Singapore-based producer, Shireen Seow, of Shaksfin Asia, sees the language barrier as only the first of the challenges facing companies wanting to mount Asia-wide tours. Shaksfin, founded by Seow and a colleague based in Germany more than two years ago, works across the fields of production, touring – both to and from Asia –and fee-for-service consultancy. 'We found that there was not a single agency that was able to tour a group from Europe between, let’s say, Japan, Korea and Australia,' Seow comments. 'There are many, many good agencies within each country, but to be able to put up a tour across borders is difficult, considering the language skills required… However, there seems to be a tremendous amount of potential for this kind of touring.' 'In Europe, you know that, particularly in classical music, you can literally go on the road for two months… and you know that you can book, say, 30 or 40 different performances. There are natural circuits already formed… In Asia, there are two periods of touring, coinciding with the main festivals – roughly February to March, and maybe, October – but it is still quite spartan.' Planning-wise, Seow says this means groups have to be prepared to work both within and without the umbrella of festivals, in order to sustain tours of any length. 'They have to be open and flexible enough to realise that, in between, they might have to do some outdoor performances, or even in a small club or a museum – in unconventional spaces.' Meanwhile, language and cultural differences, the most obvious barrier, can manifest themselves in unexpected ways, she says, such as the fact that cultural centres in Asia are invariably run – and often directly programmed – by government. ‘In Asia, the people you are mostly going to be working with are government institutions. The arts centres and festivals are not “mature” [experienced] in their management; they are very much at the beginning stages… There’s no such thing as an arm’s-length principle, and there’s no such thing as an "independent" event. The governments influence festivals directly, right down to programming.' One can expect, says Seow, that governments in Asia will see culture very much as a form of diplomatic relations, and that art is subject to politics – whether Westerners like it or not. 'You have to come in with a blank sheet, and say, "OK, I don’t have expectations," she advises. 'Touring is possible and it is very exciting, but you have to take a long breath… walk the journey, and be willing to be sensitive… because the biggest cultural difference – and I think this would be true for all of Asia – is that people tend not to tell you how they feel.' 'Within Asia, in the traditional classical, conventional field, audiences only want to buy "brand" names – the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic – this is what sells… But then there is the other opportunity, in the contemporary field.' However, difficulties aside, the Asian market is young, hungry and shows much potential for international product, Seow affirms. 'I would say that performers would be very inspired by the audiences here… They are very young – with a dominant age-group of 25-40 years – and they are hungry and open and willing. You will not have so much of a problem with the audiences, it’s more with the promoters.' In Singapore, particularly with last week’s opening of the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay complex, Seow comments, new infrastructure is also rapidly changing the cultural landscape, as well as giving the arts community a much-needed boost.