Cultural Extravaganza 2022: crossing paths with culture and creativity
Cultural Extravaganza, the marquee event of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, is back for its fifth instalment from 13 May to 19 Jun. This year, it’s all about “crossovers” – you can even see it embodied in the form of eye make-up on the event’s promotional materials.
Over six weeks, the festival will feature cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and cross-generational programmes, bringing arts groups together to highlight the many ways in which disciplines, cultures and even generations may blend.
From calligraphy and concerts to art installations, there will be countless ways to experience how Chinese Singaporean culture is represented and re-presented at the festival.
Here are some ways to cross paths with some of this year’s highlights.
1. Cross-disciplinary programmes
Seven Sisters’ Sonata
Explore the fabled Chinese Valentine’s Day against a unique backdrop in Seven Sisters’ Sonata, where Chinese chamber music will explore one of Singapore’s disappearing traditions.
Set in Singapore’s Chinatown, the concert will take viewers through the past and present of the fast-disappearing Seven Sisters Festival.
The production is part of the “Disappearing…” series, produced by Ding Yi Music Company, which pays homage to the fading heritage of Singaporean Chinese culture and is playing at Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Auditorium.
Book your tickets here.
Shadow Moon
Fans of the xinyao era would recognise many of the household names in Shadow Moon. Featuring notable artists like Chen Jiaming, Eric Moo, Jimmy Ye, Lee Wei Song, and Lee Si Song, the production blends alternative music with nostalgic xinyao.
It is a musical that is based on Chinese mythical characters Chang É and Feng Meng, re-imagining the two enemies as lovers and with their genders reversed.
Directed by Trey Ho and written by Johnson Wong, it stars local artists like Bonnie Loo, Sugie Phua, Andrey Luo, Timothy Wan, and Andy Yew.
Book your tickets here.
2. Cross-cultural programmes
Butterfly Lovers
Butterfly Lovers was dance doyenne Santha Bhaskar’s first full-length performance when it made its premiere in 1958. More than 60 years later, it will now be re-imagined with Chinese classical dance movements.
The Chinese folktale of two tragic lovers will be told from a fresh perspective and re-staged at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre for the first time, paying tribute to the late Mrs Bhaskar for her lifelong dedication to our multi-cultural heritage.
It is choreographed by Mrs Bhaskar’s daughter, Meenakshy Bhaskar, and features music from the world-renowned Rajkumar Bharathi and local artist Neil Chua in a tapestry of cultures.
Book your tickets here.
3. Cross-generational programmes
The Forefathers Project
The Forefathers Project will celebrate Singapore’s dialect music through innovation by reimagining the sounds from unsung Chinese music pioneers and original works inspired by the city’s diverse dialect music.
The lecture concert will feature interviews and learnings from first-generation masters, luthiers, and proteges from the local dialect groups’ music traditions.
Book your tickets here.
Funderland
Funderland is an insta-worthy exhibition that will take visitors on a three-part adventure to discover tigers hidden through the SCCC building. It uses lenticular installations and optical illusions and draws inspiration from the Chinese nursery rhyme Two Tigers, arguably something every child knows, and the folktale Wu Song Fighting the Tiger.
Through the intriguing installations, visitors are encouraged to think about how we should respond to today’s challenges. Bring your phones for this one – there are plenty of tiger-inspired artworks on the building facade, concourse, and roof garden that are snap-worthy.
(Photos: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre)
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