You might have seen them in advertisements for Uniqlo and FWC Insurance, dancing in bright coloured clothes and making all the moves look so effortless.
ScRach MarcS came together in 2008 by Rachel "Racheezels" and Marcus "Marzipan". The pioneer robotic couple in the dance scene in Singapore, they teach classes, actively collaborate with international brands and compete in competitions such as Singapore Dance Delight. They will both be a part of dance production F(low)t: Fear together with dancers Gerald "The Seeker", Marcus Leong "Monkus" and Amin "Sir Waackalot" - all familiar names and faces within the local dance community.
Coming from a classic street dance background with a new ideology to break free from the mould; they are all for embracing creativity to its fullest to push the boundaries of what dance is and can be.
Calling ScRach MarcS a dance movement of harnessing the new and artistic, they are doing their share of changing minds of how the general public view dance. Rachel shares with us the deets.
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Share with us your individual dance backgrounds.
I’m a huge MTV fan when I was younger and learn to dance from Music Videos back in the day. I joined my first hip hop class through my school club in JC. Since then I’ve never stopped learning Dance with genres such as Popping, Waacking, Hip Hop and also took classes in House, Vogue, Ballet, Jazz etc.
Marcus started learning funk styles and then Hip Hop, Contemporary and Jazz and moved on to learn more.
How did ScRach MarcS come about?
Marcus and I met in Popping classes 10 years ago and we first came together for a duo dance battle contest and we meshed our names up to get “ScRach MarcS”. We continue to dance together for years because we share the same goals and passion about the dance and we supported each other along the way.
How do you approach collaborations with other artistes? What’s the process like?
Sometimes we approach others and sometimes got approached to collaborate too. When we watch others’ works, it gives us inspiration or new ideas to create something new as a collaborative effort.
Through your career, how has street dance in Singapore evolved and how are you evolving with the industry itself?
The Street Dance scene grew from almost nothing a decade ago and now each dance genre has grown to build distinct styles amongst dancers. More people also travel to learn more and also spread the word about our local community. Our style has changed and also adapted to the changes across the years.
Besides musicians, what other art forms will you be interested in collaborating with?
So many! Visual art, technology, fashion, theatre are some of the other disciplines we wish to collaborate but we’re open to all!
What’s the value in being a dance professional while teaching on the side?
It complements each other - giving to students and giving to an audience is very different aspects of the dance and the better we get at teaching, means the better we get in our craft.
With a practice of 10 years so far, you still go for competitions. What’s something you gain while competing?
I think competitions challenge us to continue to strive for a new height in our art. No matter the years of experience, in competitions we get to meet and exchange our dance with other dancers too, whether young or seasoned. This process keeps us inspired as we get to see everyone showcase their individual styles and ideas.