The Esplanade's annual Huayi - Chinese Festival of the Arts will be heavy on familiar favourites next year.
The 13th edition, which runs from Feb 20 to March 1, will see the return of Hong Kong director Edward Lam, known for his slick contemporary repackagings of classic themes, renowned Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-min of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, and the celebrated composer and conductor Tan Dun of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame. Tickets go on sale on Thursday from Sistic.
Lam will be revisiting a Chinese classic in the conclusion of his Four Great Classics series, titled What Is Sex?. In it, twelve charming men are engaged by equally fetching female clients to read Cao Xueqin's Dream Of The Red Chamber.
Lin pays homage to his native Taiwan with Rice, a dance work that grew from two years spent observing the cultivation of rice in the Chihshang farming community. The performance is deeply rooted in the land, and also parallels the human life cycle as it explores death and rebirth.
Tan also returns to his roots, in China's Hunan province, where he spent years exploring nushu, a fast-disappearing language used exclusively by women and passed from mother to daughter in a remote village in Hunan. What grew from this journey is NU SHU - The Secret Songs Of Women, which will be accompanied by 13 short films that give audience members a glimpse into this intimate community.
Two Singaporean singers will also have a homecoming of sorts - Ling Kai, based in mainland China, and Hanjin, based in Hong Kong, will both be performing in intimate showcases at the Esplanade Recital Studio.
For more information and programme details, go to www.huayifestival.com
Follow Corrie Tan on Twitter @CorrieTan
