Q. What art disciplines are you currently involved in?
A. I have been involved in singing and dancing since a very young age. At school, I am a member of the St Cecilia Singers, as well as a solo singer, and have sung in local and school competitions. My main discipline would be dance, and I have been in the Dio Mega Crew for 3 years now, as well as newly joining Identity Dance Company in their crews MASQUE and YUNG ID.
Q. When and how did you find yourself involved in the arts?
A. I first got into performing arts through ballet at the age of six. I still remember my first day when my mum dropped me off at a ballet class, and I refused to go in. The class was filled with many people, and six-year-old me felt it would be too scary. Although it was quite daunting, I did end up inside and I’ve never regretted it, as it sparked my love for both movement and music. After 5 years of ballet, I transitioned into a new genre and found a different side of love for dance and have been doing hip-hop ever since Year 8. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember, whether it was on my mum’s phone following a karaoke track or taking lessons. I started singing lessons from the age of 9, singing Chinese contemporary songs mainly just for fun. I decided to start doing classical singing at Dio a year later after realising I wanted to take it more seriously and seeing how much joy it gave me.
Q. What benefits do you see from engaging in such a variety of arts mediums?
A. Engaging in a variety of art mediums helps me feel very well rounded in the arts because I am able to cross-utilise skills from each one. I am also able to form connections with many different and amazing people I can relate to. Dance challenges my mental endurance from the tough training and long performances on stage. Having good mental endurance benefits both singing solo and in a choir, as they also have long hours of practice that can feel fatiguing. I feel both mediums work together to make me a mentally positive and persevering person. All aspects of music require lots of attention to detail, especially choir. My ability to pick up specifics quickly, learnt from choir, also helps me pay attention to movement details in dance, which are useful for synchronisation in routines and the ability to pick up intricate choreography with speed. Singing solo benefits self-reliance and trust in myself, which also translates to trusting myself in groups such as dance crews or choirs. It trains me to do well, whether I am by myself or surrounded by my peers, making me an overall more confident performer. Along my arts journey, I am surrounded by many people who share similar interests as me. During long training and nerve-racking performances, the friends I make in the variety of art activities I do make hard times easier, as we support each other through them. Whether it’s through ballet, choir or hip-hop, I’ve made friends along the way that I can’t imagine my life without.
Q. As a stage performer, what tricks do you have for battling nerves before a performance?
A. It is completely normal for every performer to have nerves before performances, as it shows you care about it.
