President Halimah Yacob delighted by dance concert put on by 400 ITE students

This article was contributed by the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

After a two-year hiatus, the annual ITE Dance Emblazon returned with some 400 ITE dancers in a highly charged performance from 30 Sep to 1 Oct. In its eighth year, the much-anticipated concert featured five dance genres including Hip Hop, Kpop, Malay Dance, Modern Contemporary and B-boy, performed by 11 dance groups from all three ITE Colleges. 

Under the artistic direction of Zaini Tahir, the ITE dancers and their choreographers explored the theme of “Emerging from the Embers”. The audience enjoyed the dynamic K-pop moves, sleek hip-hop grooves, traditional Malay dance steps and B-boy stunts interpreting the theme in different ways. Adding to the thrill of the comeback was the combined finale item, where selected dancers from all 11 ITE Dance groups danced together to show the fiery spirit of performers.

President Halimah Yacob encouraged the students with her presence as Guest-of-Honour: 

Muhammad Sufian Bin Mohd Amir, Higher Nitec in Visual Merchandising graduate, ITE College Central, started the B-boy CCA “Central Breakers” at ITE College Central when he was a student. He is currently studying a degree course at LASALLE. He is also the Instructor and Choreographer for “Central Breakers”, and even performed with the group during the concert. He said, “Over the years, the standards at ITE Dance Emblazon have evolved tremendously. The choreographers and dancers are now more open-minded. It is a platform for choreographers to display high levels of skill.”

Janelle Lee Jia Zhen and Jillian Lee Jia En are Nitec in Business Services students at ITE College West. The twins started learning ballet at the age of 8 and have achieved a dance scholarship under the Singapore Youth Ballet Company. They are part of the “ITE Modern Dance” group, which performed an inspiring piece titled “Hope Springs Eternal”. At ITE Dance Emblazon, they performed contemporary dance for the first time in a group.

The performers started intensively rehearsing for the concert from June this year. Despite having little to no opportunity to perform on stage in the last two years, they overcame the challenge with their tenacity and dedication. Not only do the students perform, they also take charge of various aspects of the production, including management, photography and videography. The popular dance concert attracted close to 3,000 audience members and tickets for the 1 Oct (Saturday) show were sold out within the first few days of sales.

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