This is Mohamed Noor Sarman.

He's 54, and is the longest-serving Singaporean dancer at the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) — Singapore's first professional ballet company.

Yes, we have one, and the SDT was founded in 1988 by local ballet legends Goh Soo Khim and the late Anthony Then, with three Singaporean students from the Singapore Ballet Academy as well as four other dancers from Malaysia and the Philippines.

Md Noor, as he is affectionately known in the company, joined as an originally jazz-trained dancer even though he had no proper classical ballet experience — inspired to do so after he watched the SDT's debut show, called Beginnings, in June 1988.

Three decades on, he is now the SDT's ballet master, and together with SDT, is celebrating their collective 30th anniversary — of him being with the company, and the company in existence.

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And in tribute, Md Noor choreographed a special ballet captured in a video to this year's National Day soundtrack: Charlie Lim's repurposed "We Are Singapore".

Incorporating both classical and neo-classical ballet steps into his choreography, Md Noor says his piece also reflects the SDT's fluidity with numerous dance genres not restricted to classical ballet — even as that is its foundation.

It's pretty cool too — it starts in the SDT studios, but also features iconic locations in Singapore, like:

The Anderson Bridge, outside the iconic Fullerton Hotel:

The Marina Bay Sands skypark:

And the Victoria Theatre, where SDT did their first performance:

Here, SDT principal dancers Chihiro Uchida and Kenya Nakamura are joined by 12 other dancers:

And it concludes on stage, where the story begins and ends:

Significantly, it also includes a sign language segment led by some of the 10 Singaporean dancers in the Company, on the steps of the National Gallery.

This segment corresponds to the pledge that is rapped by Kevin Lester, as the Singaporean dancers lead in signing the words of the pledge as they walk down the steps of the Gallery building:

Here's what Md Noor says about the piece:

"The past 30 years at Singapore Dance Theatre has been very special and personal to me. I am very humbled and grateful for the opportunities presented to me to grow and learn, and I have gained so much valuable knowledge. It has been an enriching, fulfilling, and empowering experience to see how the company has grown, and to be able to give back to this company by teaching and investing into the next generation of dancers. This choreography encapsulates that passing on of legacy, and celebrates Singapore’s glorious independence, Singapore Dance Theatre’s growth, as well as my 30 years of service to the company."

As part of their 30th anniversary celebrations, the SDT is also putting up a gala performance later this month at the Esplanade Theatre.

You can find the details for that and buy tickets to catch it on SISTIC.

Watch the full video here, it's chio:

This article is done in collaboration with NDP 18. Mothership.sg is a major partner for NDP 18.

Top photo: screenshot from SDT video