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NDP 2021 to feature nearly 1,200 performers split across five sites

2021-08-18 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - About 600 performers will take to the stage in the show segment of the National Day Parade (NDP) this Saturday (Aug 21) at The Float @ Marina Bay.

This is down from over 3,000 performers in 2018, when the NDP was last performed at the floating platform - a scaling down necessitated by safe management measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The show will integrate virtual performances of nearly 600 participants from schools and community groups such as the People's Association and students from institutes of higher learning such as the National University of Singapore and Republic Polytechnic.

The performers include singer-songwriter Benjamin Kheng and Sezairi Sezali, said the NDP executive committee on Wednesday.

Award-winning film-maker Boo Junfeng reprises his role as creative director at this year's NDP, after directing the parade in 2018. For the first time, the parade will feature augmented reality and fully animated films.

The four-act show is designed for audiences watching from home on television, said the committee.

Through stories of Singaporeans from the past and present, the show will highlight the Singapore spirit and how these people remained resilient despite the challenges each generation has faced.

Live performances at the platform and animated short films will be blended throughout the show. This will be woven with pre-recorded performances at four satellite sites in Jewel Changi Airport, the National University of Singapore, Marina Barrage and Yio Chu Kang Stadium, to reduce physical contact among the performers.

Three new songs will be performed, including the NDP 2021 theme song The Road Ahead by singers Sezairi, Linying, Shabir Tabare Alam and Shye-Anne Brown.

Two original NDP songs, Breathing City by former Singapore Idol Sezairi and Spirits Anew by Aisyah Aziz, are also part of this year's line-up.

The show will be hosted by Joakim Gomez, Eswari Gunasagar, Fauzie Laily and Patricia Mok and divided into four acts: highlighting the hopes and aspirations, challenges, strength within and strength.

Performers on stage had to undergo testing for in-person rehearsals and monitor their health closely. They were also divided into smaller groups of up to 50 people and subdivided into smaller groups wherever possible, said the NDP 2021 Show Committee.

During the phase two (heightened alert) between May and June, participants also had to find creative ways to rehearse together as all practices went online.

Said Seng Kang Secondary School student Low Yi Jing, 15, who is featured in a virtual dance segment mainly choreographed by her and her fellow students: "We had to learn our routines through videos tutorials and Zoom sessions but met recently in June so we could regroup in person to clean our steps and meet the main choreographer".

Seng Kang Secondary School student Low Yi Jing is featured in a virtual dance segment mainly choreographed by her and her fellow students. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG