TPPDC
Moving Bodies. Moving Minds.
A collaborative project with Dancepointe Academy
2022 Audition is now open!
Date : 4th & 11th December 2021
Venue : Evans Dance Studio
Time: 10am – 12.30pm
Email: rapiermissile@gmail.com for your interest in TPPDC
Company Teachers
(Team Leader-Mentor)
o
THE PRESENCE PROJECT DANCE COMPANY
Moving Bodies. Moving Minds.
Training Schedules :
Every Tuesday and Thursday 7-9pm at Dancepointe Academy @ARC
Fees: $400 per term of 22 lessons.
Period: Jan to Jun 2022
In Brief
- The Presence Project Dance Company comprises handpicked talented and versatile contemporary dancers guided by a team of professional dance teachers. It is a dance talent enhancement programme in the form of a contemporary dance company that offers high quality training in contemporary dance technique, performance and choreography at intermediate and semi-professional levels.
- The Presence Project Dance Company has the philosophy of enabling its dancers to become the best they can be through developing advanced dance skills in today’s professional arts environment.
- The Presence Project Dance Company holds the belief that dance must take place in a positive, mindful and energetic environment with equal parts of personal movement, emotion, group dynamics and music. It reflects versatility as it constantly evolves to reflect changes in Singapore’s dance scene.
- Ballet training is integral to The Presence Project Dance Company, affording the dancers a sense of heightened bodily awareness, mental discipline and movement sensibilities that they can incorporate in their contemporary dance performances. Dancers also experience K-pop and hip-hop styles as an occasional part of the programme, widening their movement repertoire and musicality while elevating overall fitness levels.
- The dancers of The Presence Project Dance Company strive for creative originality, movement versatility and technical proficiency. Performing innovative, deeply personal and experimental choreography, the Company pushes its dancers’ conceptual boundaries and exposes them to interdisciplinary arts.
- The dancers of The Presence Project Dance Company perform at least three original new works over the year. These are created by distinctly different choreographers, exposing the dancers to very different creative processes. They have the opportunity to perform internationally as well.
Key Aims
The Presence Project Dance Company aims to:
- Actively identify talented and motivated young people for further development in dance. Thereafter the teachers develop each dancer’s understanding of his/her own physical potential so he/she can dance safely and with understanding
- Provide a challenging yet supportive environment that nurtures the dancer as a reflective performer and creative artist
- Collaborate, where appropriate, with other art forms to establish a key link between dance and other artistic disciplines
- Ensure that the dancers have the opportunity to work with and learn from established professional dance artists
- Extend the cultural experience of the dancers through visits to see professional dance work in a range of genres, theatres, galleries and concerts
- Provide information about further dance training and higher education so that participants can make informed decisions about future career choices and pathways
Approach
- As part of a broad and balanced dance education, The Presence Project Dance Company identifies, via auditions, young people 16-21 years with talent, potential and passion to benefit from specialised dance training.
- The dancers have access to high quality, intensive and rigorous dance training under a highly experienced team of professional dance teachers and artists.
- The Presence Project Dance Company balances technical training with creative activities, ensuring dancers experience a holistic dance training programme.
- The Presence Project Dance Company’s training programme is delivered twice a week – on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. In addition to this, there are intensives held at specific junctures of the training programme. Dancers are exposed to professional-led masterclasses during such intensives. These may be led by local or overseas teachers. There are also immersion masterclasses with professional dance companies in Singapore.
Training Content
Dance Technique and Performing Skills
Dancers undertake classes in ballet, contemporary and other complementary dance classes designed to sharpen their technical and performance skills in the following areas:
- Physical strength, flexibility, agility, co-ordination and movement efficiency
- Correct posture, placement and alignment
- Spatial awareness, body alignment and design
- Articulation and clarity of movement
- Movement vocabularies of the styles studied
- Projection / focus; clarity of intention; appropriate use of dynamics
- Sensitivity to musical phrasing and dynamics
- Use of different movement qualities
- Ability to respond / be present in the moment of performance
- Use of energy and sense of whole-body engagement
Collaborative skills are encouraged through dancers’ active engagement as learners in the creative process through discussion, reflection and evaluation.
Workshops and Choreography
Dancers have regular workshops with professional choreographers. They are encouraged to be imaginative, innovative and take creative risks through:
- Exploring dance ideas/concepts in response to a variety of stimuli e.g., kinesthetic, literary, visual, auditory, contemporary issues, repertoire, styles and traditions
- Selecting, structuring and refining movement material
- Developing initial movement ideas into final choreographic form through selecting and developing action, dynamic, rhythmic and spatial content
- Using choreographic devices, e.g., motif, variation and development, chance, unison, canon, climax
- Forming the overall shape of the dance
- Structuring appropriate relationships between content and form in the expression of a dance idea
- Considering the relationship of dance and music
- Communicating artistic intention and the expression of dance ideas/concepts
- Reflecting and evaluating throughout the choreographic process
Performance Opportunities
To develop the dancers’ practical experience of performing, there are regular performance opportunities in a variety of settings and to different audiences, including:
- Informal sharing of work for family and friends
- Contributing to the youth and community dance platforms
- Performing in dance spaces within or outside of Singapore
Complementary Training Areas
To ensure that every dancer encounters a range of artistic and creative opportunities and is prepared for possible progression into further training, the following are included either as part of the training or in the additional intensives:
- Workshops by local or visiting artists in a range of dance/movement genres e.g., Korean, Hip Hop, Dance Theatre etc
- Trips to see professional dance work in a range of genres and a variety of cultural experiences available in Singapore including theatre performances and art exhibitions. Such trips broaden dancers’ awareness of current dance companies and styles, and may be complemented by a workshop given by dancers from the performing company
- Collaborative music and dance projects
- Higher education and career information and advice
Professional Artist Commissions
Each year, The Presence Project Dance Company will commission professional artists (local and overseas) to work with the dancers. This exposure to the professional dance world is a key element of the training.
Testimonials
Chloe:
“The Presence Project Dance Company (TPPDC) has provided me with an enriching and fulfilling dance education. The instructors taught me that dance is so much more than a long phrase of movements, and the little details we add in make a huge difference in the tone and feeling of the dance.”
Julia:
“My experience in TPPDC has allowed me to grow not only through dance but also as a person. We are exposed to different genres often and these have made me more versatile as a dancer. Here in TPPDC, we are trained to be physically and mentally strong through the high commitment level and high intensity training.”
Vernice:
“TPPDC has been an enriching experience that allowed me to explore parts of dance and myself that I never knew could be explored. The exposure has enlightened me on the familiar in the unfamiliar and the new in the old of a variety of dance genres. This close-knit family has supported me through new discoveries in the art form and has encouraged us to push out of our comfort zones together. This to me is what makes this journey more fruitful.”
Annabel:
“TPPDC has been a rewarding journey for me as I have learned more about myself through dance. It has been a great outlet for me to discover new genres and forms of self-expression.”
Emelyne:
“My year with TPPDC has been a fulfilling one that has not only helped me rediscover my passion for dance, but which also allowed me to forge strong bonds with like-minded individuals through our passion for dance. The happiness and hardships we went through as a TPPDC dancer has shaped us individually to become versatile, distinct and original dancers, and collectively as a team. The variety of masterclasses we have been exposed to has helped me explore different areas of dance that I never knew I would enjoy, and has built my confidence in dancing and performing.”
Shyan:
“Joining TPPDC was one of the best choices I have made. Being exposed to the various dance genres, forms and cultures has truly been such an eye-opening experience for me. My biggest takeaway from this team is that I dance to express myself, not to impress others.”
Priscilla:
“Throughout my stay with the Company, I have been exposed to the different philosophies and training styles of dance instructors specialising in a wide range of genres. Thus, it has been an enlightening journey in which I am able to take elements shown by the different instructors and infuse them in my own contemporary-based dancing. I have been able to find joy as well in learning in this safe space while being surrounded by hardworking and friendly peers.”
Neha:
“It has been an absolute delight to be part of TPPDC. It has given me the various opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and widen my horizons. Thus, grooming me to be a more confident, versatile and knowledgeable dancer. For this, I am truly grateful.”
Keena:
“Through training with TPPDC, I have learnt to become more confident and open-minded. The environment is welcoming, and we push each other to become the very best versions of ourselves. We are given many opportunities to learn outside of our primary genre, which has allowed me to expand and deepen my dance repertoire. I am incredibly grateful for my team and am glad I took the chance to train with them.”
Sandy:
“As a dancer, I have always wanted to improve my craft and since young, I have learnt quite many dance styles. Since joining TPPDC, I have realised how much more I can grow in my application of movement in dance, whether it be contemporary dance or street-style. I also gained opportunities to do the things I have always wanted to do, such as filming a dance solo and being on screen. TPPDC has led me to bigger insights into the dance industry, and I also had the chance to do more than just dance performances; such as writing the poem for our ‘Engines’ dance film and bonding with my fellow dance friends.”
Alyssa:
“Being a part of TPPDC has been a very fulfilling and enriching experience that I will never forget. Over the past year in TPPDC I am very thankful to have not only been given the opportunity to learn from so many talented instructors, but also to have been able to grow alongside all my wonderful friends. Being exposed to so many different dance genres and teaching methods has helped me gained a greater understanding of myself as a dancer and how I am able to effectively use my body while dancing.”
Li Meng:
“TPPDC has given me the opportunity to be exposed to different genres, and to be taught by different mentors who have influenced me in my dance growth significantly in one way or another. It has given us the push and confidence to keep trying and improving, to be uniquely ourselves, and to create our own presence. I have found a group that I am heartened to go through this journey together with and which has inspired me in many ways. TPPDC has given me the chance and discipline to grow and to keep doing so for many more years down the road, in my dance journey.”