O School’s recent dance production at Marina Bay Sands was a stirring showcase of talent in motion.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF O SCHOOL.
Love. Laughter. Struggle.
In the 90-minute dance spectacle Wonderment, staged at Marina Bay Sands over the weekend of Aug. 16 and 17, the students of O School and the O Crew wowed and won audiences over with a dynamic, stirring performance.
Produced by local performing arts center O School, Wonderment marks a milestone in its history, being its first large-scale production organized at MBS.
With a cast of over 80, Wonderment showcased some of the brightest talents in the Singapore dance scene, including special guest star Amin Alifin from the winning team of this year’s Gatsby Dance Competition Asia Grand Finals held in Tokyo, Japan.
Kenny Low, managing director of O School, said, “We were encouraged by the opportunity to stage a 90-minute act in a world-class venue and facility and to work alongside MBS’ highly professional theatre team. To be able to perform at the Marina Bay Sands theatre is both an acknowledgement of our hard work for this seven years as well as a humbling experience for all of us.”
Wonderment tells the tale of a man’s (played by Alifin) journey of rediscovering the little wonders in life. In the ever-increasing monotony and frustration of a life lived in the fast lane, he is taken by an unknown, yet familiar boy (played by up-and-coming 12-year-old singer Miguel Antonio) to a whimsical world where he is reminded of the simple joys of life.
The no-dialogue production portrayed the cold hard pursuits of individuals, who fill their lives with work. With a storyline that touches the heart, Wonderment successfully enveloped the audience in the whimsy of the tale, carrying them through every single emotion the leads portrayed.
“We took two months to prepare for the show,” Low told City News. “That itself is a wonderment!”
Boasting dazzling costumes, the evocative choreography vividly portrayed the ups and downs of life—the joys of pillow fights, the laughter clowns bring, the struggles of loneliness.
The audience emerged from the show exuberant. Xueni Yeo, 22, a secretary, said, “The dancers were captivating, both as a whole and in their individual performances.”
Low said, “We are thankful to the voluntary cast members, technical and makeup teams, our guests who took time to come and support our show as well as the numerous positive reviews of Wonderment in the social media by the public.”
