Super 24, which started here in 2012, returned for its 11th edition on 17-18 Aug at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The competition is supported by the National Arts Council, National Youth Council, and Kallang Alive Sports Management. Said to be the world’s first four-sided dance competition, Super 24 had put teams of 24 dancers each on a square stage as the judges and audience looked on from all around. Strictly Modern Zone, a group representing Singapore Polytechnic, executed its dance routine in the Tertiary category final of the competition. This was the first time the team competed in the event. Meanwhile, Temasek Polytechnic Dance Ensemble (TPDE), a group made up of mostly hip-hoppers, performed a modern dance routine in the Tertiary final, clinching third place in the category.

Temasek Polytechnic Dance Ensemble (TPDE), a group made up of mostly hip-hoppers, performing a modern dance routine in the Tertiary final of the Super 24 competition at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Out of 13 finalists, TPDE clinched third place in the category.

A dance competition created in Singapore demands that contestants have to look good not only from the front of the stage – their dance moves and choreography also have to impress judges on all sides of a square stage.
 

Super 24, which started here in 2012, returned for its 11th edition on Aug 17 and 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium – a long way from its humble inaugural edition held at an atrium in ITE College West with 14 teams.

In 2024, more than 70 local and international teams, from countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, competed in three categories – Secondary, Tertiary and Open.
 

Created by Singaporean social entrepreneur Kenny Low, the unique mega crew dance competition has teams of 24 dancers performing a 90-second routine in any genre as four judges each watch and assess them from one side of an 8m-by-8m stage.
 

Teams have to use all 24 members of a crew effectively, Mr Low said.
 

“One of the key elements of Super 24 is to individually celebrate every single dancer in a team, because every dancer counts,” said Mr Low, the 49-year-old founder of dance studio O School.
 

“I’m very grateful for how far Super 24 has come. It is essentially a Singaporean story – a lot of people in a small space, but we always find ways to be creative and innovate and become a force to be reckoned with,” he added.
 

Philippines-based TPM was crowned champion in the Open category after performing an electrifying routine that earned the team the first-ever perfect score of 25 in Super 24 history.
 

The teams are judged based on choreography, technique, musicality and team execution.
 

North Vista Secondary School and NTU MJ from Nanyang Technological University clinched the Secondary and Tertiary titles respectively.
 

The competition is supported by the National Arts Council, National Youth Council and Kallang Alive Sports Management.

The Strait Times © Singapore Press Holdings. Reproduced with permission