Entertainment

AsiaOne on air: Support local talent and enjoy concerts with Indian influence this weekend

March 23, 2017

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Our Party Girl is back after a little break partying overseas (but, of course!). She’s caught up with what’s on this weekend so here are her recommendations for you.

If you haven’t already caught some amazing performances at the NUS Arts Festival 2017 that’s been running for a week, this weekend is your final chance.

Over Friday and Saturday, you can catch a Bharatanatyam dance or a live animation and shadow play performance or an art rock band.

This is all in collaboration with international artists and our very own NUS students, so support promising local talent.

This is Santha Bhaskar. She is the artistic director of @nusindiandance.
She started learning #music and #dance when she was 3 – but she hated her lessons so much she feigned illness to avoid them!
It was her father who never gave up on her, turning San

This is Santha Bhaskar. She is the artistic director of @nusindiandance. She started learning #music and #dance when she was 3 – but she hated her lessons so much she feigned illness to avoid them! It was her father who never gave up on her, turning Santha into what she is today: a #Bharathanatyam #dancer, cultural medallion winner and 2016 National Day award winner. She is also a #mother of 3 and #grandmother to 4. Her late husband, an established dancer himself, was the founder of performing arts group Bhaskar’s Arts Academy. They moved to #Singapore from India during the colonial period, a time when #dance “suffered” due to lack of funding and support, Santha says. “At the time, Singaporeans did not understand there is a term in dance called #choreography. No one paid for choreography. It was a great challenge to educate the public about dance!” Through the tough times, she and other dance pioneers of her generation didn’t give up. They continued to practise, perform and teach even if it didn’t pay much. After all, Santha’s motto in life is to accept, adjust, accommodate and appreciate all situations. “Through our travels and work we became friends of other artists from other communities in Singapore and started collaborating as early as 1958. No one told us to do it,” she says. She thinks that the dance scene in Singapore is much more vibrant, and hopes that new dance productions will continue to flourish. “Dance is a celebration of life. Every particle in this universe is dancing. All our Gods are musicians and dancers. We made the Gods dance.” Watch Sambhvana 2.0, a dance choreographed by Santha, at UCC Theatre on March 24 & 25 at 8pm. The performance is part of #nusartsfestival2017. Because everybody has a different #story to what is perceived. #raw #whatmakesyou If you have a friend you think is awesome and has a cool experience to share, why not tag us @sphasiaone to let us know and we may feature them.
A post shared by AsiaOne (@sphasiaone) on Mar 21, 2017 at 10:08pm PDT

This is Zaini Tahir @zainitahir. He is a veteran #dancer and artistic director of the NUS Dance Ensemble.
He proves it’s never too late to discover your #talent – he only got into #dancing at 19 when he was in National Service.
He had auditioned for the

This is Zaini Tahir @zainitahir. He is a veteran #dancer and artistic director of the NUS Dance Ensemble. He proves it’s never too late to discover your #talent – he only got into #dancing at 19 when he was in National Service. He had auditioned for the SAF Music and Drama Company, decided he liked it (because his singing is “just okay”), continued pursuing it when he was studying @nus_singapore and started the @nusdanceensembl3. “I use #dance to exercise my creativity and connect myself with my community. It also keeps me slim and fit.” He lives by the adage “carpe diem” and believes that life is too short to waste it on regrets. Indeed – despite his late start to the sport, his milestones now includes being the only Asian selected for the Asian tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s @catsmusical. He has also been a judge on reality contest show Dance Singapore Dance. More recently, Zaini is behind the #nusartsfestival2017 opening show, Remember When… Catch the performance at NUS’ UCC Hall this Friday (March 17) at 8pm. Because everybody has a different #story to what is perceived. #raw #whatmakesyou If you have a friend you think is awesome and has a cool experience to share, why not tag us @sphasiaone to let us know and we may feature them.
A post shared by AsiaOne (@sphasiaone) on Mar 14, 2017 at 8:58pm PDT

Another show of promising local talent is at the School of the Arts where the winners of the annual SOTA Concerto Competition will make explosive music with the Orchestra of the Music Makers.

This is on Saturday from 7.30pm for $25.

For some international acts, also on Saturday is Josh The Band from Canada and Pakistan who have collaborated with Grammy award winner Nelly Furtado on some wicked remixes with Indian music.

It’s going to be an evening of Bhangra Beats at Magic Carpet Lounge on Beach Road from 8pm for $78.

If you want some unique rock music, the Sarvesh Festival of Arts, which is an Indian rock festival, will be having its own event at Wavehouse Sentosa from 4pm on Saturday.

Back to local talent, you can dance to some high quality drum and bass and jungle music at Peidra Negra on Haji Lane on Saturday.

It’s $10 cover on Level 2.

If you don’t know, now you know.

To catch Simi the Party Girl, listen to her on OneFM‘s #1 Breakfast Show with Glenn Ong and The Flying Dutchman on Thursday mornings.

Find out what she gets up to on AsiaOne’s social media! Follow @sphasiaone on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and @simiaut0matic on Snapchat.

spanaech@sph.com.sg