Singaporeans truly value their weekend. It is reserved for family time or something they absolutely love, a movie, a concert, fitness fun, golf, extended gym session, Bharatnatyam or Kathak class and so on.
Judging from the large turnout at Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society's (SIFAS) open house on March 19 and 20, learning Indian performing arts is clearly high on the list of favourites.
KV Rao, SIFAS president, said, “It was heart-warming to see – entire families young, middle aged and elderly too walking into SIFAS to learn about the programmes, and commit themselves to the pursuit of music, dance and visual arts of their choice. The most redeeming fact is that it attracted entire families during these difficult times. Beyond the promotion of the arts, good to see SIFAS serving as a platform for convergence and integration of communities through the medium of arts.”
SIFAS is a pioneer institution of Classical Indian music, dance and visual arts in Singapore. It is a 73-year-old non-profit Indian cultural organisation characterised by a high level of artistic and technical excellence.
With a pan-Indian curriculum of 18 disciplines, SIFAS reflects the cultural diversity of the rich and ancient Indian heritage and has fostered a multitude of homegrown talents that have gone on to provide principal support to arts and culture in Singapore and the region.
The Open House was held at SIFAS Campus and SIFAS Annexe. Visitors, some of whom were guests from other regional communities, were taken on guided tours of the new complex, SIFAS Annexe, were able to watch classes being run, talk to current students, and engage with the teachers to learn more about the arts. Several live programmes and workshops were also being held for the audience.
A Carnatic Vocal concert, Kathak performance and Bharatanatyam workshop by alumni and SIFAS gurus' were some of the events.
