12 finalist dance teams choreograph a drug-free life

DanceWorks! 2013 celebrates 15 years of dancing against drugs with a grand finale at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza on 6 April 2013, when 12 teams will compete for the championships in the only nationwide anti-drug dance competition.

Finalists to dance against drugs at the Grand Finals

After months of intensive training and weeks of grueling competition, 12 finalist teams across Categories II and III emerged from 42 teams that competed at the preliminary rounds held on 2 and 9 March 2013, at the VivoCity Amphitheatre and Bugis+ Level 2 Atrium, respectively.

The six Category II finalist teams hail from Anglo-Chinese School (Barker), Juying Secondary School, North Vista Secondary School, Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School, Tanglin Secondary School and Temasek Secondary School. One of the six Category III finalist teams is from Nanyang Junior College, while the other five are non school-based teams. Please refer to Annexes A-1 to A-12 for a brief profile of the 12 finalist teams.

The teams will be assessed based on their ingenuity in delivering an anti-drug message through their dance performances, in accordance to the theme “Live It Loud. Choreograph Your Life!” at the Grand Finals and stand to win cash prizes totaling $36,000. The event will be hosted by Mr Divian Nair and Ms Chew Soo Wei, and will be graced by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State (SMS), Ministry of Law and Ministry of Education, as the Guest-of-Honour. Please refer to Annex B for the programme.

The audience can expect to be wowed at the Grand Finals by the finalist teams pitting their dance skills against one another to vie for the championships. Mr Eden Ang, who has been judging DanceWorks! since 2011, said that he was pleased to see a constant high benchmark in the competition, and would like to see a “clear and honest message” portrayed by the dancers in their own interpretation of the theme. He is also looking forward to seeing “great skills” that tell “great stories”. Ms Kay Lee, who has been judging the competition since 2008, finds fulfillment in watching DanceWorks! participants grow over the years. “This goes beyond just a dance competition, it’s also about nurturing young talents,” said Kay.

Mass Dance as New Tradition of DanceWorks!

In celebration of its 15^th anniversary, DanceWorks! has started a new mass dance tradition this year. Choreographed by Kay who is also a seasoned dance instructor, the mass dance had been taught to all participants and supporters at the earlier rounds of the competition. To her, it was an honour to create the first DanceWorks! mass dance. “The steps were created to be fun and easy so that anyone and everyone can participate. It also allows experienced dancers to add their own flavour and style or what they call ‘swag’ to the basic steps,” said Kay of her concept for the mass dance.

Kelvin Chandraatmadja, the team leader of Tanglin Motley Crew, said that he enjoyed the mass dance, which also allowed his non-dancer friends and supporters to pick up the steps and dance along. The team leader of KoolKatz, Tan Jia Hui, felt that the mass dance was fun and engaging, and hyped up the event’s atmosphere, giving credit to the passionate mass dance instructors on stage.

“It was such a humble feeling to see hundreds of people learning the steps at various venues and enjoying themselves. And that everyone was so willing to be part of this event,” said Kay. The mass dance routine will be recapped and taught again to the participants and supporters at the Grand Finals, and be carried forward as a tradition in future years of DanceWorks!.

“Live It Loud” the drug-free way through dance

Co-organised by the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) since 1999, DanceWorks! is the only nationwide dance competition with an anti-drug theme. To date, the competition has attracted participation from nearly 16,000 youths under 25 years who believe in leading and spreading the word of an active drug-free lifestyle. DanceWorks! 2013 attracted the participation of 68 teams, of which 38 teams from 22 schools/organisations are participating for the first time.

This year, NCADA and CNB are collaborating with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) for the first time to organise the competition. With regard to the collaboration, Mr Lim Cher Yam, Senior Director, Architecture, Design & Environment Cluster said, “Singapore Polytechnic is proud to collaborate with the National Council Against Drug Abuse and the Central Narcotics for DanceWorks! 2013. This is a meaningful community outreach project for our students to be involved in as it encourages youths to take their stand against drugs and pursue a healthy lifestyle.” Please refer to Annex C for the factsheet on DanceWorks! 2013.

Year after year, DanceWorks! sees hundreds of youths creatively incorporating anti-drug elements into their routines. Their innovation and passion for the anti-drug message has impressed all who attended DanceWorks!, including the judges. Commenting on this year’s competition, judge and dance scene veteran Ann Tan said, “DanceWorks! 2013 has shown us amazing talent thus far. Not only in terms of the standard of dancing, but in the way the anti-drug message was brought to us all. There is so much creativity and I can’t wait to see what the Grand Finals will bring!” Eden also expressed his appreciation for the constant innovation and improvement seen with each performance, and expects a “champion who strives to inspire and really lives the theme”.

Mr Victor Lye, Chairman, NCADA said, “DanceWorks! provides a fun and exciting stage for youths to perform and demonstrate how they can ‘Live It Loud’ the cool and drug-free way. We would like to thank all the teams who have participated in DanceWorks! thus far. The Council will continue to work closely with CNB and the relevant community partners to organise more of such outreach events where youths get to take the lead to educate other youths on the dangers of drug abuse.”

Mr Ng Ser Song, Director, CNB added, “Through the dance performances, the participants become our ambassadors to spread the anti-drug message to their peers. We are happy to be celebrating the 15^th anniversary of DanceWorks! this year. We hope to continue organising the dance competition and see more youths take this journey with us and make their stand against drug abuse.”

Guest Performances at Grand Finals

The Grand Finals welcomes back SJI Junior Dance Club from St Joseph’s Institution, the champion team and winner of the “Best Choreography Award” of the Category I Finals, to showcase their winning item in a guest performance. The young dancers from the team, aged between 10 and 12, had impressed the judges and audience with their astounding dance performance and Captain America-inspired costumes at the Category I Finals, held on 23 February 2013. Last Minute Street Crew, a hip-hop dance group from Indonesia, will also perform at the Grand Finals.

What Our Finalists Have To Say

Here are some quotes from our finalist teams:

“Get high and Fun with Dance, Not Drugs!” – FORZA from Nanyang Junior College

“A fit, healthy body is the best fashion statement. Why do drugs when you can dance?” – Moda

“Danceworks! is a unique and awesome way to promote the anti-drug message and the challenge is always exciting.” – Siren

Issued by : National Council Against Drug Abuse and Central Narcotics Bureau