SINGAPORE, Sept 3 — It may have started out as a small, unassuming festival, but as it moves into its sixth edition in November, it would seem M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival is slowly putting its name out there, particularly in the regional dance scene.

From an initial three-performance platform in 2010, the annual event spearheaded by local group THE Dance Company now features seven performance platforms, as well as workshops and classes across three weeks.

Perhaps the most interesting growth has been in one of its newest platforms: The Southeast Asian Choreographers Showcase. When it was first introduced last year, it drew 15 applicants. This year, organisers have received 45 proposals from 38 applicants.

There has been growth in another popular platform: Its M1 Open Stage, a kind of “open mic” showcase for dance artists. This year, 38 applicants have submitted proposals, up from 28 last year, from as far as Belarus and Bulgaria, but many from the region as well.

This could be taken as a sign of a growing awareness of the presence of this festival in the region, and a “huge thirst and hunger” for such platforms to showcase works, said Jael Chew, THE’s company manager.

The proposals for the Southeast Asian platform have been a “mixed bag”, which included traditional dance forms, so organisers have made a concerted effort to present a more carefully-curated selection of about three to four artists, anchored by a solo performance by Singaporean artist Daniel K, who will be presenting “Cheerleader of Europe,” a quirky piece in the vein of an earlier work titled “The Cheerleader,” which was presented at the Esplanade in 2013.

Elsewhere, hotshot Indonesian choreographer Jecko Siompo, who mixes Papuan dance forms with hip-hop, is collaborating with THE Dance Company for the first time. His still-unnamed work will be part of a double-bill show, together with a restaging of “Pellucid,” one of the early works of the company’s artistic director and festival artistic director Kuik Swee Boon.

Other highlights this year include Australian group Chunky Move’s “Gentle is the Power,” choreographed by Anouk van Dijk; and “Perfect Idea” by R.se Dance Company from South Korea, choreographed by Kim Dong-kyu.

The line-up for the festival’s regular DiverCity programme, which will feature Singaporean artists and groups, will be announced at a later date as organisers are in talks with the National Arts Council. It will feature roughly eight works across two days.

One new development is LASALLE College of the Arts coming on-board as a programme partner for the festival’s Continuum Dance Exchange, which gathers young dancers from local and overseas dance conservatories.

The festival is also continuing its mission to connect artists with potential collaborators overseas by bringing in notable names in the international dance scene to check out the festival. Among those invited this year are artistic directors of groups from New Zealand and France, and a dance critic from Japan.

Festival manager Tania Goh reckons the international and regional connections bode well for the festival. “We’re very happy about the engagement internationally,” she said, adding that the multiple platforms of the festival have “the potential to grow into their own mini-festivals”.

But there is still much room to grow, Chew added. “It’s still a young festival so we are very reactive,” she said.

Which means, at this point, having a themed festival is not yet in the books. Kuik said that as the festival slowly makes its name in the dance circuit, it will emphasise and concentrate on the quality of the works first. — TODAY

M1 CONTACT Contemporary Dance Festival 2015 runs from November 21 to December 13. Tickets go on sale from September 14 at SISTIC. For more information, visit http://www.the-contact.org