The LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE)

The LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE), located in Singapore, consists of eight schools in Fine Arts, Fashion, Film and Animation, Spatial and Product Design, Creative Industries, Contemporary Music, Design Communication, and Dance and Theatre. It offers various short courses, three-year diploma programs, as well as bachelor's and master's degree programs.

In the three-year diploma program at the LASALLE College of the Arts in the School of Dance and Theatre, the college is committed to cultivating the physical diversity of students in performance and creative expression and fostering reflective abilities to respond to the world through dance. The faculty team is composed of instructors and guest artists from various countries, integrating dance traditions from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States, teaching a variety of dance techniques, including street dance, jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance. The students at the school come from diverse backgrounds, with many having prior experience in ballet, hip-hop, or street dance before being introduced to contemporary dance upon enrollment. LASALLE offers courses in dance science, dance somatics, body movement methods, and performance techniques to enhance physical fitness and strengthen dance skills, proficiency, and expressiveness on stage.

LASALLE strongly emphasises artistic practice, providing students with various performance opportunities such as dance for the camera, community engagement projects, and site-specific dance creations. The college encourages collaboration between students and professionals from different disciplines, such as animation, film, fine arts, and music, to refine individual creativity and cultivate interdisciplinary collaboration skills.

"After our students participated in Camping Asia in 2019, they felt a tremendous energy and were greatly inspired, becoming more willing to experiment with different dance creation methods," shared Melissa, the Head of the School of Dance and Theatre at LASALLE. "This year, we are eager to understand the daily training of students from different countries, how they interact with their bodies, and their ideas about dance. We look forward to student-led morning classes and chatting with the participants during break times."

In this year's "Schools Marathon," LASALLE will showcase two fast-paced contemporary dance pieces choreographed by Malaysian instructor Fairul Zahid. The works encapsulate Malaysia's cultural background and dance elements, blending the modern world's vibrant and, at times, almost frenetic energy.

The first dance piece, "Tambului" (meaning visitor in the local language), draws inspiration from the Murut community in Sabah, northern Borneo. They believe offering food and gifts to spirits or visitors can indirectly bless themselves and their families. The second dance piece, "Topsy," is quirky and ever-changing, deliberately incorporating specific iconic dance steps and presenting the evolution, loss, and change of meaning in body language over time. Taking inspiration from the dance piece "Tambului," the first morning class by LASALLE will focus on experiencing "grounding" through the vocabulary of Malay dance. Based on street dance and the dancers' cultural backgrounds, the second morning class will allow everyone to experience the joy of "soaring self-expression."