59:59
A Singapore–Taiwan co-production by Decadance Co and Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company
11 & 12 September 2026 8PM
Esplanade Theatre Studio
Standard: $42 + booking fee
Concessions available.
If you had one hour left to live, how would you spend it?
What would become important?
Who would you want beside you?
What would you hold on to—and what would you finally let go?
59:59 begins with a hypothetical final hour.
Bringing together seven dancers from Singapore and Taiwan, the full-length contemporary dance work confronts the inevitability of death not by asking what comes after, but by turning our attention towards the time that remains before it.
Moving through urgency, resistance, memory, connection and acceptance, 59:59 considers how an awareness of our own mortality might change the way we experience the seemingly ordinary parts of being alive.
About the Work and the Process
59:59 is a new Singapore–Taiwan co-production between Decadance Co and Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company, co-choreographed by Singapore-based Rachel Lum and Taiwan-based Hsu Chen Wei.
The work brings together dancers from both companies in a collaborative creation shaped by personal reflection, intercultural exchange and research into predominantly Asian perspectives on mortality, impermanence and our relationship with time.
Research surrounding the project has included conversations and encounters with people whose experiences offer different relationships with mortality and ageing—from seniors and cancer survivors to a funeral director—as well as exchanges with dance practitioners.
Research conducted in Taiwan included engagements and interviews with seniors from Fu Lin Nursing Home, conversations with cancer survivors and a funeral director, and experiential workshops and sharings with dancers in Kaohsiung. These experiences are not presented as documentary testimony. Instead, they provide points of reflection from which the artists question their own experiences and assumptions, forming a foundation for the work's choreographic exploration.
Masterclass with Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company
1 September 2026, 7.30pm
Esplanade Rehearsal Studio
Duration: 2 hours
As part of their time in Singapore, members of Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company will conduct a two-hour masterclass for the local dance community.
The session offers participants an opportunity to encounter the company's movement and training approaches firsthand, while creating a space for artistic exchange between Taiwanese and Singapore-based dance practitioners.
The masterclass extends the exchange behind 59:59 beyond its 7 performers, allowing a wider community of dancers and practitioners to engage directly with the visiting artists and their practice.
Masterclass Fee: $48
Suitable for: Dancers of Intermediate Proficiency
Capacity: 50 dancers
Special rate for 59:59 audiences
Ticket holders to 59:59 will receive an exclusive promo code to book the masterclass at a discounted rate.
Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company
Founded in Taiwan in 2015, Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company is a contemporary dance company led by choreographer Hsu Chen-Wei. The company develops a distinctive physical language rooted in Taiwanese culture, exploring themes of life and death, belief, ritual, memory, and human relationships. Through powerful physicality, dynamic ensemble movement, and ritualistic atmospheres, its works transform cultural and personal experiences into contemporary performance.
The company has presented its works in Taiwan and internationally, participating in performances, festivals, and artistic exchanges across Asia and Europe. Through creation, touring, international collaboration, and educational programmes, Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company continues to explore the possibilities of contemporary Taiwanese dance while building connections between local cultural perspectives and international audiences.
www.hsuwallydance.com | Instagram
supported by
National Arts Council Singapore
Tote Board Arts Fund
National Culture and Arts Foundation Taiwan
Department of Cultural Affairs Taipei
Bureau of Cultural Affairs Kaohsiung
Frank Chen Foundation