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Though Singapore carries a reputation for rigidness, 12 dancers led by Eighth-and-Fitzwater-streets resident Olive Prince will touchdown in the country later this month and express themselves freely. The group, part of Drexel University’s Dance Ensemble, will be performing Prince’s piece “Sea of Glass” as part of the 45th annual Singapore Youth Festival.
“It’s an international youth festival and we are the only group that is coming from the United States,” Prince, 33, said. “There are companies coming from Australia and China, from all over really. It’s about the students and their creative work, and youth being creative and having a creative discussion. And celebrating those things.”
Prince, who is a dancer with Kun-Yang Lin Dancers, 1316 S. Ninth St., among other companies, and an assistant teaching professor of dance for Drexel University’s dance program, will be accompanying the aspiring dozen nearly 10,000 miles across the globe in order to take the stage and steep in some culture.
“The students are so excited. It’s a big opportunity for them. They had to audition to be in the piece and be a part of it. We chose 12 to represent us that were advanced enough to be in the work and to represent Drexel and the United States in this festival as dancers and artists,” Prince said, adding that the ensemble boasts close to 80 members. “We have been working really hard to get this piece [completed] really quickly and we are really excited.”
With inspiration from local artist Summer Yates and her glass mobiles — which will accompany the dancers onstage when they perform the same piece in Drexel’s biannual showcase in February 2012 — Prince choreographed the work to be about reflections, unions and the breaking of bonds.
“It’s the form of that imagery, the breaking mirrors, glass breaking, reflections. It’s about partnerships, unions, about fracturing and breaking. These are the topics we will be exploring in the piece, which will be about seven minutes,” Prince said. “There is also a student making an original composition for the piece, Brendan Boost.”
The group departs July 15 and will be traveling for seven days, although they only perform in one dance showcase. The extra time will be used to learn from the local traditions and the other festival participants.
“We will be there for one week. We perform one night. When we get there we have rehearsals, tech rehearsals,” Prince, who visited Singapore in ’09 as part of Dance Advance, said. “We will be having the opportunity to see the other artwork that is part of the festival. We have two days where we are going to be exploring different areas like the botanical gardens.”
Originally from Rochester, N.Y., Prince came to the area when she pursued an MFA in dance from Temple University. Moving to the area five years ago, she has resided in her Bella Vista spot for the last couple of years.
“I completed the MFA in 2005 and since that time I’ve been performing with companies in the area and teaching at various universities,” Prince, who started dancing at age 12, said. “I was really into dance and movement and begged my parents to sign me up for dance classes until they finally did. Like many people, I danced at my local studio and started taking it more serious at college.”
Prince is now going into her fourth year on faculty as part of the dance department at Drexel University, headed by program director Dr. Miriam Giguere. The Dance Ensemble, however, has been in existence for more than 30 years.
“[The Ensemble] does include dance majors but it is anyone else in the Drexel community. Nursing to engineers to graduate students are part of this company,” Prince said.
Prince is also the director of the Drexel University Youth Performance Exchange, which sends dancers into local inner-city schools to perform and choreograph pieces with students that they later perform on Drexel’s stage for family and friends.
“There are approximately 20 schools in the area that we go to each Friday … We give art and dance education, bring it into the elementary schools,” Prince said, adding the program has worked for two years with Abigail Vare, 1621 E. Moyamensing Ave. “In addition, we choose three to four middle schools for a 10-week intensive. We send Drexel students out to choreograph with their students and then bring them to Mandell Theater, where they perform.”
As the students selected to venture to Singapore next week continue with intense rehearsals and packing suitcases for their travels, Prince is as excited as the troupe for what is to come.
“I think the biggest thing is having the students not only represent themselves well in regards to performing and artistic and creative work, but also they get to bring back the influences of seeing so many different cultures,” Prince said. “They will get to see how creativity can go beyond culture and how it can be used in all these different ways. It will be an amazing learning opportunity and performing opportunity. They will get so much from being able to perform well in this new, demanding venue.
“I hope they feel proud of what they do.” SPR
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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