Celebrating Life

Thank you

Dear all,

Esplanade celebrated our 10th Anniversary in 2012 with many programmes reaching out to people from all walks of life. We couldn’t have done this without your support and we would like to thank you for this. As the year has come to a close, we have wound down our 10th anniversary celebration activities. Thus, we will no longer be updating this website but we’ll definitely keep it for the memories and all your wonderful messages.

We are planning another year of great programmes for 2013 and hope you will continue to visit us at Esplanade. To follow our activities, please visit our main website.

Wishing you a joyous 2013!

With best wishes,
Esplanade

Esplanade's 10th anniversary in 2012

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay commemorated its 10th anniversary in 2012 with the theme Celebrating Life – The best of the Human Spirit through the Arts. A year-long presentation of arts performances and activities was launched that featured and paid tribute to 17 key values, each of which was embodied by an Esplanade Presents series or festival that best illustrated its essence.

Show more ↓

By foregrounding a different human value through the various Esplanade Presents programmes, we aimed at turning our audience's attention to what is dear in life. And as we rededicated ourselves in service to the community, we hope that everyone who joined us throughout the year was able to embrace those values and let the arts uplift their spirits.

CELEBRATING LIFE

Man is a paradox - he thinks, feels and acts according to an instinct for self-preservation as well as a nobler impulse of selflessness. This latter capacity is rooted in a deep caring for all life and gives rise to qualities such as compassion, courage, faith, hope and love, a respect for others and a capacity for gratitude and joy. These values form the basis of individual conduct as well as the foundation of societies. And it is these values that are constantly and continually realized and transmitted through the arts of different cultures.

Show more ↓

The arts serve several purposes in society. They challenge our concepts and beliefs and they generate awareness. They ground us in reality even as they inspire infinite possibilities. They set us apart as individuals while they connect us with each other. Most importantly, with everything that they do, they help us to newly appreciate the experience of being human.

CALENDAR

2012

Celebrate December 14 – 31 Dec Joy
Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 31 Dec Gratitude
Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts 27 Jan - 5 Feb Courage
Mosaic Music Festival 9 - 18 Mar Peace
A Tapestry of Sacred Music 27 – 29 Apr Faith
The Studios Apr – May / Jul – Sep Truth
Flipside 18 May – 3 Jun Fun
ConversAsians 31 May – 2 Jun Trust
Yfest and Baybeats 22 - 24 Jun & 29 Jun - 1 Jul Friendship
National Day Celebrations 8 – 12 Aug Harmony
Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts 7 – 16 Sep Grace
Moonfest – A Mid-Autumn Celebration 28 – 30 Sep Home
Octoburst! 5 – 7 Oct Hope
Dedicated to You 11 – 14 Oct Service
da:ns festival 19 – 28 Oct Love
A Date with Friends 15 – 18 Nov Respect
Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts 23 Nov – 2 Dec Passion

VALUES

Joy >>

Joy

Delight, elation, extreme gladness

More remarkable than happiness, more profound than pleasure, quieter than ecstasy and deeper than gladness, joy is an expansive radiant energy leading to a state of full, vital existence. It entails a trust in the benevolence of the universe and in the natural order of things. True joy is transformative. When we open our hearts to joy, we feel grounded, yet light. And we notice, with rapture, the beauty of sunrise, a baby’s smile and the small, ordinary, everyday miracles of life.

Celebrate December

(14 – 31 Dec)

Celebrate December is our year-end programme comprising musical performances and activities that offer a mix of entertainment, inspiration and reflection.

Gratitude >>

Gratitude

Being thankful; show appreciation

“The greatest of the virtues” and “parent of all others”, according to Cicero the Roman philosopher, gratitude has been throughout history a focal point of all the major religions. It is a learned process and needs intention and direction. And for gratitude to exist, there must first be the recognition of what is, an understanding that we have all that is necessary, an appreciation of the abundance that is already present in our lives. And consciously or unconsciously, the making of art is an act of gratitude. Taking from his community, country and imagination, the artist gives it all back in song and dance, stone and rhyme, in canvas and paper. Through his work, the artist celebrates, pays tribute and expresses his gratitude for life.

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown

(31 Dec)

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown invites Singaporeans to welcome the New Year in a meaningful celebration that includes music programmes, video dedications, a spectacular countdown fireworks display and a visual arts installation of 20,000 wishing spheres, lit and set afloat on Marina Bay, representing the hopes and dreams of the community.

Courage >>

Courage

Bravery, heroism, boldness; ability to disregard fear

Creating a work of art is an act of courage. In exploring new vocabularies, digging deep into the collective psyche, or uncovering new ways of approaching tradition and life, all forms of art-making demonstrate the mental and moral strength needed to persevere to create something which had not formerly existed before.

Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts

(27 Jan - 5 Feb)

In Chinese culture, there are countless narratives of courage extolled in song, drama and text. Huayi, as the first festival of the year to mark the Lunar New Year, summons the spirit of courage needed for the undertaking of every new endeavour. With 2012 also the Year of the Dragon, Huayi 2012 is a fitting reminder for us to embrace life with a greater sense of purpose and a dauntless spirit.

Peace >>

Peace

Tranquility, quiet; mutual harmony

Music has the ability to generate a sense of release and relaxation as well as bring people together, regardless of differences. In the individual with an open heart and mind, music can encourage a quiet attention, an awareness of the self and its place in the world, a reaching within and beyond the self to embrace humanity and all life.

Mosaic Music Festival

(9 - 18 Mar)

Our annual music festival, Mosaic Music Festival, brings audiences to the far corners of the world and deep into ourselves through music that will touch our emotions and lift our spirits.

Faith >>

Faith

Belief or full conviction without proof

Across continents and cultures, worship has almost always been accompanied by music. Meditative or passionate, improvised or notated, it holds truths and realities different from that of daily life. It goes beyond entertainment into the private realms of our hopes and fears, into the secret heart of our prayers, and takes us by the hand as we leap into the realm of faith.

A Tapestry of Sacred Music

(27 – 29 Apr)

Be it from antiquity or contemporary times, A Tapestry of Sacred Music invites audiences to embrace the rich sounds, colours and moods of sacred music from around the world.

Truth >>

Truth

Veracity, authenticity, in accord with fact or reality

Through the ages, the quest for truth has been an obsession particular to mankind. Yet today, even after the many discoveries of science, the Truth in all aspects of our lives, continues to elude us, slipping out of our grasp even as we gain new insights and learn new facts about the universe we live in. What matters is that we continue to pursue the truth or truths in all our undertakings.

The Studios

(Apr – May / Jul – Sep)

As a series that presents everything innovative and unconventional, from new music to contemporary dance, from experimental theatre to cutting-edge hybrid art-forms, The Studios explores themes, conventions and forms to uncover truths about art, thought, tradition, habit, belief, life and humanity.

Fun >>

Fun

Merriment, pleasure, mirth

Play is one of the most natural and instinctive things we do as animals, and helps keep us happy, healthy and sane as human beings. And one form of play is art. Structured or spontaneous, subversive or exploratory, absurd or joyful, art in its many forms provides infinite possibilities for creative expression and pleasure.

Flipside

(18 May – 3 Jun)

Welcoming participation from both children and adults alike, Flipside presents the lighter side of the arts with theatre, dance and music programmes that are often quirky, comic, imaginative and most of all, fun.

Trust >>

Trust

Conviction, assurance, confident expectation

All artistic creation is founded on trust. Between the artist and his collaborators who help bring the work to fruition, between the multiple individuals who are involved in the cycle of engagement and manifestation, trust forms a vital part of the nexus of human relationships. Beyond the creation, there must be trust between artist and audience, between artists and institutions. Just as the artist believes that the audience will trust in the integrity of his work, the audience expects that the work will be authentic and true.

ConversAsians

(31 May – 2 Jun)

ConversAsians seeks to spark new cycles of creation by bringing together arts producers, presenters and artists in a gathering where experiences of artistic journeys can be shared, deeper insights into the creative process can be gained and opportunities for closer ties can be forged for more fruitful collaborations and creation.

Friendship >>

Friendship

Fellowship, mutual affection, alliance

Man is by nature a social creature, for whom friendship is necessary for happiness. Through shared experiences of music, dance and theatre, connections are made that can lead to deepening of friendships. Friendships contribute to our social identity and through friendship, we find affirmation in our sense of self. In friendship, we fulfill our ability to love and our need to be loved.

Yfest and Baybeats

(22 - 24 Jun & 29 Jun - 1 Jul)

Yfest is a celebration of youthful creativity, innovation and expression through urban popular culture while Baybeats gathers young music lovers to enjoy various forms of music at Singapore's largest alternative and indie music festival.

Harmony >>

Harmony

Concord, agreement, rapport

Harmony is a relationship between two or more sources or elements, a relationship that brings about balance and enhances the value of each in the relationship. Meaningful art is brought about through the collective relationship between multiple elements. And the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, achieving a sense of beauty which each element in itself could never have done.

National Day Celebrations

(8 – 12 Aug)

National Day Celebrations at Esplanade marks our nation's history through a celebration of music, dance and theatre. Featuring traditional favourites as well as new works by home-grown talents, these stories and songs bind us in a shared appreciation of harmonious co-existence amidst Singapore's rich ethnic, religious and cultural diversity.

Grace >>

Grace

Poise, refinement, courteous goodwill

A lithe suppleness, a thoughtful courtesy, a blessing, a refined dignity, mercy – grace is the pleasing result of harmony between heart and action, mind and body, the human and the divine. It is the sum of all parts in perfect accord and balance. And art makes possible the expression of grace – in the harmonious composition of painting, in the poetry of a text, in the soothing notes of music and in the movements of a dancer. Art itself is grace, for it is a blessing bestowed on the audience by the artist, who has toiled that he might bring together body, mind and spirit to deeply engage and create a work of goodness, truth and beauty.

Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts

(7 – 16 Sep)

Malay arts is a fluid blend of narratives, sounds, movements and motifs, each full of grace and grounded in the sights, sounds and cyclical rhythms of the earth. In celebration of Hari Raya Puasa, Pesta Raya presents the best of both traditional and contemporary Malay music, dance and theatre from the Malay Archipelago.

Home >>

Home

Residence, a place of rest and care

Home is the place where we were born and raised, nurtured and educated before we went to school. Home is the refuge we retreat to with confidence that we will be comfortable, safe and secure, a space to rest. Home is where we draw our first sense of ourselves, of who we are and our place in the world. Art reminds us of our personal and collective histories, of who we are and where we came from, and connects us with ourselves and our community. Our art helps us find our place, and make our home.

Moonfest – A Mid-Autumn Celebration

(28 – 30 Sep)

To mark the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival, Moonfest brings families together to enjoy traditional and folk art. From opera to puppetry, folk dance to lantern riddles, classical to popular sentimental music, Moonfest unites the young and old, revisiting these art forms of our ancestors, thus connecting us with our roots, community and home.

Hope >>

Hope

Desire, wish, cause for optimism

Hope entails the belief that possibilities exist and that things will be better; it sustains us through our darkest times and is essential to our will and desire. It comforts us and stirs us to positive action, and amid challenges, it keeps us going. And art-making is founded on hope, that there can be sense, that there can be reconciliation, connection and meaning, that through it all, there can be triumph.

Octoburst!

(5 – 7 Oct)

Octoburst!, in honour of Children's Day, celebrates children and childhood through the exciting world of arts with its kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and textures to bring out the innate creativity and playful exuberance of our best hope for the future - our children.

Service >>

Service

Act of assisting another

All works of art are acts of service. In creating their art, artists hope to provoke thought and thoughtfulness, offering different perspectives even as they challenge current norms, sparking debate and spurring us towards a better world. And arts institutions facilitate this process, helping artists to create work and thereafter, creating the frames through which communication between artists and audiences can take place. Through this shared experience is born a community.

Dedicated to You

(11 – 14 Oct)

From paying tribute to those who have built our arts scene, to inviting artists to share their inspirational journeys, this special weekend consists entirely of new productions that have been commissioned just for you.

Love >>

Love

Intense desire or feeling

Of all our emotions, love has perhaps received the greatest attention. At one level primitive, mysterious and intense, at another, it moves individuals and whole communities to heights of divine ecstasy. In whatever form it takes, whether maternal or fraternal, romantic or compassionate, love in its most fundamental aspect reminds us that we cannot be alone, that we can be who we are, and celebrate life in all its glory, only when we are in a relationship with an other.

da:ns festival

(19 – 28 Oct)

Esplanade's da:ns festival invites one and all to fall in love with dance through social dance activities and multi-genre dance performances from around the world, and through the language of dance, to find renewed love for life itself.

Respect >>

Respect

Admiration, regard, deferential esteem

In offering different perspectives while inviting us to constructively engage with the world around us, the arts has the ability to move us to understand and fully appreciate others, especially those who are different from us, whether of a different time or place. We take them seriously and acknowledge their value. And at the most fundamental level, we may come to understand that in respecting someone, we honour a person not so much for what he has done but rather we respect the intrinsic worth and dignity of that person, that he is here.

A Date with Friends

(15 – 18 Nov)

Through music and song, A Date with Friends pays tribute to our senior citizens, their wealth of wisdom and lifetime of contribution.

Passion >>

Passion

Ardour, zeal, strong enthusiasm

A feeling that drives and burns, characterised by intensity and fervor, the word has its origins in the Latin “patior” which means to “suffer or endure”. It is passion that makes great art great, giving it colour, authenticity and integrity. It has given the world its greatest human creations and animates it with human vitality. When combined with reason, goodwill, direction and discipline, it leads to positive action. And in its all-consuming fire, the self is annihilated and one becomes part of an all-embracing life.

Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts

(23 Nov – 2 Dec)

Through a system that involves long years of rigorous training under discipleship, Indian arts is passed down from generation to generation, eliminating those without the stamina that passion demands. Kalaa Utsavam, in celebration of Deepavali, offers audiences an array of traditional and contemporary arts prorammes by renowned and up-and-coming artists from India and the Indian diaspora.

Download PDF in: English | Mandarin | Malay | Tamil

celebrating life

Artist in You

REFLECTIONS

Peace

Fun

Faith

Gratitude

Gratitude

Gratitude

Gratitude

Love

Lyrics: Beautiful Life by Corrinne May

Thank you

Esplanade's 10th anniversary in 2012

CELEBRATING LIFE

CALENDAR

VALUES

Joy >>

Joy

Delight, elation, extreme gladness

Celebrate December

Gratitude >>

Gratitude

Being thankful; show appreciation

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown

Courage >>

Courage

Bravery, heroism, boldness; ability to disregard fear

Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts

Peace >>

Peace

Tranquility, quiet; mutual harmony

Mosaic Music Festival

Faith >>

Faith

Belief or full conviction without proof

A Tapestry of Sacred Music

Truth >>

Truth

Veracity, authenticity, in accord with fact or reality

The Studios

Fun >>

Fun

Merriment, pleasure, mirth

Flipside

Trust >>

Trust

Conviction, assurance, confident expectation

ConversAsians

Friendship >>

Friendship

Fellowship, mutual affection, alliance

Yfest and Baybeats

Harmony >>

Harmony

Concord, agreement, rapport

National Day Celebrations

Grace >>

Grace

Poise, refinement, courteous goodwill

Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts

Home >>

Home

Residence, a place of rest and care

Moonfest – A Mid-Autumn Celebration

Hope >>

Hope

Desire, wish, cause for optimism

Octoburst!

Service >>

Service

Act of assisting another

Dedicated to You

Love >>

Love

Intense desire or feeling

da:ns festival

Respect >>

Respect

Admiration, regard, deferential esteem