As the KEVII Internal Cultural Night drew closer, you could sense the change in atmosphere around hall – a sense of urgency as students dashed off after dinner for rehearsals and touch-ups. Preparations for this event started as early as the beginning of the semester for certain culture clubs in hall as ICN is the first performance of the academic calendar. The importance of this event for most clubs was summed up by Xiong Lingyi, our Dance Demonz head, who stated, “It’s quite important as the freshies get a chance to perform.”
This night is the first chance for culturally inclined freshmen to showcase their talents under guidance of and with their seniors. And they did so with confidence.I made my way down to the Communal Hall slightly before 9 to find it a hive of activity as performers for the latter half of the show milled around together with the audience at the back.
Here’s the low-down on the events :
1) Hall Master’s Speech
As with most events in hall, this one began with a customary speech by our Hall Master. It was succinct and definitely whetted the appetite of the audience for the rest of the show.
2) Dance: Hip-hop
The show began with a bang as members of the DansDemonz took to the stage for the first of 3 performances. As the title suggested, this one was all hip-hop, entertaining the audience fully with the moves and setting the tone for the evening.
3) Taekwondo
The first martial arts on stage began in style as fight sequences were “fought out” between members to some nifty music. They really turned it on after that – breaking planks of wood via flying kicks and chops with an attempt to break four pieces at one go with both legs and arms that was applauded warmly by the crowd. As a finale for their item, they performed an aerobics-Taekwondo.
4) Choir
The effort put into the performance, with two weekly practises, was evident as the KE Choir took to the stage. They regaled the audience with two folk songs, one Chinese and the other Samoan. This was a change from their previous year’s performance of only English songs. It was an admirable performance
5) Chinese Drama
I was in for a very pleasant surprise as this year, CLnD prepared subtitles for their play. This was a masterstroke on their part, as it drew the entire audience into their offering. There were laughs aplenty in this original script about 3 students and their dreams and experiences in college life, performed entirely by freshmen.
6) Circle of Dreams
A complete turnaround from hip-hop, the dance troupe went for a more artsy, ballet-like modern composition in their second performance of the night.
7) Band
One of the mainstays of ICN, this year’s performance was shorter and marred by acoustic problems when microphones went dead in the middle of the show. Despite that, they put on a good performance, with a mix of KE and PGP participation. The crowd by this time had swelled with an influx of PGP residents and every song received rousing applause. Marcus Law, the Band Head, said that the theme this year was more punk. (See right for links)
8) Xin Yao
With a legacy for original composition, Xin Yao did not disappoint this year, with four songs in Mandarin. Every song had a very acoustic feel to it, with only one or two instruments being implemented with vocals.
9) ELND: In Love & War
ELND has developed a reputation over the years for comic relief with their movies. This year’s production was anything but that. A hall adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, the movie explored the goings-on in KE in dramatic fashion with smatterings of comedy. The tragic ending left the audience quiet and definitely redefined their outlook on ELND.
10) A Capella: I sing, You sing
With an original song which dazzled me with its creativity, the Acapella group took centre stage. An extremely catchy tune was performed flawlessly.
11) Turn Left, Turn Right
The last performance by DansDemonz featured the creative use of umbrellas in their dance routine. The details for this dance routine made it very enjoyable – the stark contrast in role costume colours of the dancers complementing their routine perfectly. As Lingyi so aptly described their style, “we don’t speak, we use our body language.”
12) Wushu: Romeo & Juliet
As they say, you should save the best for last and whoever stayed to watch the Wushu adaptation of Romeo & Juliet were treated to an intense performance which utilised a range of weapons and acrobatics. The audience was thrilled by the stunts pulled off by the performers and needless to say, they finished off the evening with a bang.
We caught up with a number of freshmen to get their views on their first ICN experience. Wong Yi Fong and Loo Yuh Ning were both happy with the atmosphere at ICN, stating that it was enthusiastic and supportive of performers. Fabian Hia, with a smile, had a couple of suggestions for improvements for next year – “Start earlier? Spread the food over more tables so the queue would not be so long.”
Hopefully, we will see many more freshmen taking the lead for next year’s ICN to make it grander and better than it already is!
