By Jonathan Tan (13A01C)
An air of excitement hung over Orchard Hotel as the Year 6s crowded the lobby area awaiting the beginning of Graduation Night – Noir 2012. Photo-taking and hugs were in order as everyone was clearly savoring the moment of their formal sending-off to mark the end of their JC life.
Although the programme was running late and the councillors had begun to usher everyone into the ballroom, the hordes of people streaming in were clearly in no hurry, often stopping to take photos or simply to have a chat. The programme began late, but it did not dampen the mood of the crowd and their energetic Year 5 emcees, Shrey and Emiline.
The night began on a soulful note with a performance by Nicole and Danish, who covered Storm and Titanium. Next, a sentimental screening of Orientation 2011 highlights brought the Year 6s full circle. This was not the only attempt at recollecting memories and evoking nostalgia – the councillors also artfully hung snapshots of the Year 6s’ JC lives outside the ballroom, recreating a walk through memory lane.
The party really got going with an electrifying performance by Stud Ants, with the trio setting the perfect mood for the first event – a dance-off between the Dance King nominees. While all three contestants delivered high intensity routines, they had vastly differing styles. Amirul was first to kick off the contest and attracted cheers with his unique song choice which included Beyonce’s Single Ladies and sexy dance moves to match it. Ryan, who went next, performed very impressive moves before rounding off his performance with a very sweet gesture by bringing his partner on stage to perform a couple dance.
Following the Dance King nominees, Dance Queen nominees Jolene, Nadia and Isabelle took the stage in turn before 12SO3G dedicated a special performance in memory of their classmate and batchmate who had unfortunately passed on in the year. Beck4more, a Raffles Jazz band then performed just as their fellow CCA mates of the band Off Keys had performed before the Dance Queen event.
The Prom Queen nominees and Prom King nominees were up next, taking turns to wow the crowd with their slick moves. Chantel and Lynn were well-prepared, with a host of backup dancers who headed to a separate room in advance to prepare. Lynn was clearly the overwhelming crowd favourite, as girls even took off their heels to stand on their chairs to get a better view of her high-energy performance, which ended off with a Hokkien song!
When it came to the Prom King nomineess, Siddarth first performed a dance item, before Marcus and Rashpal collaborated to perform Stacy’s Mum together with their Raffles Rock band.
As expected, Lynn took home the Prom Queen title, but for Prom King, it was a toss-up between Marcus and Rashpal, with Rashpal edging Marcus for the win. Daryl Cheng was the clear winner for Mr Bufflord and Fadhli Iqbal was crowned Ladies’ Man to much audience cheer. Finally, Ryan Seah clinched Dance King and Nadia Cheah was crowned Dance Queen.
Throughout the night, the waiters were busy serving up food and drinks on the tables, the councillors were busy running around ensuring everything ran smoothly and the performers were seeking to entertain the crowd, but everyone was clearly more occupied with socializing and capturing their friendships of the past 2 years in photographic memory.
Who can blame them? After all, you only graduate from JC once.
Photographs courtesy of Benny Hoh, Huang Zefan and Nandaru Annabil from Raffles Photography
