For the past one-and-a-half month, Renee Tan will be running out of her house after her elder son, Axel, goes to bed at around 9 p.m. Unlike other parents who call it a day, Renee rushes to her studio for Chingay rehearsals.

 

It is no easy job for Renee, the owner of Groove Dance School, an all-ladies school located in Amara.

Being a mother of two, Renee said it is very busy for her, to juggle her family as well as the performance, having time for practice at the studio only after sending her kids to childcare, and after they fall asleep.

 

Despite her hectic schedule, Renee’s family never left her mind. The song choice for the performance “Under the Sea” was inspired by Axel. Renee said she “got hooked to the song that kept running in her head.”, after her son sang and danced his school’s opening day performance day and night for practice.

Groove Dance School will be representing the pole dancing community, to be the first in the world to pole dance in a large group on moving floats. This is also the first time in Singapore Chingay that pole dancing will be making its appearance, on the 19th and 20th of February.

 

Assisted by two other instructors, Renee is in charge of recruitment, choreography and the designing of costumes for the act. To Renee, the evolution of the sport over the years is an achievement for her.  She said: “Finally we are on a National Event performing, and that’s amazing.”

 

The school also does aerial arts such as aerial silk, hoop and other dance genres like exotic dance and Korean pop, but only pole dancing will be featured in Chingay. Such performances, as well as international and national competitions are given to the students to showcase what they have learnt during classes.

 

“It is an honourable and great experience to represent the school in this year’s Chingay performance.” said Thanh Ha, a Vietnamese student participating in the pole dancing act along with Renee. Ha is the winner of So You Think You Can Groove 2015, an annual dance competition organised by the school.

Being the only non-Chinese local dancer in the act, Ha answered “passion” when asked on her decision for performing. “People don’t understand why we love it so much,” she added, hoping the performance would be a start in getting rid of the social stigma the public have on pole dancing. “Pole dancing has many purposes, such as for fitness and as an art. It is not just something done in a club.”

 

The act will feature the school’s pole dancers dancing as mermaids to “Under the Sea” on a moving platform alongside Seaweed dancers from Bukit Panjang Charming Rainbow. The colourful pole dancing spectacle will be the last of 20 acts in the parade, before the finale in 19 and 20 Feb.