[Swan lake ballet]
The sounds of Tchaikovsky's spruced up ballet Swan Lake took centrestage at Amjad. I was there on Friday to catch its Asian Premiere.

Not know what to expect, I went to read the media reports and found out that one thing the audience should catch is the guy that dances on pointe. When he appeared, I was elated and zoomed in on the nifty footwork. I noticed that his ballet shoes were gold in colour.

Amjad is the second dance performance that I caught since the Singapore Arts Festival opened last month. I had tickets and wanted to catch a work by the Singapore Dance Theatre but was unable to do so due to a family gathering. I heard they did well too. Well, maybe next year.

I felt that out of the two ballet shows that I caught, I preferred The Architecture of Silence to Amjad. Perhaps it was how The Architecture of Silence was depicted in the programme booklet - the descriptions were rich and managed to explain the concept of the dances.

For Amjad, I was particularly awed by the video projections and set that was designed by French-Canadian sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. The projections were showcased as transitory elements between dance routines.

The routines were choreographed by Edouard Lock, Founder, Artistic Director and choreographer of La La La Human Steps. Nine dancers took to the stage which I suppose is about love. Not to forget the people behind the music - there were many string instruments used including the violin.



Apart from the familiar strains of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, I loved the ending. The bass boomed throughout the hall with heartbeats, a female dancer lays still on the stage then the projected visuals flash through and then the whole performance ends in darkness.