19 May 2022
The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) returns on 20 May with The Anatomy of Performance - Ritual, a program that invites audiences to reflect on the rituals in performance through art.
The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) returns on 20 May with The Anatomy of Performance - Ritual, a program that invites audiences to reflect on the rituals in performance through art.
For more information, visit https://www.sifa.sg
‘Rituals are really at the center of creativity. Performance embodies rituals, and rituals are actually a way to organize performance. Rituals can be the conditions of time. Gestures and artefact guide rituals.’
'These conditions can be paralleled in our daily life, in our daily ceremonies. So, for instance, the grand matriarch’s 100th birthday celebration; time is duration, and gestures are the respect we are called to the guests. Artefact is what the grand matriarch is wearing or costumed in, which eventually becomes another layer of artefact that's captured in the family picture that then gets passed down for generations.'
‘Rituals are also evolving. We create our own rituals; while they might be influenced by custom and tradition, they're not bound to it. And we can define our own rituals, not only to shift our lives and our immediate surroundings, but also to create powerful performance,’ Natalie Hennedige, festival director for SIFA 2022 to 2024, said during a media briefing.