Design Director by Day, Choreographer at Night
Image credits: Jingkai (Kinetic Expressions Photography)
By: Nur Ezzaty Bte Hamid
How many times have you heard people preach the saying that ‘Time management is the key to getting things done.’ whenever anyone says they’re overburdened by tasks? While it may have helped some, others still hard to balance their responsibilities and passion.
Not sweating the small stuff, Cici Chen, a dancer and choreographer has been performing since she was a young. Not restricting herself to one type of dance, she’s also peddled in various dance styles like ballet, contemporary and jazz in countries like Singapore, China and Korea.
Balancing her passion, with her full-time degree in NUS, Cici Chen says, ‘It’s all about giving and taking, and finding the right balance. What’s more, I’m pursuing my passion so it’s always going to be fun!’.
Another passion of Cici is design, for this creative lady decided to merge both her passions together so that she would get the best of both worlds. What struck me personally is when she said that was that, sometimes it’s not just about managing our time, sometimes it is about our mentality, how we view a certain matter. Things would be much smoother if we turn our responsibility into a passion and just enjoy doing it.
I guess that’s how she did it. Her career as director in a design company has allowed her to gain a better understanding in design and also grasp a deeper understanding in dance.
She is indeed an inspiring lady as she always looks at the bright side in everything that she does. Moreover, she views dancing as a great getaway from her job for it refreshes her mind and gives her inspiration to design.
Dancing is her hobby – as she aptly puts it, “It is a blessing to have a hobby. Hobbies always give a great balance to daily work. In this way, you actually find that you are living life to the fullest!”
She is indeed living her creative life to the fullest for this is evident in her choreography that started in 2006 for Evocation. Between then and now, she has presented many works at this annual dance showcase for budding choreographers. Have you ever heard of the Next Wave? Well, Cici also choreographed for The Next Wave in 2010, as well as Sprouts in 2011.
In this year’s Passages Contemporary Season, Cici Chen gets her inspiration from the dancers and also from human nature of how we are born, enjoy life, struggle and fight for life.
Don’t forget to catch her item and other performances by this budding choreographer at this year’ Passages Contemporary Season!
If you see a dance performance that is a mixture of ballet, contemporary and jazz training, as well as movement and strength of martial arts and taichi, it is probably choreographed by Cici Chen.
