Après un Rêve

Après un rêve is a neo-classical work created for Singapore Ballet by Claire Voss, as part of the annual Singapore French Festival Voilah! in association with the French Embassy of Singapore
Set to Gabriel Fauré’s music, the piece is an homage to Fauré and inspired by Claude Monet, marking the centenary of their legacy.
It reflects on the idea of a homeland left behind in childhood, a place that, over time, exists only as a dream shaped by memory and imagination. Through a child’s gaze, the past becomes softer, more luminous, and deeply nostalgic.
For the choreographer, this is the village she left at fourteen to pursue ballet, recalled through what Marcel Proust described as “la madeleine”, memories awakened by sensation and emotion. This universal feeling of longing resonates across cultures, connecting personal history with collective experience.
Visually inspired by the colours of Monet’s garden in Giverny (which echo the Botanic and Orchid gardens of Singapore) ,the work celebrates French culture in dialogue with Singapore’s multicultural identity.
The palette of purple and white honours both Monet’s world and the national flower of Singapore, symbolising memory, beauty, and cultural connection.