Dance Uncensored 08
Kent Ridge Hall Dance Committee organised once again yet another
smashing Dance Uncensored interhall dance concert this year on 21 March
2008 and Kent Ridge Hall's Dancers stepped up to the challenge to
deliver five exciting, moving performances.
Dance Uncensored 2008: Regale opened its two shows that day to
sell-out crowds, both with all 450 of the University Cultural Centre
theatre's seats fully reserved. To meet the audience's expectations
were 20 of the best dance choreographies offered by all the NUS halls
of residence, 20 out of 27 proposed choreographies which had fought
past an arduous panel judging by the six hall Dance Committee
chairpersons for the right to hold the stage at Dance Uncensored.
Kent Ridge Hall Dance Committee found the time to prepare and stage
five choreographies by its alumni and freshmen -- the most
choreographies by a single hall -- on top of building the road to Dance
Uncensored 2008. The concert opened to alumni Stephanie Loh's Play
Culture, a hiphop piece inspired by the film Havoc, about affluent
girls experimenting with the gangster lifestyles of real gangsters with
terrible consequences. Stephanie Loh then presented her second offering
for the night and Kent Ridge Hall's next item, The L Dance, a
contemporary piece speaking of ideological hegemony, bigotry and the
love heterosexual or not, with Kent Ridge Hall Dancers Emily Foo and
Hide Wee in the leading roles.
The amazement resumed after the intermission as Kent Ridge Hall's
Emo F.M. filled the University Cultural Centre theatre with static and
hiphop beats, a powerful choreography by freshmen Dismas Widita and
Vania Anindiar that more than met the standards of a Dance Uncensored
performance. Alumni Wu Xiao Yuan then rounded out Kent Ridge Hall's
hiphop and contemporary dance styles with a fresh injection of jazz in
her Lonely.Desperate and the fantasies of six women of the men they
want. Dance Uncensored ended with alumni and Rag choreographer 07/08
Seong Huixuan's Next Ten Minutes, one of the best pieces of the night
set to the song of the same name from the musical The Last Five Years,
depicting in the leads Khaw Chun Ting and Elvin Yio the beauty and
giddy heights of new love -- and how life, time, and pain can wrench it
all away.
The other five halls of residence also had their highlights. King
Edward VII Hall continued to fascinate audiences with the flavors of
contemporary and Chinese dance in the all-male Raven's Flight. Raffles
Hall's Ice Kosong and NoName were absolute delights, with NoName in
particular easily the most entertaining item of the Dance Uncensored
2008, surprising everyone with the unexpected tunes of Monty Python
Eric Idle's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from the Pythons'
Life of Brian and A Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin and setting
the standard for all choreographies purporting to be 'just for fun'.
Eusoff Hall also delivered strong performances with their Funkamania
2008 hiphop brainchild Eunique Trouble and the stirring contemporary
piece MEN.
But Dance Uncensored 2008 was not just about the dances -- it was
also about the dancers. As most Kent Ridge Hall residents could tell in
the last few weeks to Dance Uncensored, Kent Ridge Hall's Dancers spent
many late nights stretching from late night to dawn to prepare their
five items -- Dancers also in the KR Steppers were stretched even
further by the demands of Cheerobics 2008 held just five days before
Dance Uncensored on 16 March. For the graduating seniors, it was also
their last Dance Uncensored and in all probability even their last
dance performance before the world of work beckoned. As the audience
left the theatre and the lights dimmed in the University Cultural
Centre, the melody of the Kent Ridge Hall Family Song floated out from
behind the curtains as Kent Ridge Hall's Dancers sang and wept in a
circle to celebrate a job well done and remember the unforgettable
maelstrom of preparation they had endured to present to the unknowing
audience Dance Uncensored 2008: Regale. And as graduating senior Chua
Tat Hsien said, the only regret they ever had was that they never got
to watch themselves live on stage.
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Hall Production 07/08 - I left my heart at Outram Park
Once every year, Kent Ridgeans put on their best to attend the show of
the year and this year is no exception as Kent Ridgeans showed up in
numbers on Friday night for our very own production titled, “I left my
heart at Outram Park”.
Unlike previous years, this year’s production took place in the
Grand Hall of UCC instead of the smaller theatres so that every
resident can watch the show on the same night and show support as a
hall. At 7:30 pm, the hall was slowly filling up and by 8 pm, it was
almost filled to maximum capacity as the audience waits patiently for
the much anticipated production to start and at 8 pm sharp, the
curtains were raised and the show began.
The story revolves around 3 individuals who board the same train,
one which will change their lives. Fate, if you believe in it, brought
them together and despite a less than friendly start, a malfunctioning
in the system caused them to learn more about one another as the story
of each individual unraveled.
Richard, played by Kenny Sng, who was perfect in his role as a
teacher being let down by an education system that seems more concerned
about reputation than the character and results of the students as well
as a husband with a huge dilemma. Jessica, portrayed with such poise by
Kimberly Ng, showed the audience how love can be a pain more than
anything else and has to make a choice between her long time boyfriend
and the charming Marcus, played by the irresistible Reda Yacine.
However, it was Molly, the auntie of all aunties, played by a feisty
and entertaining Francine Tang who stole the show as she portrays a
middle aged woman going through marital problems and finding solace in
her pets, while wallowing in self pity. The ensemble also did an
excellent job and the show would be incomplete without them.
All credit must also go to the rest of the production people, from
the stage crew who worked day and night on the set to the scriptwriters
for coming up with the wonderful scripts as well as the rest of the
members in this year’s Kent Ridge Hall production. Hopefully, next
year’s production will be as good or even better as this year’s
production left not just their heart, but their spirit in all our
hearts.
Reported by: Chen Zhihao
KR ends IHG 07/08 with TGIO and Formal Dinner
KR celebrated her good performance in the recently concluded Inter Hall Games 07/08 with a Formal Dinner as well as the eagerly awaited concert, “Thank Goodness Its Over” or more affectionately known as TGIO for Kent Ridgeans.
The Formal Dinner was as usual, at a higher standard than the normal Hall food we get everyday, with 9 courses forming up the menu for the day as well as ice cream desserts in the end for everyone. Everyone had fun discussing about the different IHG matches that has passed and generally, catching up on a whole. During the dinner, Samuel from A Block challenged Adrianus from B Block to an ice-cream eating competition. Its worth mentioning that Samuel eventually won by downing 9 cups of ice cream desserts, which were donated by those who were trying to keep their weight down.
After the Dinner, we headed over to the MPSH for a night of singing and entertainment brought to us by the Rockers and Inspire. TGIO officially started with a video that recorded the ups and downs of the different sports throughout the season, and in it, we could see the passion and the spirit KR has demonstrated and is so fiercely proud of, which Sports Director, Marc, clearly pointed out in his speech.
Next, Dr Toh gave out medals to Captains of every sport, in recognition of their hard work and sacrifice in leading the team under the KR banner to greater heights. After that, the Final Year Band consisting of Surath, Rachel, Lin, Jiemin and Timothy rocked the stage off with their renditions of several rock songs that swayed many of us away. This performance is especially meaningful since this could well be the very last performance the Final Year Band could perform in front of KR ever.
Following that, medals were given out to the Gold Medal teams, which are namely, Badminton Guys and Girls, Tennis Guys and Girls. Also, medals were given out to deserving Exchange students, who despite being new to us, helped us go the extra mile in our bid for more successes.
Next, Inspire gave us a couple of songs that was of top quality and one of it was a revamped, “rockier” version of an original by Jaime. After that, the JCRC gave out Warrior Awards to the Best Supporter (Hokito), Best Photo Shot (Brenda), and Best Report (Whye Kiat). Next, they gave out prizes to the Best Rookie(Han Feng and Chang Xi), most inspirational Captain (Lin and Shin Fei), Most Valuable Player (Martin and Dinah), Best Team (Badminton Guys). A shout out to the people who made KR IHG 07/08 our best showing in recent years!
The Final Year Band ended TGIO with 2 more songs that are of sublime quality, one of which, Superman, led by Lin was so heartfelt, it made the hair on many stand. Well, with TGIO, the KR IHG season has officially ended on a high and its time for the Warriors to go for their well deserved rest and prepare for next year’s battle. Til then, goodbye Sports Season, Hello Culture Month!
Reported by Law Whye Kiat
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