The Singapore Ballet (formerly known as Singapore Dance Theatre) is Singapore's national dance company, founded in 1988 by Anthony Then and Goh Soo Khim. The Artistic Director of the company is Janek Schergen.
History
It made its debut in June 1988 at the Singapore Festival of The Arts as the Singapore Dance Theatre and received its first arts patronage by the then-Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Ong Teng Cheong.
Initially, SDT started with a group of seven ballet dancers in a modest dance studio on the second story of a creaky colonial bungalow on Killiney Road. This studio space was shared by the Singapore Ballet Academy and the SDT's dancers could only train in between the Academy's rehearsal schedules on normal days. The building's condition was poor and dancers often had to be careful with their movements lest the floorboards gave way. On rainy days, the studio would experience leaking roofs and had to put buckets at the corner of the studio, to collect the rainwater.
In 1991 SDT moved to the Fort Canning Centre in Fort Canning Park. As of 2013, SDT moved to purpose-built headquarters on Victoria Street. The new premises have four large studios and better facilities for the dancers and staff. On 12 July 2013, the new SDT headquarters was officially opened with the Silver Legacy Gala by presided over by President Dr. Tony Tan. SDT now consists of 37 dancers. It receives funding from both public and private sources such as the National Arts Council, as well as corporate and private donations.
On 10 December 2021, it was announced that Singapore Dance Theatre was renamed Singapore Ballet, in an effort to bridge the audience's expectations of their performances. This was done with its board of directors' approval and after a discussion with the National Arts Council.
It has six seasons in a year, including performances at the Esplanade Theatre and the Fort Canning Green, where its hugely popular Ballet Under The Stars (BUTS) series of outdoor performances are staged. BUTS has, to date, attracted over 180,000 spectators from all walks of life.
Repertoire
The company's repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary ballet, from world-renowned choreographers. They also have done several full-length ballets in their history with The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Giselle, Madame Butterfly, La Sylphide, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and the contemporary work Reminiscing the Moon, choreographed by Boi Sakti, commissioned for the opening of the Esplanade in 2002.
In 2010 the company performed Giselle in Victoria Theatre and a new staging of Sleeping Beauty at the Esplanade Theatre in December. SDT adds four to six new works in each season coming from choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Edwaard Liang, Nils Christe, Kinsun Chan, Timothy Harbour, Christina Chan, Timothy Rushton, as well as the children's ballet Peter and Blue's series created especially for young audiences by the company's Artistic Director, Janek Schergen. SDT presented company premieres of George Balanchine's ballets Concerto Barocco, Serenade, Allegro Brillante, Divertimento No. 15, Theme and Variations, Rubies, and The Four Temperaments between 2009 and 2017.