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Kranji Secondary School Video

5 Questions for Nur Tiara from Chinese Dance Club

The Chinese Dance Club clinched the Certificate of Distinction at Singapore Youth Festival this year despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic posed. We spoke to Nur Tiara from the club and asked about her experience.

Hi, my name is Nur Tiara. I’m 14 from class 2K2 and I am the Vice-President of the Chinese Dance club. Some of my interests are watching anime, listening to music, playing badminton and designing posters.

Q1: The Chinese dancers did extremely well for SYF this year! Share with us how your CCA prepared for SYF in spite of the pandemic.

We are lucky that our club is quite small so we can keep our distance from one another easily. We have our own spot where we can practise without invading another person’s space. For the SYF piece, we learned the dance moves and kept practising. Our instructor would sometimes let us work in groups to help one another with certain dance moves. We adhered to the safe management measurements, so each group consisted of only 3 to 4 people and we stayed in the same groups

Q2: Why did you decide to join Chinese dance? What do you enjoy the most about Chinese dance?

To be honest, I didn’t really plan to join the Chinese Dance Society. Originally, I wanted to join Modern Dance or Badminton, and didn’t really put much thought about other options, so I chose CCAs that I wouldn’t mind joining. I put Chinese Dance as my 3rd option since it was also a Dance CCA and that’s how I ended up here.

Having joined Chinese Dance, I enjoy the times where my teammates and I bond with each other, like how we helped each other with learning the dance moves and encouraged one another to press on. Honestly I’m quite proud of how far my team has come. When we first joined in Sec 1, we didn’t talk much to each other and it could get awkward and quiet. Now I can see a lot of interaction and laughter among us, which makes me really happy.

Q3: Were there any moments that you found challenging learning Chinese dance? How did you overcome these challenges?

Chinese Dance is a CCA that requires a lot of flexibility, and that was my biggest challenge. Before I joined, I was never flexible and have never done a split before. I wouldn’t say that I have completely overcome this but I have certainly improved over the 1.5 years in Chinese Dance. I’m almost down to the floor for my splits so I’m quite proud of myself!

Q4: What is one quality a Chinese dancer should possess? Why?

I think that a Chinese Dancer should possess gracefulness and elegance. When people watch a performance, they would be captivated by how graceful the dancers are with their moves on stage, as they put together a beautiful performance.

Q5: What would you say to future Kranjians who may not be Chinese and are curious to find out more about Chinese Dance?

Being in the Chinese Dance Club gives me the opportunity to learn about the different types of Chinese Dance. Some of them are slow, gentle and elegant while some others, like our recent SYF performance, have stronger and more energetic moves. We get to try out a wide variety of dances, so it won’t be as boring as we get to learn something new all the time. I really hope that any of my juniors with interest in Chinese Dance will join us :)