The only anti-drug dance competition in Singapore is back with a more interesting theme for dance groups to express themselves. "Choreograph you life" is very open to interpretation - you can take it literally to narrate your life, or it could even mean you trying to pave the way of your life, hence "choreographing" your life.
Dance Works! is a competition aimed at youths to promote a healthy drug-free lifestyle through dancing. This is National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)'s 15th year of organising this dance event, with the competition standards being raised higher every year.
There are three categories to compete in. Category 1 is for students in primary schools and youths under 13. Category 2 is for students in secondary schools and youths between the ages 13-17. Category 3 is an open category for youths under age 25. There isn't a restricted genre of dance for this particular competition as you are judged by originality, technique and relevance to the anti-drug theme. In fact, some past winners have taken up cultural themes like Chinese and Indian dance and fused it into their choreography. There has yet to be a tap dancing troupe in this competition, which is a shame, really. So if there are any salseros, salseras, swingers or any other dancers who want to compete and show their finesse in their dance, no one is stopping you!
Last year's competition had 95 teams participating, so this year there may be more teams competing. It's definitely going to be tough when you have nearly 100 teams battling it out for a few spots in the semi-finals, and eventually, the finals. But it will be worth it, as the prizes are very attractive: the winners of category 1 wins $3000, category 2 winners walk away with $4000, and category 3 winners will get a whopping $5500!
Registration for the competition closes at Wednesday, 23 January 2013. The competition period is between February to April. Venue TBC.
Meanwhile, you can drop by Live it Loud's Facebook page here.
