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In what must probably be the most spectacular outdoor arts performance I’ve ever seen in Singapore, Studio Festi was in town for the National Museum of Singapore’s Night Festival on 18 & 19 July, and what a show it was!

“Studio Festi from Italy is internationally acclaimed for staging extraordinary large-scale outdoor theatrical performances, including the recent 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics in Macau.” - paraphrased from programme literature.

Here are some photos from the 9pm and 11pm performances held on 19 July. And true to an earlier piece of advice, I was down there armed with my tripod an hour before the actual performance. Though I managed to get a good spot directly across the road facing the museum, it also happened to rain; and if not for a kind gentleman who offered to share his umbrella with me, I would have been drenched. If you do visit my blog, I can’t say thank you enough for that kind gesture!

The museum all lighted up and ready for the performance.

Aerial Ballroom Dancing

The opening act featured two graceful ballroom dancers.

I love how she soars across the front of the museum, with her partner longing below.

In the Waters of the Sky

Next up was another aerial performance featuring a graceful dancer and a huge floating ship. What really made this performance magical was the soaring melody of Nessun Dorma that accompanied this act.

The Flying Piano

A grand piano and ballerina suspended in mid-air, dancing gracefully to a tune of the night.

The Progeny of Dreams

A long line of dancers 3 meters then paraded down Stamford Road, stopping in between to show off their magnificent dresses and artistic poses.

Like the Moon

Two dancers float and twirl around a huge moon, while the real moon probably watched from a distance in envy!

Harmony of the Spheres

The final act of the first half featured two giant spheres with dancers suspended from them floating above the onlooking crowd. The crowd was enthralled every time the dancers swooped down on them and reached towards their outstretched arms.

No less spectacular was the 2nd half of the performance that took place on the Campus Green of SMU. This time, the audience was right up there with the various performers stationed around the area, ensuring that nobody missed out on the action.

This performer was mimicking an early day explorer with his long telescope.

There were also two breathtaking dances featuring the contrasting elements of fire and water.

Water Dance

The water dance took place at the center of SMU Campus Green with a dancer performing acrobatics both on and in a huge glass bowl that was filled with water.

Fire Dance

The fire dance was performed by no less than 6 beautiful and exotic looking ladies stationed at different spots around the area who twirled flares, fire batons and fire umbrellas.

The whole performance ended around 1am and although I was exhausted from 4 hours of near continuous photo taking, I really enjoyed the shows nonetheless and hope that they come back to Singapore for an encore performance again next year!

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