For Janek Schergen, 20 seasons as artistic director of the Singapore Ballet represent only part of a much longer relationship with the company. His involvement with the organisation stretches back 38 years, beginning during its early development before he officially became artistic director in 2008.
The company, originally founded as the Singapore Dance Theatre by Goh Soo Khim and Anthony Then, has also undergone significant growth during that period. From seven dancers in 1988, it has developed into a 42-member company under Schergen’s artistic leadership.
A Connection That Began With Goh Choo San
Schergen’s connection to Singapore was shaped by his relationship with the late choreographer Goh Choo San, the brother of co-founder Goh Soo Khim.
Long before arriving in Singapore, Schergen had established a substantial professional career. He began working with professional dance companies at 19 and later performed with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada and Pennsylvania Ballet in the United States. He subsequently held ballet master positions with the Royal Swedish Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Norwegian National Ballet.
His career took an important turn in 1982, when Goh Choo San recruited him as ballet master at the Washington Ballet, where Goh was then resident choreographer. Schergen had previously worked with Benjamin Harkarvy, founder of Nederlands Dans Theater, but his collaboration with Goh would eventually lead him towards Singapore.
Before his death in 1987, Goh asked Schergen to help the young Singapore company establish itself. Schergen initially travelled to Singapore for several weeks at a time, gradually becoming more deeply involved with the organisation.
What began as a professional commitment eventually became something much more personal. Schergen says his reason for remaining involved was straightforward: he had fallen in love with the Singapore Ballet.
His long association with Goh’s work has also helped maintain the choreographer’s legacy within the company. The Singapore Ballet has presented 12 of Goh’s more than 30 ballets, including Fives (1978), Configurations (1981), created for Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Romeo And Juliet (1984).
More Than One Definition of Ballet
The Singapore Ballet’s current repertoire reflects the broad range Schergen wants the company to maintain.
From July 31 to Aug 2, the company presented Singapore Ballet Masterpieces: Unlike Any Other, a triple bill featuring Goh Choo San’s Schubert Symphony (1985), Nils Christe’s Purcell Pieces (1997) and Tim Rushton’s Quiver (2022). The programme marks Schergen’s 20th season as artistic director.
For Schergen, the company’s ability to take on very different works is one of its defining strengths. He recalls seeing the dancers move between contemporary choreography, an African-inspired work performed to J.S. Bach’s cantatas and Goh’s Schubert Symphony.
Rather than expecting the company to maintain a single artistic identity from one production to the next, Schergen values its ability to respond to the demands of each work. He describes this quality as a form of adaptability that has developed throughout the company’s history.
That flexibility has also helped the Singapore Ballet expand its classical repertoire. Beginning in 1992, the company added full-length works including The Nutcracker (1877), Coppélia (1870) and Giselle (1841).
The company has had to approach these large-scale ballets with a smaller number of dancers than the 80 to 150 performers often involved in major productions. At the same time, this has given its dancers the opportunity to take on a wider range of roles.
For Schergen, however, classical ballet alone does not define the organisation. Established international works provide an important technical and artistic challenge, while also connecting the company with ballet’s wider heritage.
Finding the Right Balance
Alongside the established repertoire, the Singapore Ballet continues to commission and perform choreography created specifically for its dancers.
One example is French choreographer Claire Voss’ Apres Un Reve, a work developed with the company’s particular movement vocabulary in mind. For Schergen, this type of work is equally important because it allows the dancers and the organisation to develop something that belongs specifically to them.
The result, in his view, is an identity built from both sides: the heritage of established international works and the opportunities provided by new choreography.
Schergen is also outspoken about certain productions that do not fit his artistic vision. He dismisses titles such as The Wizard Of Oz, Dracula and Alice In Wonderland, referring to this type of spectacle as “dancicles”.
His comments highlight the distinction he makes between maintaining a broad repertoire and pursuing productions simply because they are familiar or commercially recognisable.
Concerns About the Next Generation
Schergen’s concerns extend beyond repertoire and programming. He is also thinking about what it takes to sustain a career in ballet.
One issue he identifies is the growing prevalence of ballet competitions for children. In his view, the immediate rewards associated with performing and winning competitions can make it harder for young dancers to develop an interest in the slower, more demanding process of building a professional career.
He does not regard this as a problem limited to Singapore. Rather, he sees it as an international development whose effects became clearer only after competitions had already become widespread.
For Schergen, the concern is ultimately about perspective. A professional dance career requires sustained commitment, rather than the short-term satisfaction of winning an award at a young age.
Taking the Singapore Ballet Further
The next stage of Schergen’s vision is focused on strengthening the company’s presence beyond Singapore.
The Singapore Ballet has been in discussions with venues including the Linbury Theatre in London, part of the Royal Ballet and Opera building, and The Joyce Theater in New York. Schergen believes the company already has a distinctive story and a strong artistic standard that can appeal to audiences internationally.
The goal now is to broaden that international footprint.
At home, however, Schergen sees another challenge. He is frustrated by what he considers a tendency among Singapore audiences to place greater value on visiting foreign companies while paying less attention to local arts organisations.
He believes part of the problem may come from familiarity. Local companies can be so close to audiences that their achievements are not always viewed with the same sense of prestige given to international organisations.
Schergen compares this with countries where audiences more readily identify with and support their own cultural institutions. He sees the issue as extending beyond the Singapore Ballet, describing it as a broader challenge for Singapore’s arts organisations.
A Future Shaped by Opportunity
Schergen’s view of the company’s future ultimately comes back to the dancers themselves.
He sees a professional dance career as something that rarely develops according to a perfectly predictable plan. Some of the Singapore Ballet’s most significant dancers, he notes, found their opportunities after starting as second-cast performers or covers. When circumstances changed and another dancer became unavailable, they were suddenly given the chance to step forward.
What matters, then, is what they do with that opportunity.
That idea also reflects the broader story of Schergen’s relationship with the Singapore Ballet. What began with occasional visits and a professional connection to Goh Choo San eventually became a 38-year commitment to developing the company.
As the Singapore Ballet enters its next chapter, Schergen’s priorities remain centred on adaptability, artistic balance and the ability to recognise opportunities when they arise.
Read the Original Article: Artistic director Janek Schergen marks 20 seasons and 38 years with Singapore Ballet
