Gerak ABC!

Gerak ABC! is a bilingual (English-Malay) participatory dance theatre performance, animating the letters of the alphabet through the body. The dancers bring the letters to life by embodying and stringing the letters into simple movement words, like “Gerak,” which means “move”.  

Children are welcome to watch, sing, laugh and join in! This silly and topsy-turvy performance brings the fun and beauty of the Malay language to young children. Children who already know the Malay language might enjoy the show because of the familiar words and sounds, while children who don’t already know the language can get interested in it. 

Gerak ABC! was developed following the success of Rolypoly Family’s Letters Come Alive! and was created in collaboration with theatre director Dalifah Shahril, and contributions by performers Nurul Elyana Hamlan (Ely), Syimah Sabtu and Shahizman Sulaiman. It was produced by The Artground and first presented online in May 2020 for arts@SAFRA home series. The live presentation was later created for NAC-AEP school performances and the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2023 by Singapore Book Council. 

Directed by: Faye Lim and Bernice Lee (Rolypoly Family) in collaboration with Dalifah Shahril 

Performers: Shahizman Sulaiman, Chew Shaw En