<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Soundtrack that unites the nation
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>One Show concept will tell the Singapore story through song and dance </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nicholas Yong & Corrie Tan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MR FRANCIS Hogan, 73, has a special part to play among the almost 6,000 participants in this year's National Day Parade (NDP).
Not only will the retiree be the oldest performer on stage, but he will also be singing an old favourite - Rasa Sayang - in his role as a Peranakan matriarch.
It is an integral part of Chapter Four (The First Wave) of the One Show concept, which tells the story of the earliest immigrants to Singapore through song and dance.
Eighty members of the Main Wayang Company, which promotes Singapore's Peranakan culture, are among those invited for this chapter of the performance.
While Mr Hogan has reprised this female role many times, this will be his biggest audience ever.
'This is the first time I have felt nervous about performing, as it is a much bigger audience. But I am getting used to it. And the Malay participants are especially kind to me, they always call me Bibik (old woman),' laughs Mr Hogan, who began acting more than four decades ago.
By coincidence, he is performing together with the parade's youngest participant - four-year-old Simone Tan, who has already earned the nickname 'baby nonya' from her fellow performers.
She is the youngest of three generations in a Peranakan family of five that will be making their debut performance at the NDP.
'It is wonderful to celebrate NDP as a family. My daughter is very excited about the performance. No matter how tired she is, she always gets up and dances. She gets ready before all of us,' said Simone's mother, relief teacher Suzanne Tan, 37.
Organisers are hoping that music will be the one common thread which will get Singaporeans, young or old, on their feet.
The soundtrack for NDP 2009, christened The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, incorporates songs from the different eras and speeches of iconic significance.
The music, which will play a key role in Chapter Five (Fast Forward), includes songs as diverse as Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Bengawan Solo and Madonna's Material Girl.
NDP music director, Dr Sydney Tan, said the aim was to put together 'a montage that flowed through the decades' that would evoke nostalgia and a sense of the progress that the nation has made.
'Songs bring out memories, they spell out the good times and the bad times. Every single lyric has been specially chosen, so that it all tells a great story,' added creative director Ivan Heng.
Outside the parade grounds, the excitement is catching on, with the Singapore Flyer also doing its part to get people closer to the action.
Those born in August will get to fly for free in that month if they are accompanied by a full-paying adult. In addition, the Flyer will wine and dine three individuals born on Aug 9 and their partners on a free flight to catch the aerial show and fireworks.
Online, the buzz has also been steadily growing. Facebook group NDPeeps, set up by the parade's organisers, has garnered almost 13,000 fans since it was first created in May. The group includes photo albums and video interviews with participants on their preparations for the parade.
Well-known bloggers Lee Kin Mun, 40, better known as Mr Brown, and Mr Cruz Teng, 29, are also fuelling the virtual excitement on their respective websites. They have been posting updates about the rehearsals on their blogs, and will be tweeting about their experiences on National Day itself.
Mr Lee admitted that being involved in the National Day festivities has changed his previously 'cynical' view of NDP.
'I was like all the people who sat in the comfort of their homes watching it on television and saying, 'Look at all the silly costumes',' he said.
For Mr Teng, the nation's 44th birthday shows all the challenges Singapore has gone through, from British colony to occupation by the Japanese and being a part of Malaysia.
'It was almost as if Singapore wasn't meant to exist in the first place. But we made it, so it's quite a major achievement that Singapore is what it is today,' said Mr Teng.
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[email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>One Show concept will tell the Singapore story through song and dance </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nicholas Yong & Corrie Tan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MR FRANCIS Hogan, 73, has a special part to play among the almost 6,000 participants in this year's National Day Parade (NDP).
Not only will the retiree be the oldest performer on stage, but he will also be singing an old favourite - Rasa Sayang - in his role as a Peranakan matriarch.
It is an integral part of Chapter Four (The First Wave) of the One Show concept, which tells the story of the earliest immigrants to Singapore through song and dance.
Eighty members of the Main Wayang Company, which promotes Singapore's Peranakan culture, are among those invited for this chapter of the performance.
While Mr Hogan has reprised this female role many times, this will be his biggest audience ever.
'This is the first time I have felt nervous about performing, as it is a much bigger audience. But I am getting used to it. And the Malay participants are especially kind to me, they always call me Bibik (old woman),' laughs Mr Hogan, who began acting more than four decades ago.
By coincidence, he is performing together with the parade's youngest participant - four-year-old Simone Tan, who has already earned the nickname 'baby nonya' from her fellow performers.
She is the youngest of three generations in a Peranakan family of five that will be making their debut performance at the NDP.
'It is wonderful to celebrate NDP as a family. My daughter is very excited about the performance. No matter how tired she is, she always gets up and dances. She gets ready before all of us,' said Simone's mother, relief teacher Suzanne Tan, 37.
Organisers are hoping that music will be the one common thread which will get Singaporeans, young or old, on their feet.
The soundtrack for NDP 2009, christened The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, incorporates songs from the different eras and speeches of iconic significance.
The music, which will play a key role in Chapter Five (Fast Forward), includes songs as diverse as Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Bengawan Solo and Madonna's Material Girl.
NDP music director, Dr Sydney Tan, said the aim was to put together 'a montage that flowed through the decades' that would evoke nostalgia and a sense of the progress that the nation has made.
'Songs bring out memories, they spell out the good times and the bad times. Every single lyric has been specially chosen, so that it all tells a great story,' added creative director Ivan Heng.
Outside the parade grounds, the excitement is catching on, with the Singapore Flyer also doing its part to get people closer to the action.
Those born in August will get to fly for free in that month if they are accompanied by a full-paying adult. In addition, the Flyer will wine and dine three individuals born on Aug 9 and their partners on a free flight to catch the aerial show and fireworks.
Online, the buzz has also been steadily growing. Facebook group NDPeeps, set up by the parade's organisers, has garnered almost 13,000 fans since it was first created in May. The group includes photo albums and video interviews with participants on their preparations for the parade.
Well-known bloggers Lee Kin Mun, 40, better known as Mr Brown, and Mr Cruz Teng, 29, are also fuelling the virtual excitement on their respective websites. They have been posting updates about the rehearsals on their blogs, and will be tweeting about their experiences on National Day itself.
Mr Lee admitted that being involved in the National Day festivities has changed his previously 'cynical' view of NDP.
'I was like all the people who sat in the comfort of their homes watching it on television and saying, 'Look at all the silly costumes',' he said.
For Mr Teng, the nation's 44th birthday shows all the challenges Singapore has gone through, from British colony to occupation by the Japanese and being a part of Malaysia.
'It was almost as if Singapore wasn't meant to exist in the first place. But we made it, so it's quite a major achievement that Singapore is what it is today,' said Mr Teng.
[email protected]
[email protected]
