ACSperience 2006 - Orientation Campfire
Tonight was crunch time. The dance and drama people waited under the shelter of the walkway beside the basketball court, the venue for the campfire later. The OGLs hastened around under the threatening sky setting the scene for the campfire. The stage had already been set up. Just as Raj walked down the walkway to meet us, it started to rain.
Since we couldn't mark the stage now, both groups headed back to the Black Studio to rehearse with our costumes. The drama people reached the studio first and changed into our costumes. With the dancers coming into the studio after bringing their stuff from their dance studio, they became the audience for our rehearsal. After that, we switched sides and the dancers strutted their stuff (their dance was the Open House dance).
Once both groups went another round each, it was time to do hair and makeup. As far as drama was concerned, there was little makeup (just foundation and lipstick). Raj styled the hair for all the guys (drama and dance) with wax, glitter glue and hair spray. This was also one of the rare times when I sport styled hair, and I must admit, Raj really knows his stuff.
After a prayer in the studio, we headed out to the basketball court at 7.30pm. We waited in the shadow of the choir's studio at the Sports Complex while waiting for the J1s to settle down. Mrs Chan then gave a short speech, and the campfire was lighted. Just as they had settled down to begin the first game and the drama group have got together once again for a prayer, it started to rain again. All of us had to move to the Sunken Gallery. The J1s then marched up to the Badminton Hall while the drama group took shelter in the dancer's studio.
There was a huge mess with the MRC, but in the end we managed to get our act together, albeit on the slightly wet rubber floor with wet dance shoes and the risk of slipping and falling. In the debrief in the dance studio later, Raj commented that it was a good performance on drama's part, because we danced firmly even though the music didn't sound too good.
After clearing up over in the Black Studio (I kept my hair), I headed over to the Badminton Hall to soak in the spirits. Over there, I saw a number of J2s watching the proceedings (including Elizabeth, Yen Nee, Tania, Beiqin and some of the dancers who have changed out) and other ex-ACSians were also there watching. A slideshow of the happenings over the 4 days of orientation then followed, and I was hit with a feeling of nostalgia. How I wished I was the one sitting in the crowd, reminiscing about the orientation we had.
After the slideshow, it was the moment the OGLs and the J2s at the back of the hall were waiting for: a performance of the mass dances that we did last year, i.e. Blame It On The Boogie and Superstar. While I managed to remember most of the former song, I forgot parts of the second verse of Superstar, and I was a bit more clumsy in it.
When we finished both our dances, it was time for the new J1s to show off their mass dances. The first dance was a couple dance (I don't know the name of the song), and the second was Black And White, a solo dance which I personally liked better. After the dance and some announcements about worried parents, the usual party continued with more dancing. A couple of dancers and I mixed into the crowd to dance and get high. All the while I tried to learn their mass dance. All the while I remembered about the time last year at the basketball court. By the end of the night, I still don't know the couple dance, but I've got some hold on the Black And White dance. I headed home finally at 11.30pm, when most of the J1s have left and it seemed that the OGLs were getting ready to debrief.
All the while, throughout the night, in the rain, the campfire have been kept burning by a number of OGLs who have been sitting around the fire making sure it doesn't go out. The campfire is a symbol of the AC spirit: Always burning, never ceasing.
Since we couldn't mark the stage now, both groups headed back to the Black Studio to rehearse with our costumes. The drama people reached the studio first and changed into our costumes. With the dancers coming into the studio after bringing their stuff from their dance studio, they became the audience for our rehearsal. After that, we switched sides and the dancers strutted their stuff (their dance was the Open House dance).
Once both groups went another round each, it was time to do hair and makeup. As far as drama was concerned, there was little makeup (just foundation and lipstick). Raj styled the hair for all the guys (drama and dance) with wax, glitter glue and hair spray. This was also one of the rare times when I sport styled hair, and I must admit, Raj really knows his stuff.
After a prayer in the studio, we headed out to the basketball court at 7.30pm. We waited in the shadow of the choir's studio at the Sports Complex while waiting for the J1s to settle down. Mrs Chan then gave a short speech, and the campfire was lighted. Just as they had settled down to begin the first game and the drama group have got together once again for a prayer, it started to rain again. All of us had to move to the Sunken Gallery. The J1s then marched up to the Badminton Hall while the drama group took shelter in the dancer's studio.
There was a huge mess with the MRC, but in the end we managed to get our act together, albeit on the slightly wet rubber floor with wet dance shoes and the risk of slipping and falling. In the debrief in the dance studio later, Raj commented that it was a good performance on drama's part, because we danced firmly even though the music didn't sound too good.
After clearing up over in the Black Studio (I kept my hair), I headed over to the Badminton Hall to soak in the spirits. Over there, I saw a number of J2s watching the proceedings (including Elizabeth, Yen Nee, Tania, Beiqin and some of the dancers who have changed out) and other ex-ACSians were also there watching. A slideshow of the happenings over the 4 days of orientation then followed, and I was hit with a feeling of nostalgia. How I wished I was the one sitting in the crowd, reminiscing about the orientation we had.
After the slideshow, it was the moment the OGLs and the J2s at the back of the hall were waiting for: a performance of the mass dances that we did last year, i.e. Blame It On The Boogie and Superstar. While I managed to remember most of the former song, I forgot parts of the second verse of Superstar, and I was a bit more clumsy in it.
When we finished both our dances, it was time for the new J1s to show off their mass dances. The first dance was a couple dance (I don't know the name of the song), and the second was Black And White, a solo dance which I personally liked better. After the dance and some announcements about worried parents, the usual party continued with more dancing. A couple of dancers and I mixed into the crowd to dance and get high. All the while I tried to learn their mass dance. All the while I remembered about the time last year at the basketball court. By the end of the night, I still don't know the couple dance, but I've got some hold on the Black And White dance. I headed home finally at 11.30pm, when most of the J1s have left and it seemed that the OGLs were getting ready to debrief.
All the while, throughout the night, in the rain, the campfire have been kept burning by a number of OGLs who have been sitting around the fire making sure it doesn't go out. The campfire is a symbol of the AC spirit: Always burning, never ceasing.
yours truly, tobias at 12:09 am
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