Every year since 1990, the Singapore Armed Forces have been holding training exercises at Shoalwater Bay, a few hours north of Yeppoon. For the last couple of years, the Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama company (which travels around the world performing for the Singapore Armed Forces), has been coming to Yeppoon & Rockhampton to thank the residents here for their hospitality.
Last night we went to one of the performances in the Yeppoon Town Hall. Entry to the performance was totally free, unlike last year when it was $2. First off, they had a band of string musicians from 7:30PM to 8PM, when the main show started. The main show had lots of dancing, with a live band providing music for some of the acts. The show finished at 9:30PM, so in all there was 2 hours of performing.
There was a mixture of music and performances, ranging from traditional Singaporean music to 1970’s stuff.
One of my favourite acts was this man who was able to copy instruments like the drums and didgeridoo using only his voice. This sport is called beatboxing. In the video I’ve included below, you’ll be amazed at what he can do. There was no accompanying music however.
If you missed the performance at the Yeppoon Town Hall, fear not, there are quite a few more performances coming up this month around Rockhampton. See http://www.venuesandevents.com.au/whatsonNOV.html#MDC.
I managed to take lots of video of the event (1.2GB in all), so I’ve embedded some Youtube videos and photos below. The photos aren’t too good because of the low light. Remember that you can watch the high quality version of the videos by going to the YeppoonInfo Youtube account and selecting the video, then clicking the “high quality” link just underneath it. There are also some videos on that account that I haven’t embedded on this post.
Photo #1 from one of the traditional dances
Photo #2 from one of the traditional dances
Photo #3 from one of the traditional dances
The beatboxing guy who can imitate the didgeridoo and drums with his voice. No extra music added!
A Singaporean traditional song (I think).
One of the very last performances by the Music & Drama company. Costumes were from a ’70s themed part.
The Last act of the night
