Developing Hybrid Moves was an almost insurmountable task, considering the show had to display the quintessence of ethnic hybridism and the finesse of contemporary dance.

In conjunction with the opening of the Baba house in 2008, the NUS Centre for the Arts has brought together six different dance groups to explore the theme of Peranakan culture and hybridism in Hybrid Moves, the first of a three-part show for this year’s Dance Reflections.

According to CFA Director Christine Khor, her inspiration for a hybrid theme had come from previous years’ Dance Reflections.

“I had already seen Baba (Peranakan) movements in the dances,” said Khor. “Every group was doing its own thing. There was not much integration.”

She explained that Baba movements in the dances made a Peranakan-hybrid theme seem like a good one for this year’s performance.

Peranakan or Baba are terms used for the descendants of the very early Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia who have adopted some Malay customs, dressing and language as part of their modern culture.

Peranakans have been typically characterized by their traditional dressing of the nonya kebaya, a translucent, figure-hugging, embroidered blouse worn with a batik sarong, a traditionally printed garment worn around the waist, resembling a long skirt.

“Usually people think of ethnic dances as boring,” said Khor. “And to me, contemporary dance should reflect what (present) society is.”

Khor, a former dance critic for the Straits Times, explained that the key to the performances was a successful fusion of traditional Peranakan culture and contemporary dance.

“It depends on how they (the dance groups) interpret it,” said Khor. “If they think about it, then it (Peranakan essence), would show.”

However, according to both dancers and choreographers, bringing out the essence of traditional Peranakan culture in a contemporary dance form is an uphill task.

Jennifer Goh, a dancer from NUS Dance Ensemble, said Dance Ensemble had used not only dance moves from Balinese culture to portray the hybrid nature of the Peranakan culture but also a combination of many other elements.

“Our choreographer got our costumes from Bali,” said Goh. “The materials used to make our costumes were actually brought back by him all the way from Bali.”

According to a few of the dancers and choreographers, there were “no official Peranakan dance moves,” hence most of the groups had taken a close approximation of the Peranakans’ Malay heritage and integrated either Malay or Balinese traditional dance moves into their various dance motifs.

Neo Shi Qin, dancer and president of NUS Dance Synergy, said that even though she had been involved in ethnic dances, preparing for Hybrid Moves was not easy.

“It was a new experience, but it was also very tough,” said Neo. “In the beginning, it could get pretty frustrating.”

Neo explained that traditional ethnic dances differ from contemporary dances in many aspects, including lines, moves and even form.  Ethnic dances tend to require more expression than contemporary dances, she added.

Resident choreographer of NUS Dance Synergy Fan Dong Kai, a graduate of Beijing Dance University, said it was “quite challenging” to use modern dance techniques to present traditional Peranakan culture.

“I visited Malacca many times, and the impression I got (of the Peranakan culture there) was that the mother was the most important in the family,” said Fan. “I had tried to use a lot of movements to show the mother scolding and (how) the mother is always powerful.”

According to Fan, his inspiration for the dance came predominantly from Malay folk music. “It gave me a lot of ideas,” said Fan. He explained that music was crucial to his dance, which depicts the growth of “naughty” Peranakans, from teenagers to adulthood and eventually death.

“My idea was to show (with the music), the naughty boy and the naughty girl,” said Fan.

Other ethnic dance groups also found the theme difficult, citing an initial lack of understanding of the Pernakan culture.

Santha Bhaskar, resident choreographer of the NUS Indian Dance, explained that her dancers were virtually unaware of the Peranakan culture.

“My students were 90% from India (Indian nationals). I had to use a poem (about Peranakans) to let them understand,” said Bhaskar. “After all, we all live in a hybrid society, even in India, so I told them to just think ‘unity in diversity’.”

Despite the challenges faced by the dancers and choreographers, many audience members praised the show.

Irene, who only wanted to be named as such, was one of the 40 members of The Peranakan Association who CFA had invited for the performance, said at the post-show reception that she had thoroughly enjoyed the show.

“It was fantastic, much more than what I expected,” she said. “Honestly, I haven’t seen anything better than this.”

Addison Wong,  final-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, agreed that the show was generally “quite good.”

“I thought it was very rooted in the Peranakan culture,” said Wong. “I felt that it (the Perenakan essence) came out very well.”

However, not all in the audience felt that the performance had lived up to their expectations.

Honours student Daniel Wang said he was “reasonably impressed,” but the performance was lacking in the Peranakan culture.

“At first I was quite sceptical,” said Wang. “After watching it, I found that it was not bad, just that I didn’t see much of the Peranakan culture.”

Bridget Chang, also a final-year honours student, echoed Wang’s views.

“I liked the lighting and the costumes,” said Chang. “But I think it is more of a fusion of cultures in Asia and not so much of the Peranakans.”

Dance Reflections gave its second performance, The Next Wave’ 07, on Sept. 21.

The final performance, [JAMUAN Bisu…PARAdis_e…?] by Dutch-Indonesian theatre maker Gerard Mosterd and choreographer Boi G Sakti, will be showcased on Sept. 28.