUNG ARTIST AWARD.

Image: Loading/Unloading, by Norhaizad Adam

Credit: Bernie Ng

DANCE
NUCLEUS

PAT TOH

PAT TOH (SINGAPORE, 1981) MAKES PERFORMANCES THAT UNFOLD AT THE INTERSECTION OF THEATRE, DANCE AND THE LIVE ARTS. HER WORKS OFTEN CONTEMPLATE ON THE EFFECTS, REMNANTS AND TRAUMA OF IDEOLOGY AND BODY POLITICS. DRAWING FROM FITNESS CULTURE, SPORTS REGIMES AND TRAINING PROTOCOLS, SHE WORKS WITH THE MECHANICS, FUNCTIONALITY AND PROCESSES WITHIN THE CORPOREAL IN ORDER TO STRIP THE PERFORMANCE OF DECORATIVE ELEMENTS REDUCING IT TO THE PLAIN ACT OF PHYSICAL LABOUR.

HER WORKS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN M1 CONTACT CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL (SINGAPORE), EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL, LIVEWORKS FESTIVAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ARTS (AUSTRALIA), CROSS FESTIVAL (ITALY), INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL (KOREA), HDX DANCE EXCHANGE (HONG KONG), MACHOL SHALEM DANCE HOUSE JERUSALEM (ISRAEL), FMK INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL (LAOS) AND WANT TO DANCE FESTIVAL (TAIWAN).

Image: Aqua Lung, by Pat Toh

Credit: Pat Toh

DANCE
NUCLEUS

SHAIFULBAHRI
MOHAMAD

Image: Last Of Their Generation, by Mohamad Shaifulbahri

Credit: Adeeb Fazah

SHAI IS A CREATIVE PRODUCER AND ARTS EDUCATOR BASED IN SINGAPORE. HE IS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF PRODUCING COMPANY, BAHRI & CO AND AN ORGANISING MEMBER OF PRODUCERS SG. HE IS ALSO AN ADJUNCT LECTURER ON THE BA ARTS MANAGEMENT COURSE AT LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS AND AN MA IN CREATIVE PRODUCING GRADUATE OF ROYAL CENTRAL SCHOOL OF SPEECH AND DRAMA. HE ENJOYS WORKING WITH ARTISTS WHO MAKE ART COLLABORATIVELY ACROSS MEDIUMS, WITH A VIEW TOWARDS TRANSNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS THAT BREAK BORDERS AND BARRIERS IN ART MAKING.

HE BELIEVES IN THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTS EDUCATION AND PROVIDES MENTORING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMERGING ARTS PRODUCERS. HE HAS PRODUCED WORK IN SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA AND THE UK AND IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING NEW PROJECTS WITH AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, TAIWAN AND SOUTH KOREA. SHAI IS ALSO CURRENTLY AN ISPA SINGAPORE FELLOW FROM 2021-2024.