Gerak ABC! is Rolypoly Family’s bilingual English-Malay rendition of Letters Come Alive!. The dancers bring the letters to life by embodying and stringing them into simple movement words, eg. “Gerak,” which means “move”. 

With English and Malay languages sharing the same letters, Rolypoly Family used wordplay, puns and references that can emerge from the similarities and differences between the two languages. Most of all, this show highlights how we can move and play together, stay curious and joyful together, even across different languages.

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 created in collaboration with theatre director Dalifah Shahril, and contributions by performers Nurul Elyana Hamlan (Ely) and Syimah Sabtu. It was produced by The Artground and first presented online in May 2020 for arts@SAFRA home series. The live presentation was was later created for school performances and the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2023 by Singapore Book Council.

Gerak ABC is pre-approved for NAC-AEP subsidies (Primary 1 and selected preschools). Find out more here.