Funding a Dancer

Hello there, thank you for checking out my crowdfunding page!

I'm Regine Phua, a dance artist residing in Singapore. Earlier this year, I auditioned for two of the most prestigious dance schools in UK, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and London Contemporary Dance School and will be making a choice to enter either one in order to pursue a BA (Hons) in Dance later in the year (2019).

Background

I started dancing at the age of 5 doing Ballet. My experience in Ballet helped me set a strong foundation in dance and I am forever grateful for the guidance I received back then. Years later, I decided to join dance in Junior College (High School), where I was introduced to contemporary dance. What started as a co-curriculum activity sparked an interest in me, spurred me to seek even more exposure in dance for myself and I pushed myself out of my comfort zone by auditioning for Frontier Danceland's scholarship programme Pulse, sponsored by M1. In Pulse, we were given opportunities to learn various contemporary technique such as Flying Low and Cunningham, as well as partner work and improvisation. Thanks to the guidance of the company dancers and my fellow dance mates, I was able to improve tremendously throughout the programme.

In the process of learning and exploring dance, I dreamt of doing it full-time, thus I entered Lasalle College of the Arts. My time in Lasalle was eye-opening where I got to dance everyday and trained in other genres such as Jazz and Urban. It was incredibly humbling experience where I met my talented school mates, tutors, and even got the opportunity to collaborate with students from other faculties. I have received so much grace and help from my generous peers and have since graduated with a Diploma in Dance.

As the youngest in a humble family of 4, dancing was an expensive indulgence. Neither my parents nor myself expected me to dare to pursue dance because while dance was always something that I really wished to do at a young age, I have been repeatedly told that I'm 'not suitable' because I don't have the 'ballet' body, or that I am not eye-catching. Yet despite giving up on dancing once, I realised that I never parted with it. Dance wasn't always about shining and receiving affirmation from others. It was about being able to move in your own skin comfortably, with conviction and staying true to your own beliefs. My desire to dive into dance grew and I want to make dance my profession.Through this, was where I found confidence and I know that as long as I am willing to put my mind to it, nothing is impossible.

Where your donations will be going to:

• Tuition fees (£17,500 for NSCD / £18,690 for LCDS)
• Housing costs and utilities bill (estimated £600 for NSCD / £1200 for LCDS)
• Registration fee (£150 / £100)
• Administrative school fees, health insurance
• Airfare from Singapore to UK
• Any other miscellaneous living expenses throughout my education in the UK

I do intend to take up a part-time job throughout my educations years there in order to support myself but there is a limit to how much time I am able to invest in that as an international student.

My goals:

I aim to be able to make a contribution to the Singapore dance scene in the future, and to bring dance into people's everyday lives. Outside of dance, I am also a film photography enthusiast, and I enjoy visual arts. I take photos of many things, people and places, because photos immortalises things that the memory cannot.Ultimately at the end of the day, as a performer and as an artist, I hope that my work encapsulates and embody art in its most primary form, centred around acceptance and reconciliation of ideas and disciplines. I hope that the kind of art I create makes everyone feel welcomed.

Thank you for your time, your support is a big deal because it means I'll be a step closer to fulfilling my dreams.

You can also help by spreading my crowdfunding site via email, social media and word-of-mouth!