Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest is a new VR experience that invites the public into an inclusive folktale reimagined by Maya Dance Theatre

Singapore immersive media studio Avventura is bringing Sang Kancil into virtual reality (VR) with a new experience inspired by the quick-witted mouse deer. The interactive production will invite audiences to help Sang Kancil overcome challenges in a captivating virtual world, where animal characters are brought to life through the artistry of Singapore’s Maya Dance Theatre. The experience will tour seven NLB libraries and Enabling Village from 6 June to 2 August 2026.

“Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest is a dance storytelling adventure for the young and the young at heart,” shares Christopher Chew, Founder and Managing Director of Avventura, and the Experiential Producer of this project.

Driven by values, the work invites one to explore the themes of resilience, friendship, ingenuity, and perseverance, while establishing bonding and a sense of community among participants, promoting a growth mindset as it encourages audiences to think out of the box when tackling challenges.

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Free of charge with timeslot booking via various platforms, this project is supported by the UOB Digital Art Grant through the Sustain the Arts (stART) Fund, administered by the National Arts Council Singapore (NAC).

A dedicated activation prioritising persons with disabilities and their caregivers will be held on the weekend of 11 to 12 July at the Enabling Village Singapore – an inclusive community space managed by SG Enable, the national agency that champions disability inclusion and connects stakeholders across the sector. This activation ensures that the immersive arts experience with diversely-abled performers can also be meaningfully enjoyed by diverse communities.

Reimagining a Familiar Character through Immersive Storytelling

Similar to the Arts x Tech Initiative set by the National Arts Council (NAC), Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest aims to bridge art and technology. In doing so, it will enlarge the reach and understanding of an ethnic art in Singapore through a VR experience made widely accessible via a decentralised roadshow format.

An original narrative by Kavitha Krishnan, Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Maya Dance Theatre, this project breaks new ground by placing the key character, Kancil, in a fresh context. As audiences navigate the enchanted forest, it reframes the original storyline with a more empathetic, participatory approach as they are invited to help the distressed Kancil find her way home! It also serves as a reminder for us to remain resilient while caring for others, especially in today’s uncertain and volatile environment!

A Shared Experience for Families and Friends

Equipped with wireless VR headsets, participants move freely in a semi-guided free-roaming environment, allowing for natural interactions within an enchanted forest.

Across eight scenes, participants will journey together, encountering expressive animated characters in richly designed virtual environments. With a multi-player format, each 30-minute session serves to strengthen bonding within intergenerational families or amongst friends, where up to five participants from age eight onwards can join. Participants will be guided by prompts and only need to engage using simple, intuitive interactions with their hands – without the need for controllers.

“In this virtual world, grandparents, parents and children can come together – searching for a magic banana, distracting a tiger, and encouraging Kancil to overcome challenges,” describes Christopher.

Unlike conventional VR experiences designed for individual use, the experience holds space for connection and reflection.

Where Technology meets Culture

With growing public interest in cutting edge virtual reality, this project carries the same aims as Our SG Arts Plan (2023-2027) to build a creative connected society and a distinctive city by embedding arts in daily life for all ages, enhancing artistic excellence, and leveraging technology.

With Avventura‘s motion-capture technology, live performances by Maya Dance Theatre are recorded as movement data so that the dancers can be presented as digital characters – preserving the nuances of choreography and transforming how audiences engage with movement.

“Sang Kancil is a legendary character in a long-standing Malay folk fable and our dance aims to share with audiences an encounter with this tiny, yet quick-witted animal. During the pandemic, we were inspired by its fables to create a digital dance storytelling production, Mighty Mousedeer of the Forest. The same production is now reimagined with more digital nuances including interactive elements, giving the audience opportunities to help Kancil reunite with her family! Empathy, thinking as a team to surmount a tricky situation, and embracing resilience – these are all important elements in our version of its story.”

By anchoring the experience on a familiar cultural character, the project provides an accessible entry point for wider audiences encountering immersive media for the first time.

A Collaborative Ecosystem across Arts and Community

At its core, Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest is a multi-stakeholder collaboration designed to deliver both artistic innovation and meaningful social impact.

The Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest VR experience will be available at the Tampines, Woodlands, Clementi, HarbourFront, Toa Payoh, Bedok and Jurong Libraries.

Inclusivity as a Design Principle

Inclusivity is embedded in both the creation and presentation of Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest.

The project brings together performers from the Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC) – an initiative by Maya Dance Theatre that creates a co-existing space for persons with disabilities and art-makers to learn, perform and develop within the arts ecosystem.

“Through this production, I want to offer a new learning journey, while pushing the boundaries of our dancers from our community initiative, Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC). For the first time, they have embarked on a journey in such a digital creative space, upskilling themselves along the way. Two dancers from DADC were invited to be involved, and as they got to know Kancil’s story, they, too, have learnt values such as resilience and strength through finding solutions in tough circumstances and diversity, and most importantly, through making friends,” shares Kavitha.

By integrating DADC dancers into the motion capture process, the work reflects a more expansive understanding of authorship in the arts – where diversely-abled bodies are empowered to collectively shape the final performance.

Diversely-abled dancer June Lin relates, “It was difficult for me to negotiate the small space to perform the role of the monkey, especially to arrive at the exact spot required during the recording, but I tried my best and I am proud of myself; I didn’t give up!”

The other dancer from DADC, Weng Jiaying, says, “I played the peacock and it’s a very elegant bird, so I used the Mayura mudra (peacock gesture in classic Indian dance) in the Bharatanatyam hand gestures as I become this beautiful peacock; I also used Bharatanatyam footwork and the peacock’s facial expressions especially with my eyes – although you can’t see me in the animation, you will still be witnessing me performing as the character. This is also my first time seeing myself as a character; I love it and wonder whether my family can figure out which character is me!”

Standing by this philosophy of inclusivity, Sang Kancil and The Enchanted Forest will also be presented at Enabling Village Singapore for diverse audiences to be able to enjoy it.

Extending Storytelling Beyond the Experience

The Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest experience is framed by thoughtful pre- and post-journey layers that reinforce its narrative and themes.

Participants are first introduced to Sang Kancil and the story context through a short onboarding brief. Following the experience, participants will be guided to revisit key themes through light-touch prompts and feedback via an online survey.

The experience encourages participants to reflect, discuss, and reconnect with the story in their own ways – bridging immersive technology with traditional forms of storytelling and learning. Conversely, this may also inspire some participants to read up on similar stories, kickstarting their journey in reading.

Advance registration is available via the National Library Board’s booking platform and Peatix.

Ticketing links:

For activations at public libraries via CalSG.
For activation at Enabling Village via Peatix.

For more information, visit here.

The schedule at each participating library and Enabling Village can be found in the Fact Sheet below.

Schedule of Sang Kancil and the Enchanted Forest Roadshow

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