Singapore Youth Festival
An annual event organised by the Ministry of Education, it aims to celebrate the achievements of Singapore's students in the performing arts through their co-curricular activities (CCA). Students are known to work very hard from the beginning of the year to perform in the event in July, hoping to achieve a Gold with Honours award for their performances.
In St Nicholas Girls' School, for example, there are students in the Dance, String Orchestra, Band and other performing arts CCAs, who practice and train right from the beginning of the year, even for Secondary Four pupils, who will have to take the national GCE O Levels examinations at the end of the year. Despite their academic workload, many are proud to take part in the SYF and aim to achieve Gold with Honours. The SYF standards set by the school are high, and many hope to live up to that standard.
For the girls who have not taken part in the SYF, they do not feel discouraged about not being selected to perform in this prestigious event. Instead, they feel it is exciting and are inspired by their seniors who take part. They want to work harder in order to be able to perform for this event, and also hope to achieve the Gold with Honours award.
Yet for them it is not just the award they want - they also hope to take away with them the experience and joy of performing. They want to improve themselves as performers and, at the same time, treasure the bonds that they have developed with their friends in the same CCA. Even if they do not win Gold with Honours, they strive to work harder for future SYFs.
In St Nicholas Girls' School, for example, there are students in the Dance, String Orchestra, Band and other performing arts CCAs, who practice and train right from the beginning of the year, even for Secondary Four pupils, who will have to take the national GCE O Levels examinations at the end of the year. Despite their academic workload, many are proud to take part in the SYF and aim to achieve Gold with Honours. The SYF standards set by the school are high, and many hope to live up to that standard.
For the girls who have not taken part in the SYF, they do not feel discouraged about not being selected to perform in this prestigious event. Instead, they feel it is exciting and are inspired by their seniors who take part. They want to work harder in order to be able to perform for this event, and also hope to achieve the Gold with Honours award.
Yet for them it is not just the award they want - they also hope to take away with them the experience and joy of performing. They want to improve themselves as performers and, at the same time, treasure the bonds that they have developed with their friends in the same CCA. Even if they do not win Gold with Honours, they strive to work harder for future SYFs.
Drama in School
Another way students are being exposed to the arts in Singapore would be the introduction of the Drama elective in secondary schools. Students are driven to take up the Drama elective out of passion for the art, and they are also inspired and encouraged by their teachers. They enjoy exploring characters and expressing their own views through drama. They also have the opportunity to devise their own practical pieces in school.
Students feel that they have learnt a lot about drama throughout their school life. It heightens their awareness and encourages personal character growth and the expression of oneself. In St Nicholas Girls' School, for example, an annual event known as Crossings is put up to let all Drama students put on their own pieces and perform for the school.
They want to share their love and passion for drama with more people, and to be able to convey their intended messages in a practical piece to an audience. To them, getting a distinction grade in the subject is not the most important thing, but instead, expressing themselves onstage and maturing as individuals is. In school-organised events, they are allowed to present their own pieces on stage and gain professional experience.
To quote a student, "It's like wearing a pair of old gloves when the nervousness fades away... you just feel so comfortable". Drama to them is something they love and are familiar with, and they have a passion for learning about drama onstage. They also go out to watch plays outside of school, and learn from the professionalism of the companies and feel that these plays are very good eye opening experiences.
Visual Arts in School
The Art elective is also a popular subject in school. Students take up this elective as they see it as their hobby they enjoy and also, out of passion for it. They also wish to develop their skills as artists and want to take formal lessons to improve further. They like the free expression they enjoy in Art - there are no right or wrong answers, and also the feeling of satisfaction they get when looking at a piece of work they have completed.
Through the Art elective, students are learning to develop their own artistic style - such as a positive, inspired style, or the use of bright, contrasting colours in their artwork. As artists, they hope to achieve future fame and recognition and would like to see others appreciate their art. Other hopes and expectations are more personal - they simply desire to freely express their emotions through their work.
Through their work they are also made more aware of Singapore's arts scene. While some have not been able to attend the arts events in Singapore, others have attended events and exhibitions, and have found it a very enriching experience. For example, a student who attended a sketch walk by Urban Sketchers Singapore thought it was interesting to meet art lovers from all walks of life and see their different works and styles. Another who went to the Singapore Art Museum found the artworks fascinating, and was particularly interested in and inspired by local arts students.
Through the Art elective, students are learning to develop their own artistic style - such as a positive, inspired style, or the use of bright, contrasting colours in their artwork. As artists, they hope to achieve future fame and recognition and would like to see others appreciate their art. Other hopes and expectations are more personal - they simply desire to freely express their emotions through their work.
Through their work they are also made more aware of Singapore's arts scene. While some have not been able to attend the arts events in Singapore, others have attended events and exhibitions, and have found it a very enriching experience. For example, a student who attended a sketch walk by Urban Sketchers Singapore thought it was interesting to meet art lovers from all walks of life and see their different works and styles. Another who went to the Singapore Art Museum found the artworks fascinating, and was particularly interested in and inspired by local arts students.
