BREAK OUT: STEP UP AND DANCE FOR A DRUG-FREE SINGAPORE

1. The first segment of the two-day annual DanceWorks! competition concluded today with 20 teams battling it out to top the Junior and Youth Group Choreography categories at the *SCAPE Ground Theatre. Mr Amrin Amin, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health, was the guest-of-honour at the event.
2. Jointly organised by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), DanceWorks is an anchor event of the Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign 2017. It aims to engage youths in the anti-drug cause through dance.
3. Palm View Primary Modern Dance and ITE College West’s Team Ayza emerged as the respective champions of the Junior and Youth Group Choreography categories. Both teams also walked away with the Best Choreography Award.




Photo 1: Palm View Primary Modern Dance celebrating their win onstage with Parliamentary Secretary Mr Amrin Amin.



Photo 2: Team Ayza from ITE College West together with Parliamentary Secretary Mr Amrin Amin.



Photo 3: Winning participants of Danceworks! 2017



4. Parliamentary Secretary Amrin congratulated the winners, and said: “I am glad to see our youths embracing a healthy and drug-free lifestyle through dance. I hope they will continue to be inspired to pursue their dreams and aspirations, whether in dance, music or other areas, while staying drug-free”.
5. The second segment of DanceWorks! which focuses on a tournament-style 2 vs 2 Dance Battle will take place tomorrow (30 July 2017), from 2pm to 7pm at the same venue.

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
NATIONAL COUNCIL AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
29 JULY 2017

About DanceWorks!

First organised in 1999, DanceWorks! is an annual anti-drug dance competition that aims to engage youths in the anti-drug cause through dance. The competition is into its 19th edition this year. To attract more participants, a new category - 2 vs 2 All-Styles Dance Battle - was introduced this year.

Competition Categories

• Group Choreography: Teams (8 to 10 members each) presented a 3-4 minute dance choreography conveying the anti-drug message. Preliminary auditions were held on 8 July 2017. The top 10 teams from the Junior (7-12 year olds) and Youth (13-25 year olds) categories each competed in the finals held today (29 July 2017). The judges for the finals were Ryan Tan, Kay Grace Lee and Rachel Lee.
• 2 vs 2 Battle: Participants (13-29 year olds) auditioned in groups of six on 30 July 2017. The top 16 duos would be randomly paired as Professional (a participant who has been on the Top 4 placing or better in any other battle competition) - Amateur (any participant who does not meet the “Professional” requirement) duos to compete in the finals held on the same day. The judges are Lim Kah Sing, Alex Chan and Gerald Chan.

Prizes

The cash prizes for the different segments are as follows:

Description of Awards	Prizes for Group Choreography
	First	Second	Third
Junior Category	$3,000	$2,500	$2,000
Youth Category	$4,000	$3,500	$3,000
Best Choreography Award*	$500
Most Supported Team Award*	$500
Best Anti-Drug Storyline Award*	$500

*Per Category

Description of Awards	Prizes for 2 vs 2 Battle
	Champion Pair	1st Runner Up Pair
	$1,500	$500

About the Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign

NCADA and CNB jointly organise the annual Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign (ADAC) to commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on 26 June every year. A music concert and an island-wide distribution of commemorative items were organised on 16 and 17 June respectively as part of ADAC 2017. From July to September, 15 anti-drug skits will be staged at public libraries island-wide for parents and their children to learn more about the dangers of drug abuse and refusal tips. More details can be found in our earlier release here:

https://www.cnb.gov.sg/newsroom/current/news_details/17-06-23/Pick_a_Drug-free_SG_Strum_the_words_Sing_it_loud.aspx

About the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA)

Formed in 1995, NCADA is an advisory committee to the Ministry of Home Affairs which helps the Government gather feedback and ideas from the community to enhance and strengthen the national anti-drug strategy.