Alas, I am the theater kid who no longer does theater—always itching to find her way back—and Singapore Ballet’s staging of Choo-San Goh’s Romeo and Juliet was everything I needed to reconnect with the stage. Charged with emotion, with a certain rawness and vulnerability, it was a powerful performance that did justice to the beloved classic.
I am probably one of thousands who first encountered the story of Romeo and Juliet through our national literature exam. It’s a tale as old as time — one I thought I had already exhausted, having studied it from cover to cover, from page to stage. So, to see it retold in a way I had never encountered before felt intimate yet unfamiliar — like reconnecting with an old friend after a long time apart. It was Romeo and Juliet as I’ve never seen it before.
Like completing a puzzle, I found myself piecing together the story I knew with the dance presented. Juliet and Romeo in love? Euphoric partner dances, lifts in the air — for love feels like flying. An aggressive Tybalt? Sharp, bold movements, right in your face. Romeo in pain? The staggering, collapsing of the body. Singapore Ballet reimagined the story with a physicality that breathed new life into it. This was encapsulated by the personification of Fate as a character — giving something once intangible a physical form through dance. Fate weaves in and out of scenes, controlling the characters toward an inevitable tragedy.
Poignantly, after Juliet is betrothed to Paris and left at a loss, Fate enters — a whimsical force of a presence. There was an audible gasp from the theater — an impactful entrance, an added dimension to Juliet’s despair. We see her molded and conducted by Fate as she dances to her death.
There was never a dull moment on stage. I found my eyes sweeping back and forth, trying to capture every movement. I especially enjoyed the larger scenes with various formations — dancers in their own corners, up to their own shenanigans. I was eager to see it all. There was a certain depth, a beautiful chaos, as the story took shape.
The powerful performance was accompanied by Sergei Prokofiev’s score, performed by the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra. Every dance was motivated and complemented by rich, full music. Compliments to the design of the Esplanade Theatre, for I felt the music swell and fill the entire room. For those few hours, I was fully immersed in the fair city of Verona. Once, I was so engrossed in the villagers’ merry dance that when the jarring overtone played to signal an incoming fight, I quite literally jumped (apologies to those seated beside me). There is something undeniably irreplaceable about live music — it painted a lavish backdrop for the ballet to shine.
And here’s the inside scoop: Janek Schergen, the Artistic Director of Singapore Ballet, was the one who fought tirelessly for a live orchestra. This was mentioned during a panel, part of an exclusive backstage tour of the Esplanade. Yes, I was lucky enough to peek behind the curtain to see how the magic is really made. This definitely awoke the theater nerd in me. I remembered my own late nights painting sets, doing costume fittings, coding the lights and sounds. To see it all again on the grand stage of the Esplanade showcased the sheer possibility of the art. As an audience, we only ever see the stage — what goes on behind it stretches for months, often years, filled with effort, time, and expertise.
For example, the backdrop was hand-painted by artists in South Africa, shipped all the way to Singapore to then transport us to Verona, Italy. The devil is in the detail. Sometimes, it takes more than a village to bring something to life.
As the Chairman of Singapore Ballet, Mrs. Laura Hwang, said, the goal was to “make Singapore aware of the beauty and art form that is universal” in ballet. And while ballet isn’t something we encounter often in our daily lives, on that stage, in that moment, even I understood it. Because I may not know a plié or an arabesque, but I know the story of love, family, and loss. And what is dance if not storytelling?
Through the language of ballet, Singapore Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet has managed to capture something universal. Dance is expressive, cathartic, and euphoric. As the actors who plays Romeo and Juliet, shared — the hardest part of this performance was the emotional toil. It’s a difficult story to tell in one of the most demanding forms of classical dance. I came away with a deepened appreciation for the sheer physical and emotional demands required to stage this masterpiece.
Above all, I am moved by Singapore Ballet’s mission to be a classical company that gives opportunities to Asian dancers. As a fellow artist, I appreciate that Singapore’s art scene is still young and growing. There’s no lack of talent, as this rendition of Romeo and Juliet has evidently proven — but there is a need for more opportunities and appreciation. Come curtain call, to the thunderous applause filling the Esplanade, I felt we were all united in celebrating Singapore’s artists.
Romeo and Juliet is part of Singapore Ballet’s annual lineup — this year, Illuminations, an exploration of light, movement, emotions, and artistry.
