Singapore, 26 September 2015: Dance Singapore Dance, Zee TV’s (Asia Pacific beam) reality dance competition in Singapore, has crowned its first winner after 12 episodes of its inaugural season. Shahrin Johry, 33, a professional dancer/choreographer at the Maya Dance Theatre beat over 200 contestants in the audition rounds and 11 others during the show to take home the grand prize of S$10,000.
Inaugural season ends on a high
The first season was packed with countless incredible performances, a couple of soulful, heart-wrenching pieces, triumphant victories and tearful exits. The two main judges were Shakti Mohan, winner of Dance India Dance Season 2, and Zaini Mohammad Tahir, chief choreographer of Singapore’s 2015 National Day Parade. Guest judges such as the likes of Shobha Bhalia, Managing Director of India Se Media and Rebuka A Bhagat, Managing Partner at Masti 96.3 FM also provided their expert opinion as part of the judging panel. One of the highlights of the show was when both Shakti and Zaini made special appearances on stage to perform with the contestants.
Ms Tripta Singh, Senior Vice President, International Business, Zee TV APAC, said, “The contestants gave exceptional performances and we received positive feedback from our partners and viewers about the show. We believe that Dance Singapore Dance was useful as a platform for contestants from all walks of life to showcase their talents and pursue their dance passions. Zee TV strives to continually support initiatives such as these in the communities we operate in.”
Mr Sushruta Samanta, Business Head Asia Pacific, Zee TV APAC, said, “The inaugural season of Dance Singapore Dance has concluded successfully. On behalf of Zee TV, we would like to congratulate the finalists and winners from the competition and wish them the best for their futures. To bring this exciting reality dance competition to more of our viewers and fans, we are currently looking to expand and replicate this across other key markets in Asia Pacific.”
Contestants’ journey to the finals
Shahrin Johry, 33, winner of the inaugural Dance Singapore Dance, said “I am truly honoured to win the first Dance Singapore Dance and would like to thank everyone who supported me throughout this journey. With the prize money, I am able to make one of my dreams come true which is to create a full length dance production which will enable me to share my artistry and contribute to the local art scene in Singapore. My new creation will be called -KA- (Knowledge Attained), which I plan to showcase next year on 15-16th January at the School of The Arts (SOTA) black box. This production will be dedicated as a gift to my teachers who have taught me and moulded me to be the artist I am today.”
Dance Singapore Dance provided an excellent platform for dancers in Singapore to build their repertoires and showcase their talent.
Lauren Smith, 16, Dance Singapore Dance finalist and student at Singapore American School, said, “Through this competition, I had the opportunity to interact with contestants from diverse backgrounds and also try out new dance styles like Bollywood for the first time. Being exposed to different cultures and dance expressions in the competition was a positive learning experience for me.”
Logan s/o Narayansamy, 27, a former fitness instructor, decided to make a career switch after the competition. He has since joined fellow contestant Derek Seong’s dance school, Rhythm ‘N’ Moves Studio as an associate choreographer.
Dance Singapore Dance Meet and Greet
30 lucky members of the public will get a chance to get up close and personal Dance Singapore Dance judge Zaini Tahir and finalists the day after the grand finale (Sunday, 27th September, 3pm) in conjunction with the Singapore International Indian Shopping (SIIS) Festival at Suntec City Convention & Exhibition Centre (Hall 403 and 404). Zaini and the finalists will hold a dance clinic to impart dance choreography techniques and skills to the 30 selected fans. To participate, fans can email their name, contact details and NRIC number to content_promo@starhub.com.
The season finale of Dance Singapore Dance airing on Saturday, 3rd October 2015, will showcase the best of Dance Singapore Dance, all the way from the audition rounds to the finals. The competition finals air on Saturday, 26th September, 8 pm on Zee TV APAC (StarHub TV Channel 125 and SingTel TV Ch 646) across 18 countries, and on Sunday at 11:30 am on Zee Tamizh (StarHub TV Channel 138).
For the latest news on Dance Singapore Dance, please visit https://www.facebook.com/dancesingaporedance.
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About Dance Singapore Dance
Dance Singapore Dance is a localised version of the popular Dance India Dance series which made its debut in 2009. Since then, the show has seen about 90,000 participants over its past four editions. Winners from past editions of the competition have catapulted to fame with many of them gaining film experience and sponsorships after the show. Dancers on the show come from different backgrounds and cultures, and represent different genres, from Bollywood to contemporary to classical dance. StarHub is the presenting sponsor for Dance Singapore Dance.
About Zee TV APAC
Launched in June 2004, Zee TV APAC is the Asia Pacific feed of the Flagship channel – Zee TV (India). Available in 18 countries, Zee TV APAC showcases Indian content with English Subtitles and airs all the programs from India. The channel showcases a variety of genres for all audience segments including prime time drama series, comedy, reality shows and children’s programs. With an enviable Hindi Film Library the channel also offers viewers the latest and best of Bollywood.
Zee TV APAC is among the top five cable and satellite channels in Singapore. The city-state is home to one of the largest overseas Indian populations and its’ variety programming is watched by Indian and now increasingly, Malay audiences locally. Almost half (46%) of Zee TV APAC viewers’ have a HHI range which ranges between SGD 4,000 – 10,000 per month. Zee TV APAC continues to dominate in the Hindi General Entertainment Channel content category across local affiliate platforms like StarHub and Singtel TV.
For further information, please contact:
Claudia Wong / Amanda Soo
Fifth Ring on behalf of Zee TV APAC
M: +65 9752 4847 / + 65 9119 0180
E: claudia.wong@fifthring.com / amanda.soo@fifthring.com