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The Student Voice of Ngee Ann Polytechnic

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What A Fiestart!

By Gary Lim ⋅ January 31, 2012 ⋅

The art fiesta that concluded in early November was a roaring success, with 15
arts and cultural clubs coming together over several weeks to promote the arts. - Gary Lim and Hazel Tan

The issue of having a suitable avenue to perform and a location to practice has long been in the minds of those belonging to the Arts & Cultural Clubs.

Now, with the completion of Seventy3, it would seem that the problem is now a thing of the past.

This building is to replace the old co-curricular activity (CCA) clubroom block on the same location.

During the two-year renovation period, the clubrooms were temporarily moved to a makeshift shelter in Block 71. However, the facilities there were less than adequate, to the dissatisfaction of many students.

Henry Hermawan, 20, a final-year Business Studies student and the former president of the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Concert Band, says, “Some of the rooms were not built satisfactorily. The acoustics and sound differed from room to room.”

Some CCA clubs, like Baracuda Batucada, the percussion ensemble, and New Revolving Age (NRA), the hip hop dance club, did not have anywhere to practice at all, and could thus be seen rehearsing in various locations around campus.

However the new Seventy3 offers a wide range of facilities to Arts & Cultural club members and students alike. Aside from Munch, the new air-conditioned canteen, each CCA club now enjoys a personal clubroom on the ground floor.

This is in addition to a large number of practice rooms on the third and fourth floor. Each room is customised to the different CCA clubs, including pianos for the Klavier Ensemble club, keyboards for the NP Voices and a dance studio for the dance clubs.

The highlight of the building is MusicBox, a 400-seater performance theatre that provides CCA clubs with a free and convenient avenue to showcase their talents.

With such great facilities, it would be a waste not to utilise them to the full, making the inaugural Arts Fiesta all but inevitable.

Held from Oct 22 to Nov 5, the Arts Fiesta gave 15 Arts & Cultural CCA clubs the opportunity to display their artistic skills around campus to their fellow students.

To hype the student body up for the event, Ideawerkz was called in to execute their signature eye-catching publicity schemes.

This they did in the form of quizzes held outside of Munch, where students were tested on their knowledge of the various CCAs.

What then followed was a slew of mini-performances by various clubs, such as the Entertainer’s Club held at Munch and the Student Plaza. All the performances were free to attend, thus ensuring that more students would be exposed to the arts.

Aside from the various mini-performances that were showcased around campus, the Arts Fiesta featured a collective of concerts and acts, such as Pragaasam 2011 by the Indian Cultural Society at the Musicbox.

However, the finale event of the Arts Fiesta, The Carnival Act, was held outside of NP at the University Cultural Centre Hall of the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Nov 4 and Nov 5.

NP’s very own hip hop club, NRA, put The Carnival Act together with the help of its alumni and members.

“What really draws us back is the people in the club. We all have a bond. We are just like one big family because we all share the same love of dance,” says NRA Alumnus Mr Mohammad Farid Bin Salim, 22.

The entrancing performances transported audience members into a fantasy circus with clowns and mimes.

The performance also featured other dance groups such as Dance Dynamix and BBoy Fuyo.

As The Carnival Act ended on Nov 5, the Arts Fiesta raised $142’000 in ticket sales and donations, which included a generous $50’000 contribution from Keppel Corporation.

The total proceeds of the Arts Fiesta was donated to the President’s Star Challenge.

Brian Lee, 19, a member of NP Voices and final-year Information Technology student says, “The Arts Fiesta is a great platform for us artsy people to shine!”