For Andy Benjamin Cai (@andybenjamincai), dancing is life. As Creative Director of the Music & Drama Company, Andy oversees all creative concepts initiated by the creative producers, takes part in collaborative discussions, explores new and innovative ideas, and helps bring creative ideas to life.
It’s a role that comes naturally to Andy, who became interested in dance as a child. He later formally trained in the art, and now, as he prepares to celebrate his 40th birthday, enjoys a thriving career as a professional choreographer, educator and dancer.
An early start
Andy studied at Lasalle College of the Arts, graduating from its dance programme in 2002. But his passion for dance began much earlier than that.
“Music played a significant role in my life growing up,” he shares.
“My family would watch iconic Hong Kong singers like Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, and I used to be captivated by their dancing and the choreography of their shows.”
In Secondary Three, Andy’s school dance club tried to get more boys to participate in a dance competition. At the time, Andy did not have a CCA (co-curricular activity), so he was left with no choice but to join the dance club. It was then that he discovered that he had a natural talent for picking up and remembering choreography, despite not having any formal dance training.
“After competing in several dance competitions, I found the courage to audition for a dance scholarship,” Andy continues.
“This was when I started my formal dance training with Lionel Araya (a well-known American dance instructor) before joining Lasalle.”
Making dance his profession
Andy has now been dancing professionally for 22 years and has a long list of accomplishments and awards to show for it.
For instance, he’s represented Singapore in numerous global dance competitions in Italy, France and Russia, receiving Overall Champion titles and bringing back other prestigious awards.
One of Andy’s proudest moments was being chosen as the Chief Choreographer for the Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) in 2017 and 2022, and for the third time for NDP 2024 this year. He also choreographed the Singapore National Vaccination Campaign videos and the inaugural Olympic Esports week in June 2023.
In 2019, he was handpicked to join the Music & Drama Company creative team as a choreographer. He admits that the job has been stressful at times.
“Choreographing important national events, including NDPs, came with a huge amount of pressure – I had to ensure that everything was executed flawlessly,” Andy points out.
“When I first took on the role of Chief Choreographer for NDP 2017, I have to say that it was incredibly stressful. However, as the years passed, and the more NDPs I was involved in, I became more confident about my skills and felt better equipped to handle the demands associated with choreographing large-scale events.”
Dance as a form of expression
Andy no longer performs as much as he used to, but he still participates in dance classes. He also runs regularly to maintain his fitness and stamina. He says that as he gets older, he finds it a challenge to stay in shape. But he’s careful about what he eats, enjoying meals that are “balanced and nutritious”.
Work is a priority for Andy. In fact, he professes to being a workaholic and often finds himself apologising to family members for missing birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and other gatherings. But he maintains that family is important to him, so when he has time off work, he likes to spend it making precious memories with his loved ones.
What Andy enjoys most about dance and choreography is that they help him to express his thoughts and emotions creatively, through physical movement. He adds that he loves all forms of dance, too.
“I have a deep appreciation for all styles, because each one requires training, discipline and technique. Having trained in jazz, hip-hop, ballet, contemporary dance, locking and salsa, I find it difficult to choose a favourite. I enjoy all the challenges that come with each dance style.”
While he may be getting older, Andy isn’t likely to hang up his dancing shoes anytime soon. In fact, he dreams of someday opening his own performing arts college, where aspiring dancers can train and make their own artistic dreams come true.
With dance having brought so much colour and joy to his life, Andy adds that he can’t imagine ever stopping what he’s doing, describing a life without dance as “boring”.
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