Press Releases
Singapore Youth Festival 2010 - Showcasing our Schools’ Diverse Arts Talents
Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) 2010 promises to be a feast for the senses as more than 10,000 youths from more than 70 schools come together to showcase their arts talents and celebrate the achievements of our schools’ diverse arts education offerings.
Torch of Friendship
This year’s theme, “Torch of Friendship”, exemplifies our youths’ desire to propagate what is best for self and others.
The theme also aptly reflects how SYF 2010 will extend this torch of friendship to the international athletes, officials and spectators gathered here in Singapore for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). SYF 2010 will extend into August and our international guests will have the opportunity to watch various performances, including instrumental ensembles, dance presentations as well as outdoor performances at Raffles City and the National Library.
Students from the Australian International School in Singapore will be performing in SYF 2010. There will also be participation by nine foreign groups. The foreign groups include concert bands from Kureha Elementary School (Japan) and Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Melbourne (Australia), display band from Victoria Institution Cadet Corps (Malaysia), Chinese orchestra from Cui Wei School (Beijing), choir from Hong Kong Children’s Choir, dance groups from Taipei National University of the Arts and Northeast Normal University 东北师范大学 (People’s Republic of China) as well as instrumental ensembles from Rajinibon School (Thailand) and Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Talam (Malaysia).
Opening Ceremony Highlights
About 2,800 students from more than 25 schools will participate in the Opening Ceremony on 3 July. More than 14,000 spectators are expected.
The Opening Ceremony will feature, for the first time in SYF history, a parade band comprising primary school pupils. Two primary school bands, Bendemeer Primary School and Maha Bodhi School, were chosen to form this special parade band. Another first ever item is the all-boys mass display performance entitled ‘Awakening’ to be staged by 340 students from Catholic High School.
Other highlights include Broadway style dances and fusion dances incorporating Chinese kung-fu and street dance elements performed by 45 primary school students. There will also be special effects to create the illusion of the dancers in flight.
500 free tickets will be available to the public to join in the festivities of the Opening Ceremony and witness the vibrancy, and talents of our youths. The tickets can be obtained from the Co-Curricular Activities Branch reception counter at Evans Road on a first-come first-served basis on 29 June at 9am.
Diverse Arts Education Offerings
SYF seeks to be a platform to illustrate the range of arts programmes offered in our schools and showcase our students’ achievements in the arts.
More than 50 works by secondary and JC students in varied art media such as painting, ceramics, photography and animation will be displayed in the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) from 23 July to 22 August.
SYF 2010 will continue to bring the sights and sounds of the celebration outdoors, and will also be staged at various venues like IMM building, Botanic Gardens, Toa Payoh HDB Hub, Ngee Ann City, Raffles City and The National Library. For the first time, instead of a closing ceremony, SYF will close with an outreach event at the National Library, showcasing vibrant performances by our youths and a special performance by the rock band from Australian International School.
Background
The SYF is organised annually to showcase the myriad of talents of our students in the performing arts, sports and uniformed groups. Since its inception in 1966, the SYF has played an important role in providing a platform for students to hone their different skills. Through participation in the various SYF activities, students are offered the opportunity to develop social skills and build bonds with teammates of different social and ethnic backgrounds.
The SYF this year takes place over two periods: April-May and July- August. The April-May period was the Central Judging exercise where various performing arts groups in schools (band, Chinese orchestra, choir, dance, drama and instrumental ensembles) are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze awards based on their performances. The outstanding items are among those that have been selected for showcase in the July-August festival.
Additional information about the SYF performances can be found at www.singaporeyouthfestival.sg