Take the festival commission, The Once and Future, for example. The expanded cinema experience, which explores a planetary exodus to escape extinction in an ailing world, was conceived by Singaporean film-maker Yeo Siew Hua. And yet the work is not a clear-cut film because he conceives of it with a live orchestra featuring musicians from the Berliner Philharmoniker. “A film-maker creating a work for a performing arts festival rather than, say, a film festival—this, to me, is interesting,” enthuses Hennedige. “A large part of the work is the application of his skill set, which is in making film, but the way he conceives of how the film is witnessed by an audience is in relation to live music.”

And then, there is the opening commission Mepaan, presented by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra led by music director Tsung Yeh, in collaboration with Borneo-based creative agency, The Tuyang Initiative. Directed by Hennedige, the nature-centred audio-visual opus features the indigenous music and vocal tradition of Southeast Asia’s island nations, woven into orchestral compositions. Audiences will soak in the sounds of the region’s pristine rainforests, while at the cavernous Pasir Panjang Power Station.

Even though The Anatomy of Performance remains an overarching theme, the subtitle changes every year. This year’s focus is on Ritual, a look at our common experiences through the lenses of time, artefacts or symbolic objects, and clothing, as well as gestures or significant actions.

In Ceremonial Enactments, another festival commission, three Singaporean companies offer a contemporary twist on local customs and rituals with a groundbreaking performance in three acts. Fashion designer Max Tan stages a sartorial love letter to his mother with Ang, taking inspiration from Chinese and Southeast Asian birth rituals; percussion ensemble Nadi Singapura, led by artistic director Riduan Zalani, presents an enactment of a grand Malay wedding with 293NW; and Bhaskar’s Arts Academy performs Yantra Mantra, an ancient dance and Hindu temple ritual choreographed by its late co-founder and Cultural Medallion recipient Santha Bhaskar.

Hennedige offers this insight, “I was keen to look at ceremonies and rituals that are part of Singapore’s diverse cultures. And then I had a second thought: how can an audience connect with three separate works in a singular experience?” One of the interventions she introduced is architect Randy Chan of Zarch Collaboratives Architectural Studios as the set designer, while Tan, on top of presenting his own production, conceived the costumes for the entire work.

Whether in life or in art, rituals are important to Hennedige. She shares one specific to her work. “When I start to conceive or put together ideas, whether it’s a play or a festival title, there are two things that have to happen: one, I have to clean my desk, and two, I have to take a long walk—you might find me on the streets at 3am—because that has been my process. What I like about the idea of rituals is that we can all relate to it—it’s how we prepare ourselves to meet our goals for the day.”

Besides its mission to champion the creation and presentation of local and international works, the Arts House-organised and National Arts Council-commissioned festival also seeks to capture the imagination and inspire generations of arts lovers. As with every other post-pandemic festival, Sifa has introduced a virtual platform, aptly called Life Profusion, running alongside the live festival. But Hennedige goes further with this commitment to the virtual space as a stage for artistic creation by commissioning works such as the performance film Delicate Spells of Mind by British-born, Australian science fiction artist, body architect and film-maker Lucy McRae.

And then there is Sifa X, a selection of “wilder and alternative offerings” curated by performing arts group SAtheCollective’s artistic director Andy Chia, who brings together multidisciplinary artists for Oneirism, a series of works that are dream-like illusions but experienced while awake.

For Hennedige, the primary role of an arts festival is to communicate ideas and, by extension, ignite conversations. “Singapore is the canvas that cradles this festival— and as a city, it’s so diverse and interesting; it’s cosmopolitan but with traditions embedded within. Sifa, as the annual pinnacle performing arts festival, needs to also embrace what this means in a creative way, with works that are digestible.”

And with her experience in the Singapore arts scene, what is one ritual she hopes to change or refresh? Hennedige takes time to ponder the question, before sharing this thoughtful answer: “I would like to refresh the engagement with the arts. The festival as a gathering space has been curbed during the pandemic. Art is a collective experience, so I’d love for Sifa to refresh that, coming out of the pandemic to encounter and witness performance.”

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