Kho Yong Xiang

Over 3 sessions in August, I learnt about Totsu-Totsu dance (TTD) from Michael Cheng. Across the 9 hours, I learnt the basic principles of TTD by experiencing some of the activities. The group also had a chance to try out facilitating TTD amongst ourselves. Personally, TTD's "unsophisticated" dance philosophy connected to my exploration of a non-verbal (performing) art form that engaged communities. In particular, some of my rudimentary understandings of Dance Movement Therapy with Movemental Co. (2025-2026) and Relational Choreography with Dik Danstheater (2025) . BACKGROUND Totsu Totsu dance practice originated from Japan and was designed with persons living with dementia in a nursing home in Kyoto (Cheng, 2026a, p.14). The practice is relational, initiating non-verbal, personable connection with persons with dementia who may or may not respond to activities. As such, some of the initial activities we did included exploring how we could connect through distance (...

On 15 August 2026, the Kaya Toast Playback Theatre group put up a second performance with [X] by Kita, for youths aged 18-35 years old. The sold out show was attended by more than 50 youths at the Stamford Arts Centre. The theme was "Seasons of...", evoking the imagery of seasons, to invite stories of the seasons in our lives that come unannounced, and provide a space for these unheard stories. BACKGROUND Like in In Between (2026) , the Kaya Toast Playback Theatre group was made up of members we have met at the SDEA Core Training a year before in August 2025. We were supported by the youth development charity, With Kita, that runs the third space, [X] by Kita at Stamford Arts Centre, "a third space for youths aged 18-35 to gather, create, rest & belong" through a variety of programming. I was surprised by the generosity of sharing from the audience that evening. While we started the evening with audience members sharing the long ...

Over the May Day weekend, I attended a 3-day Level 2 Playback course on Scenes, the long form within Playback Theatre. The course was led by Principal Trainer, Michael Cheng, and Assistant Trainer, Renee Chua, under the SDEA CET – School of Playback Theatre, an affiliated school with the Centre for Playback Theatre. BACKGROUND Playback Theatre is an applied theatre form where audience members are invited to share their personal stories. The Playback Theatre team would then reenact the story through improvisation and spontaneity. This course builds on my prior Core Training in 2025 . Scenes (also known as, Stories) is one of the long forms within a Playback Theatre performance where audience members are invited to share a longer story with personal significance. Classically, Scenes make up the latter half of the playback performance and is where the community dialogue and sharing deepens. LEARNING POINTS One of the greater learning points has been about the value of journeyin...

On 17 April 2026, I joined the Kaya Toast Playback Theatre team to put up a Playback Theatre performance, "In Between". The performance was a programme at [X] by Kita and was attended by an intimate audience of 25. The theme of "In Between" provided a space for youths to share about the different roles and transitions they may have, are or were experiencing. BACKGROUND The Kaya Toast Playback Theatre team was made up of course mates I had met at the SDEA Core Training I had attended a year before. The performance was conducted at [X] by Kita , a third space in Stamford Arts Centre. The youth development charity for under-resourced youths, Kita, describes [X] by Kita as "a third space for youths [aged 17 to 35] to make friends and be exposed to different art forms that develops their interests. By creating spaces of belonging, opportunities for growth and scaffolds for youth's aspirations" ([X] by Kita, n.d.-a; n.d.-b). I closed ...

From October 2025 to April 2026, I participated in the Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) course by Movemental Co.'s founder, Chan Shi Han . Across 10 sessions of 3h each, the non-credential course that introduced some basic theories, concepts and activities of DMT to professionals in the mental health, social work, healthcare and education sectors. I have been drawn to the idea of dance as a non-verbal (performing) art form that could be used to engage participants/communities - as compared to a sometimes more verbal/text heavy form such as theatre.  In a way, I was building on my encounters with dance and communities through my experiences with Helping Hands, Moving Bodies (2022) and Relations (Live) (2025) . Part of my journey with more frequent dance classes in the past year has been to be more aware of my body and to maintain a physical body for performance. However, the vocabulary for dance and the impact on a participant / community has eluded me. BACKGROUND The Dance...

I volunteered in the final phase of Styled Together , a community fashion show with 6 residents at Cassia Crescent held on 17 January 2026. The event was held at the void deck of Block 54, a big open space at the ground floor, with over 100 residents in attendance, and a photo exhibition at Block 52. In the lead up to event day, we had 2 rehearsals with the seniors to prepare their poses and rehearse walking down the aisle with confidence! A group photo of the creative team, volunteers and partners on the "runway" in the void deck at the end of the event. The residents - and myself! - listening to Artist-Facilitator, Auderia Tan, as she gives them final directions. Retrieved from Drama Box's Facebook post (2026, January 23) . BACKGROUND Styled Together was a fashion-based community programme that used fashions as an entry point for residents to rediscover their confidence and self-worth, led by a friend and artist, Auderia Tan (read more about her c...

Over the 2 weekends of August 2025, I joined the first Playback Theatre Core Training, led by Michael Cheng. I revisited the basics of the applied theatre form, Playback Theatre. The course was under Singapore Drama Educators' Association, its first as the affiliate school of Centre for Playback Theatre. Pictures from our mini showcase on Day 3 which we had titled, "The More We Get Together". Permission has been sought from the Teller and the actors involved, please do not circulate the pictures further. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Singapore Drama Educators Association (@sdeaofficial) The first batch who completed the Playback Theatre Core Training. BACKGROUND Playback Theatre is an applied theatre form where audience members are invited to share their personal stories. The Playback Theatre troop would then reenact the story through improvisation and spontaneity. Usually the performances are done wit...