Sterling Acts

ONE OF THE MOST HEARTBREAKING pieces of contemporary dance this writer has ever seen is Shoot The Moon by Nederlands Dans Theater 1 (NDT1). To be performed as part of a thrilling quadruple bill by the acclaimed company at October's da:ns festival, it depicts the lives of two couples and a singleton as they fall in and out of love in three separate apartments.

Their daily routines, deep-seated affections and resentments, quarrels and lovemaking, are conveyed through the moving, angular choreography of Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot. Set against Philip Glass' yearning music Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, this work won raves across the world since its debut in 2005, and will no doubt be a highlight of the 13th edition of da:ns when it returns to the Esplanade in October.

The country's premier dance festival also features several other headliners. The star-studded International Stars Of Ballet will showcase the stage charisma and technical virtuosity of star ballerinas and ballerinos performing duets from classical titles. The dancers include Adiarys Almeida, Igor Kolb, Maria Kochetkova, Misa Kuranaga, Oksana Bondareva, Paulo Arrais, Piotr Stanczyk, Sebastian Kloborg, Svetlana Lunkina and Taras Domitro. These talents have danced with the greatest ballet companies in the world such as the Bolshoi Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, the Mikhailovsky Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Danish Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet.