Rojak Dancin : welcome to the hood

Abstract

Dance is a language and has the potential to tell stories. Street Dance in particular is vernacular in nature and reflects the state of a society through a series of body movements. The development of the Singapore’s street dance culture was briefly interrupted and cracked down in the 1980s for social reasons but has seen a revival in the 21st century and is gaining traction once more with an increasing number of groups and individuals competing abroad and winning awards. Largely undocumented, the Singapore’s Street Dance culture depends on the word of mouth amongst professional dancers to keep the dance scene alive. ‘Rojak Dancin - Welcome to the Hood’ is therefore an attempt to trace, document and conserve an evolving subculture that contributes to the Singapore’s cultural identity.