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Overview Students' Work Modules Entry Requirements Fees How to Apply
Overview Students' Work Modules Entry Requirements Fees How to Apply
Duration: 3 Years
Mode: Full-time

Lead as a Performance Maker of Your Time

Don’t wait for the opportunity to arise, create your own roadmap to thrive in a fast-evolving performance ecosystem—with the BA (Hons) Performance Making programme. Offered in collaboration with the world-renowned University of the Arts London (UAL), the Performance Making programme prepares you to acquire performance, creation and production knowledge and skills required of emerging professional dance and theatre artists to forge a personal artistic identity.

You will follow a specialisation in either Dance or Theatre and have dedicated classes in that discipline. Students from both Dance and Theatre will also attend classes together that focus on interdisciplinarity, research and performance making skills, giving you an edge as you work collaboratively on making original and interpretive works. Additionally, you will learn key research methodologies and approaches, as well as digital technologies and their potential to enhance your performance making. Valuable opportunities to connect and engage with the industry and professionals, including directors and creatives, will be afforded to you too, as part of the programme.

On your way to graduation, you will be deeply involved in interdisciplinarity as a process: collaborating with another discipline; thinking critically about a subject from different perspectives and synthesising information to gain a more comprehensive understanding; and integrating your own discipline with another discipline to construct new knowledge in your practice.

Please watch this webinar to learn more about the BA (Hons) Performance Making from our faculty and students.

At the end of this programme, students should be able to:
  • Demonstrate an artistic identity and an embodied knowledge of Dance or Theatre performance forms with technical proficiency and confidence
  • Demonstrate reflexive thinking, critical and creative engagement with traditions and histories to construct/reconstruct and present/represent culture in performance making
  • Engage in performance making through the application of appropriate performance vocabularies, techniques, research, new media and digital technologies, structures, contexts, and methods. Retrieve and synthesise, document and describe, analyse, evaluate, articulate, and communicate information and ideas about performance
  • Participate with enterprise, resourcefulness, and resilience in the organisation, curation, and realisation of contemporary performance productions
  • Apply interdisciplinary approaches to realise contemporary performance

Practice-led and Discipline-specific Training

The specialised pre-professional technical and artistic proficiency in Theatre or Dance that you develop will go a long way to forging a unique personal performance identity, enhancing content creation, and realising original performance projects.

Significant Connections with Industry

You will collaborate with industry professionals to develop industry-related skills through a variety of activities, including a professional-standard public production.

Strong Focus on Interdisciplinary Learning

You will engage and examine interdisciplinary forms and processes. You will also have the valuable opportunity to practise and apply interdisciplinarity in original group devised works in Year 3.

Leverage Our Unique Location for Multicultural Perspectives

Located in the heart of Singapore’s vibrant arts scene in the civic district, you will have ample opportunities to cultivate local, regional and global awareness, and appreciation through multicultural immersion opportunities. Drawing on Western and Asian performing arts traditions with a focus on Southeast Asia, you will learn to create contemporary performances with a sense of adventure and innovation.

Reap the Benefits of the Strong UAL-NAFA Partnership

Cementing our position as a premier arts institution in Southeast Asia with the UAL-NAFA partnership, you will enjoy a rigorous and high-quality curriculum that is a hallmark of the prestigious University of the Arts London. As part of the programme, you will spend five weeks at UAL, learning from the very best international practitioners and experts while gaining fresh perspectives from being immersed in the lively cultural capital of London.



Read The Straits Times feature on our transformative programme.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction




More Information
UAL Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate from the degree programmes, students are required to attain a total of 360 credits. For students admitted via direct entry into second year, they are required to attain a total of 240 credits, which comprise 120 credits for second year and 120 credits for third year.

Mode of Instruction

A variety of learning and teaching methods will facilitate students' artistic, creative, and theoretical development. The integration of practical and contextual studies will see students develop technical and performance skills continuously and simultaneously with critical enquiry, performance making, and management skills. Lecturers and professional practitioners facilitate student-led, self-directed, and collaborative learning in a range of processes including conceptualisation, research/investigation, practice/rehearsal, exploration/creation, production/administration, and performance/presentation. Students are guided to be future-ready towards increased independence and autonomy, resiliency and adaptability in learning and experience in the industry.

Assessment Methods

Students demonstrate their level of achievement in a diverse range of performance- making assessments to ensure that they are appropriately prepared for industry expectations. A variety of summative and formative assessment modes recognise students’ different learning styles to assess their technical ability, artistry, creativity, knowledge, critical understanding, and application. Formative assessment includes relevant feedback strategies to enable students to meet the course learning outcomes. Assessment submission formats acknowledges a range of learning needs and abilities, including those listed below. Additionally, opportunities may be provided for self and peer assessment which may be of value to the learning process.

Career Pathways

Upon the completion of this programme, dynamic careers in the creative industries await:

  • Actor/Actress
  • Choreographer
  • Dancer
  • Dance/Drama Teacher
  • Director
  • Dramaturg
  • Performing Artist
  • Performance Maker
  • Playwright
  • Production Assistant

 

Students' Work

Modules

Code Title Semester Credits
PM1411

Performance Making Lab: Introducing

This unit will introduce you to some of the key principles and approaches informing the study of performance making as an academic discipline and artistic practice.  You will focus on the concept of collaboration, including interdisciplinarity through critical thinking and participation in a range of processes and strategies supported by stage and production management skills. Contemporary performance will be investigated through creative and critical inquiry, framed by the questions: ‘What is performance making? What can it be?’ across a range of forms and contexts.
1 20
PM1412

Performance Practice: Creation and Performance Fundamentals

This unit will introduce you to dance and theatre techniques to support and enhance your performance and creation practices. Performance and its related aspects are considered in the context of history, culture, the arts and the study of body and movement. You will study key performance practitioners and explore their methodologies and ideas through practical exercises. You will be guided to identify your own personal and professional goals.
1 40
PM1421

Performance Making Lab: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Southeast Asian Performance

This unit will further develop your collaborative skills and practice. You will examine interdisciplinarity and its link with interculturalism, focusing on the performing arts in Southeast Asian. You will be introduced to lighting and sound to support and enhance performance making.
2 20
PM1422

Performance Practice: Critical and Conceptual Frameworks

In this unit you will continue to contextualise your own artistic practice within the cannon of performance histories. You will further develop your technical performance skills through knowledge of performance practice as well as critical and conceptual frameworks. By refining your personal aspirations, you will begin to develop the requisite skills to achieve your goals.
2 40
PM2511

Performance Making Lab: Exploring Creative and Professional Practice

In this unit, you will engage in research methodologies and apply them to your own creative practice. You will expand your approaches to creation and begin to develop a personal aesthetic. Additionally, you will explore how project management can define and support your creative practice.
1 20
PM2512

Performance Practice: Embodied Knowledge

In this unit you will expand your technical performance skills through the exploration of a range of performance practices, as well as critical and conceptual frameworks.
1 20
PM2513

Industry Project: Engaging with the Profession

In this unit you will work with an industry director/creative in a professional-standard public production to develop an understanding of the practical process of staging a performance.
1 20
PM2521

Performance Making Lab: Individualising Creative Identity

In this unit you will be equipped with a range of skills and techniques to conduct your own independent performance research. You will forge a personal creative identity and explore how to articulate this in your work. Arts policy and proposal writing will also be introduced.
2 20
PM2522

Performance Practice: Embracing the Contemporary

This unit will expand your technical performance skills through a clear and consistent knowledge of performance practice through critical and conceptual frameworks. You will acquire compositional improvisation strategies and performance techniques working with a range of stimuli.
2 20
PM2523

International Placement: UAL: Digital Performance Lab

In this unit you will explore digital strategies for performance making and their transformative impact on contemporary performance.
2 20
PM3611

Performance Making Project: Contemporary Southeast Asian

In this unit you will explore and interrogate the notion of ‘contemporary Southeast Asian’ and position yourself and your practice in the Southeast Asian performing arts landscape. You will draw on the information, skills and techniques you have developed during this programme. Working collaboratively, you will create a public performance. You will document, critically reflect, analyse, and evaluate your process in a project report.
1 60
PM3621

Performance Making Project: Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In this unit you will explore and interrogate the notion of ‘interdisciplinarity’ drawing on the information, skills and approaches you have developed during this programme.  Working collaboratively, you will create a public performance. You will document, critically reflect, analyse, and evaluate your process in a project report.
2 60
Show More

entry requirements

Find out about the entry requirements that apply to you.

Through an audition that consists of three (3) components – Solo Performance (online submission), Interview, and Workshop (in-person session), we look for:

  • Passion for the performing arts
  • Commitment and motivation to strive for excellence in the programme
  • Openness and willingness to collaborate creatively and respectfully with others
  • Ability to create, develop and respond to new ideas and to work with new creative forms
  • Openness and responsiveness to different cultural perspectives
  • An aptitude for self-directed learning and critical evaluation of work
  • Ability to communicate ideas physically and/or verbally
  • Aptitude for creative problem solving
  • Technical/artistic acumen
Audition Date
19 December 2024
24 January 2025
21 February 2025
21 March 2025
25 April 2025
16 May 2025

Note: You will be notified of the outcome of your application 4 to 6 weeks after your portfolio interview or audition. Some application outcomes may take longer than expected.

Audition

1. Solo Performance (online submission)

Applicants are expected to perform a monologue that has been learnt by heart, taken from a published playtext (2-3 minutes), or a dance solo (1.5 minutes) choreographed either by the applicant or by someone else. Through the presentation of a solo performance piece, applicants are assessed on the following:

  • Technical/artistic acumen.
  • Ability to communicate ideas physically and/or verbally.

Monologue (Theatre Specialism)

  • Ability to perform a dramatic text – comprehension, characterisation and creativity.
  • Physical skills - presence on stage, spatial awareness, physical range, movement vocabulary and physical portrayal of character.
  • Vocal skills – projection, clarity, range and tone.

Dance Solo (Dance Specialism)

  • Technique - coordination, control and alignment.
  • Artistry - spatial awareness, musicality, dynamic range and performance quality.
  • Fitness - strength, control, flexibility, coordination, speed, stamina and stretch.

Guidelines for Video Recording and Submission:

  • The recording should be a clear and accurate representation of your performance. Do not edit the audio/visual of your recording.
  • The camera should be stationary for the performance.
  • The recording should show you in full body.
  • The recording should be uploaded here at least 2 days before the in-person Interview and Workshop Audition.
  • Allowed video file types are .mpeg,.mp4,.mov,.m4v,.avi,.wmv,.flv,.asf,.mpg,.mp3 and the maximum file size is 200 MB.

2. Interview (In-Person Session)

Guidelines for Interview and Workshop In-Person Audition:

  • The audition may take up to 2 hours.
  • Wear comfortable clothing that would allow for ease of movement.

Applicants are expected to discuss why they want to study ‘performance making’ during the interview and share any relevant experience. Through the interview, applicants are assessed on the following:

  • Passion for the performing arts.
  • Commitment and motivation to strive for excellence in the programme.
  • Aptitude for self-directed learning and critical evaluation of work.

3. Workshop (In-Person Session)

Applicants are expected to participate fully in the interactive workshop. Through the workshop, applicants are assessed on the following:

  • Ability to communicate ideas physically and/or verbally.
  • Aptitude for creative problem solving.
  • Openness and willingness to collaborate creatively and respectfully with others.
  • Ability to create, develop and respond to new ideas and to work with new creative forms.
  • Openness and responsiveness to different cultural perspectives.

The minimum entry requirement for this programme is either one of the following qualifications:

  • Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level: Minimum 2 A-Level/ H2 subjects with a pass in General Paper
  • Local Polytechnic Diploma
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma
  • NUS High School Diploma
  • Equivalent of Year 12 qualification

Applicants with a relevant diploma from NAFA, LASALLE or a recognised institution may be considered for direct entry into the second year of the Bachelor programme subject to availability of places.

Conditional Offers for Degree Admission
You may use the latest results available to apply for the programme if you have not received your final examination results. You will be given conditional offers and are still required to submit the following results, as applicable:
  • GCE A-Level results with minimum 2 A-Level/ H2 subjects with a pass in General Paper
  • Polytechnic Diploma certificate and transcript
  • IB Diploma certificate and transcript
  • Final result slip/Proof of completion of Year 12

If you fail to provide documentary evidence of having met the admission requirements, your conditional offer will be withdrawn.

 

NAFA hopes to attract applicants with the potential to become excellent arts practitioners. Applicants are selected by merit, based on the following criteria:
  • Potential in Artistic Talent and Creativity
  • Educational Qualification
  • Language Proficiency
  • Special Factor
  • Age Requirement
Selection is competitive and is subject to the availability of places.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning
Applicants who do not meet these programme entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases.

The programme team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
  • Related academic or work experience
  • The quality of the personal statement
  • A strong academic or other professional references
  • A combination of these factors
Each application will be considered on its own merit though we cannot guarantee an offer in each case. In such cases, approval by the University of the Arts London will be required prior to final acceptance into the programme.

All classes are taught in English. The minimum English Language proficiency requirement: IELTS level 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Click here for other acceptable English language qualifications.


How to Apply

If you want to further your artistic self-exploration, find out how you can make that bold step here.

Apply online
Apply online here along with your application fees. Applications are open from October each year for the following year’s August intake.
Keep the Application Acknowledgement for your reference and submit the required documents
Send documents listed in the checklist to [email protected] for verification within five working days from the application date.

Make payment of the Application Fee at the cashier counter in NAFA or online
Make payment of the Application Fee at the cashier counter in NAFA or online at https://payment.nafa.edu.sg/Students. Applicants who are paying online will be required to upload the above documents during application.
Upload your solo performance recording
Upload your solo performance video recording here. Allowed video file types are .mpeg,.mp4,.mov,.m4v,.avi,.wmv,.flv,.asf,.mpg,.mp3 and the maximum file size is 200 MB.
Application outcome
Receive the outcome of your application via email within 4 – 6 weeks after your Portfolio Submission/Interview/Audition or Admission Test.