Over 1,000 youths live it loud in this year's nationwide anti-drug dance competition

DanceWorks! 2012 promises once again to be an action-filled dance event that brings together over 1,000 passionate dancers nationwide to show off their moves and groove together against drug abuse. Co-organised by the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) since 1999, this annual nationwide dance competition has attracted participation from more than 15,000 youths under 25 years who believe in leading and spreading the word of an active drug-free lifestyle.

Bringing DanceWorks! to a new generation

DanceWorks! enjoys a loyal following amongst youths who return year-in and year-out to compete on the dance floor. Amongst these include the charismatic all-boys hip-hop dance group, “Super Duper Junior”, from the Anglo-Chinese Primary School who were the first runner-up of Category I (for youths aged under 13 years) last year. First formed 10 years ago, some of its members have been dancing together since they were in Primary 1. Many of its members who are about to graduate from the school would undoubtedly be doing their utmost to help the team clinch the championship title this year.

At the same time, some 43 teams will be taking part in DanceWorks! for the first time. The “SideSteppers Crew” from ITE College West explained that they joined DanceWorks! to “compete with some of the best throughout the nation”, while the “Jaggers” from Blangah Rise Primary School said they wanted to inspire others “not to get mixed up with drugs and waste their lives away”. Befitting their name, the “Vigorous Fusion Crew” energetically proclaimed “We don’t need drugs, we only need to dance!”.

Saying NO to drugs through Dance

One of the biggest dance competitions in the country, and the only one with an anti-drug theme, DanceWorks! aims to let participants have fun while internalising and sharing the anti-drug message. With this in mind, demonstration of the anti-drug theme in the dance performance is a compulsory judging criterion which takes up 40% of the overall score. Indeed, feedback gathered from a sample of almost 200 DanceWorks! 2011 participants showed that 97% of them indicated that they were discouraged from abusing drugs and 98% understood the serious consequences of drug abuse after taking part in the competition, testifying to its effectiveness as a platform to spread the anti-drug message. Having the competition rounds at popular shopping malls like Toa Payoh HDB Hub, VivoCity and Ngee Ann City ensures that the anti-drug message will be spread wider.

DanceWorks! 2012 performances will be judged by experienced professionals from the dance and artistic fields, with participants standing to win over $70,000 in cash and other prizes. Aspiring dancers can look forward to bringing home the newly minted Pokka Most Sparklin’ Dancer Award trophy (together with $100 cash and a Pokka hamper) if the judges pick any of them as the most outstanding dancer in each competition round. (See Table 2 in the DanceWorks! 2012 Fact Sheet for details).

Dr N Varaprasad, Chairman, NCADA said, “The increasing number of youth abusers arrested is a serious concern to us. If this continues, there is a danger that they could form the next generation of drug abusers. We need to step up on our preventive drug education efforts, particularly targeted at the young people, in order to maintain our zero-tolerance stance against drug abuse. The Council will continue to work closely with CNB and the relevant community partners to organise creative and interesting outreach programmes to spread the anti-drug message to more youths and community groups.”

Mr Terence Tan, Director, Communications Division, CNB added, “DanceWorks! has been a platform for youths to showcase their talents while demonstrating to fellow youths how they can lead a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. While the competition has been going on for so many years now, we are continually impressed by the participants' performances; the amount of effort they put into their choreography, costumes, and bringing across the anti-drug message often left me astounded. It is the incredible commitment of the participants, their schools and parents that encourages CNB to continue organising such activities to give a stage for youths to realise their dreams.”

Support from corporate partners

Apart from the continued support by Energizer Singapore. DanceWorks! 2012 is glad to welcome new partners who have lent their support behind the anti-drug cause – Lee Foundation, Teenage Magazine and Pokka Singapore. Our partners share their comments below:

• “DanceWorks! is about channeling the energy of our youths into creative forms of art. Dance with an anti-drug theme - that’s positive energy, what Energizer stands for!” - Ms Tricia Ong of Energizer Singapore.

• “As a voice of authority on youth issues and welfare, Teenage Magazine is fully supportive of the anti-drug movement, and advocates the importance of anti-drug education and awareness amongst our young.” – Mr Adrian Chia of Teenage Magazine.

• “Pokka is an active participant of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects and is supportive of constructive youth initiatives. DanceWorks! provides a platform for youths to perform and educate them on the likely downfalls of drugs. Partnering together with NCADA and CNB, Pokka hopes to spread this anti-drug message to all youths and celebrate a drug-free life.” – Ms Rebecca Tay of Pokka Singapore.

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