Consciousness is never fixed: our instinctive perceptions and conscious responsiveness always evolve, each one building on the chances and choices we encounter in our lives. Starting from points of confusion and uncertainty, our consciousness can pivot towards innovations of form and function or shift the weight of our personal focus without needing pre-determined processes, defined outputs, or even the need for an ‘end’ goal. By following its integrity and freedom, the movement of our individual and collective consciousness can balance the demands of resilience and promises of refinement.
In reconstructing movement in this new world order, the dialectical inquiry of our body-mind with its instincts and reflections has much to offer. Even if art may not result in tangible “real-world” changes, its potential to influence human consciousness can lead to unexpected adjustments and modifications thereafter. By exploring different approaches to the art of balance and balancing, we can pioneer new models of body-mind awareness without the need to rush towards productivity. But rather than arrive at a method of achieving equilibrium, it is the distributed activity of acting and counteracting, of calibrating momentums, and of (re)directing motions that can inspire an enhanced consciousness to engage with present and emerging challenges ahead.
RawGround (RG) promulgates a curated mini-showcase that nurtures dialogue through the trajectory of widening our perception of daily life. The short films are conducted by artists and practitioners of diverse disciplines, each reinstating the scope of aesthetics of the everyday.
RawGround: 2 Films, 1 Conversation, is a 10-day hybrid event featuring five artists presenting ten films. It explores urban life’s rush and how we hold onto ourselves. Our memories and senses become guides, leading us through this exciting adventure. As we ponder the beauty of life, RawGround stands as a platform for transformation and fostering a communion of thoughts and perspectives.
Artists
Mark Wang (Taiwan/Netherlands)
Lip Chiong (Singapore)
Matthew Goh (Singapore)
Line Krom (Germany)
Takako Hamano (Japan/Netherlands)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Programme Partner
International Supporters
Join us for a captivating 3-Day art-filled event, where this year’s artists will debut their films and share insight into their creative processes and artistic practice.
Date
14th Feb (Fri) – 16th Feb (Sun) 2025
Venue
*SCAPE – Gallery Level 5 / RAW Moves Studio
Tickets
Can’t attend in person? Then join us in the digital iteration of
RawGround 2025. Our website will feature all of this year’s films and past editions of RawGround.
Date
17th Feb (Mon) – 23rd Feb (Sun) 2025
Website
Our programme for children/teens with different abilities, encourages young dancers to discover more about themselves, moving beyond the boundaries of conventional methodology in dance learning through the practice of creative movement.
Stacked Stories, is a captivating movement-theatre performance that explores the delicate balance between reflection and the shifting interplay of stability and instability that shapes our lives. It celebrates diversity, strength and the resilience of the human spirit, with performers of various abilities contributing unique perspectives to the storytelling.
Date / Time
1st Dec 2024 (Sun)
12:30pm & 3:30pm
Venue
Punggol Regional Library
Atrium (Level 1)
1 Punggol Drive, One Punggol, S828629
Tickets
Free Admission
Watch it here
Run Another Way (RUN) is a movement clinic that functions as an unconventional work in an unusual theatre setting. It serves to create opportunities for the public to engage, participate and interact in the dance-making.
Discover the melodic flux of movement and calm in Still in Motion, an immersive movement performance by conceptualiser Andy Lee from Unlock Dancing Plaza (Hong Kong), who will be partnering with movement collaborator, Matthew Goh from RAW Moves (Singapore).
Get ready to explore the fascinating interplay between movement and stillness – seemingly opposite forces that coexist in our everyday urban lives, which is akin to a passenger journeying on the moving bus, while seated in a stationary position, or the constant crashing of the waves yet so tranquil to the mind.
Through such everyday experiences, Andy invites us to contemplate:
How do we find stillness through movement?
And how do we find movement through stillness?
A Transcendent Journey Across Borders
From the bustling cities of Hong Kong and Singapore, how do we converge in this transcendental experience, journeying through the vibrational rhythms of everyday life?
This performance will challenge your perceptions where cultural expressions set against a backdrop of soothing sounds, visuals, and movement, illuminating our shared humanity.
Connect With A Spontaneous Experience
“Still in Motion” is not just a performance; it is a contemplative journey inviting your elective participation. Join us in a collective exploration as we see the world through a lens of imagination and reflect on the delicate balance between movement and stillness.
Conceptualiser
Andy Lee (Hong Kong)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Creative Partners
International Supporters
Date / Time
26th – 28th September 2024, 8pm
Venue
Aliwal Arts Centre
Multi-Purpose Hall
28 Aliwal Street S199918
Watch it here
International expands our unique repertoire of works to a global audience.
Unlock Dancing Plaza invited RAW Moves to present a HK/SG Edition of RawGround: Breathing in Hong Kong as part of the Unlock Body lab Open Research Week on 1 – 6 April 2024 with support from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. It featured 4 dance films from 2 artists, Andy Lee (Hong Kong) and Matthew Goh (Singapore).
The Unlock Body lab: Open Research Week focuses on multilateral learning, experimentation, and propagating opportunities for exchange between artists of diverse disciplines. The event included open rehearsals, workshops, performances, and discussions engaging the public in a collaborative dialogue.
Organisations and artists from various disciplines – Sound, Visual, Film and Movement – include Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, Lawrence Lau, Dick Wong, Keving Ling and Steve Li.
Creator/Conceptualiser
Andy Lee (Hong Kong) & Matthew Goh (Singapore)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Date / Time
1 – 6 April 2024
Venue
Unlock Dancing Plaza, Wah Mow Factory Building
International expands our unique repertoire of works to a global audience.
October 2024
Taiwan – RawGround: Breathing
(TW/SG edition)
Synopsis
We live in a time of unprecedented technological development. From ancient stone tools all the way to the computers that we use to work and live, we have always possessed the innate desire to progress and advance. We’ve come far enough that we’ve begun to trust in our computers in ways that we wouldn’t trust another human being.
As we further develop these systems, could we one day ask the machine to interpret our dreams? Can we see ourselves in the machines we use? Can we ground ourselves in the ‘now’ to catch a glimpse of possible futures?
Glitch examines & meditates on man’s relationship with the machines we live with.
Creator/Conceptualiser
Wu Jun Han (Singapore)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Movement Collaborator
Ricky Sim
Performers
Matthew Goh
Natasha Fawzi
Kang Minchae (Intern)
Understudy
Alden Wong (Intern)
Date / Time
1 to 3 September 2022, 8pm
Venue
Watch it here
Synopsis
In adolescence, arguably a huge aspect of growing up concerns the establishment of one’s identity. As both an individual and social phenomenon, adolescents navigate this process of identity formation by experimenting with possible self- identities, seeking significance in their relationships with others and their place in the world.
But what happens when this process is disrupted and interrupted by the isolating experience of living and schooling in a pandemic? How does both the distancing of oneself from others, and the increasingly enclosed space of home, affect the direction and outcome of their identity development?
Bringing together young movers from diverse abilities and backgrounds, In/Out provides a creative and experimental outlet for A Little RAW (ALR) Company where youths develop and pursue their personal reflections with each other’s assistance. We invite you to witness this evolving and interactive space that promotes expression and connection over shared questions of identity, in a time of disruption and distance.
Co-Directors
Wong Wai Yee and Ricky Sim
Conceptuliser/Performers
Annika Mei Das, Choo Qian Ning, Ellyssa Yeo, Estelle Yeo, Eunice Loh, Gabrielle Chia, Lee En Jie
Facilitators
Matthew Goh, Natasha Fawzi
Date / Time
6 Aug 2022, 7pm | 7 Aug 2022, 1pm & 5pm
Venue
Watch it here
“How has your internal ‘tempo’ changed over the past two years?”
Covid has forced us to adapt to new and unexpected circumstances, resulting in the disruption of pacing within and between people. Consciously or unconsciously, we have had to adjust our inner timings and rhythms to fit this uncertainty. As parts of the world stop and start, open up and lock down, the effects continue.
The artists conducted sessions exploring how participants’ pacing has changed between three periods of time: pre-Covid, the heaviest lockdowns and now. Through a series of sessions involving discussion alongside movement, sound and visual experiments, each participant compiled their own collection of pacing graphs. We combined the graphs with those of other participants to find patterns that led to the creation of immersive performances by the RAW Moves dancers.
Creator/Conceptualiser
Murasaki Penguin (Australia/Japan)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Part of YPAM Fringe 2023
Date / Time
15 – 17 December 2023
Venue
Murasaki Penguin Project Totsuka Theatre, Yokohama
Research & Development (R&D) promotes creative investigation in a curated practice, with an emphasis on unveiling the creative process and methodologies through archiving and performance.
How often do you think about breathing?
A Sense of Air navigates the relationship between our state of mind and the ways air moves through us. RAW Moves, together with conceptualiser Andy Pang, follows a research process involving dance and puppetry that reflects the different layers of self-awareness, empathy, and environmental consciousness in relation to one’s breathing. In this journey of introspection, we invite you to discover how your breath can connect with the self, society, and the environment.
Creator/Conceptualiser
Andy Pang (Singapore)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Date / Time
4 August 2023, 8pm
5 August 2023, 3pm & 8pm
Venue
Watch it here
RAW Project (RP) features commissions and reprised works with the intent to infuse diverse movement aesthetics into the local arts industry.
Experience a captivating exploration of the intersections between the wisdom of elders and the vibrance of youth. “Symbiosis” invites you to witness the dynamic between generations, revealing the enduring value of elder wisdom through the lens of contemporary challenges.
Music by SAtheCollective
Natalie Tse (Guzheng & Electronics)
Brian O’Reilly (Cello and electronics)
Christoven (Viola and abstract objects)
Movement collaborators – RAW Moves
Audrey Desmond
Matthew Goh
Wong Wai Yee
Ricky Sim
Digital multimedia
Keith Chia
Date/Time
1 March 2024: 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Venue
RAW Moves Studio
Wendy Mack (Singapore)
Lim Ci Xuan (Singapore)
Ashley Ho (Singapore/Netherland)
Rachelle Lee (Singapore)
Ke Yu-Fang (Taiwan)
Teoh Jie Yu (Singapore)
Matthew Goh (Singapore)
Natasha Fawzi (Singapore)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Physical Event (10 to 12 February 2023)
10 February 2023
Premiere of 12 films and Artist Sharing
Duration: 7:00 to 10:00pm (3 hours)
11 February 2023
Workshop 1: Wendy Mack (Singapore)
Art form: Craft + Discussion
Duration: 3:00 to 5:00pm (2 hours)
Description: Botanical Soap-Crafting
Workshop 2: Ashley Ho (Singapore/Netherlands)
Art form: Movement + Discussion
Duration: 7:00 to 9pm (2 hours)
Description: How do we begin to dance?
12 February 2023
Workshop 3: Matthew Goh (Singapore)
Art form: Movement + Text
Duration: 10:00 to 12pm (2 hours)
Description: Moving memories
Workshop 4: Ke Yu-Fang (Taiwan)
Art form: Movement + Film
Duration: 1:00 to 3:00pm (2 hours)
Description: Body Mapping
Workshop 5: Lim Ci Xuan & Teoh Jie Yu (Singapore)
Art form: Applied Drama + Discussion
Duration: 4:00 to 6:00pm (2 hours)
Description: Trauma and its invisibility
Digital Event (13 to 19 February 2023)
Watch it here
Run Another Way (RUN) is a movement clinic that functions as an unconventional work in an unusual theatre setting. It serves to create opportunities for the public to engage, participate and interact in the dance-making.
Synopsis
“How has your internal ‘tempo’ changed over the past two years?”
Stutter examines how the pandemic has forced us to adapt to new and unexpected circumstances, resulting in the disruption of pacing within and between people. Consciously and unconsciously we have had to adjust our inner timings and rhythms to fit this uncertainty. As parts of the world stop and start, open up and lock down, the effects continue.
Creator/Conceptualiser
Murasaki Penguin
Choreographer
Anna Kuroda (Japan)
Sound/multimedia
David Kirkpatrick (Australia)
Dramaturg
Dr Nidya Shanthini Manokara
Performers
Matthew Goh
Audrey Desmond
Date / Time
1 to 3 December 2022, 8pm
Venue
Watch it here
Goodman Arts Centre
90 Goodman Road, Block B, #01-08
Singapore (439053)
Office: 9362 9931
Email: rawmoves.main@gmail.com
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