NEWS WRITING

FA1
Field Assignment One

Nah Min Ning

T202 | S10172472A
Headline

Momentum 2017- Big Hit, Bigger Purpose

Stand First:

Republic Polytechnics Momentum Dance Festival celebrates 10th anniversary with aims of

promoting dance beyond entertainment.

By Line

By Nah Min Ning

Story

With over 2,000 attendees, 15 dance groups and an Elemental theme, Republic Polytechnic

celebrated Momentums 10th anniversary last weekend, fostering greater interest in dance. (24)

Held on May 19 and 20 at The Republic Cultural Centre Theatre, Momentum 2017s showcase

featured eight dances from 15 finest tertiary education dance groups, resulting in a record

turnout with all 2,222 tickets sold out two weeks before the event. Elemental is this years

theme, a reference to using various cultures to showcase the contrast between fundamental

dance elements like classical ballet and modern dance styles like hip hop.

Besides being a big event, Momentum has a greater agenda of making more Singaporeans

interested in dance. Zaini Mohammad Tahir, founder and producer of Momentum, aims to

make street culture into a higher art form more acceptable to the public. With tickets priced at

just S$10, Momentum is not commercialised and Tahir said that they do it for the arts and

that arts invite conversation. Showing that Momentum goes beyond just dance moves, Tahir

said, For me, a good art is something that creates a certain amount of conversation- that means

it goes beyond just entertainment.

2
The dances ranged from modernised Malay dance moves by RP Modern Dance to a traditional

Indian dance piece featuring classic, graceful movements by NUS Indian Dance members. The

Indian dance piece is an uplifting performance showcasing the festivity cheer of welcoming

Ganesha, the Hindu god of harvest. Being a favourite of Ms Nadira Bte Murad who had

attended the event for the third year, she noted that while simple, the dance was interesting and

captivating.

Beyond just entertainment, Momentum also provides a greater, intangible value to dancers -

friendships. For Chanel Ma Cheng Yu, a student performer of hip-hop group SMU Eurythmix,

it was through dance that she met her closest friends and even her boyfriend. In her words,

"dance is like a community, and dancers continue dancing because of the people, not because

of dance itself .

Adding on, Ms Wong Li Wern, festival producer of Momentum 2017, said, Dance is not just

for dancers everybody can be a dancer in their own way. Like how the harvest song

showcased a celebration of a community, she suggests that dance is something that is in the

community and is part of life but yet is often a far-fetched [idea] for Singaporeans. Hence,

Momentum aims to bridge the community to the arts.

Parent to a dancer, Mr Dave Nitin supports events like Momentum promoting encouragement

and interest for dance in Singapore. Mr Dave added that while the Singapore dance scene has

yet to attain world-wide recognition, promotions in the field of art is going to help

Singaporeans reach a pinnacle of success.

455 words