We are all not equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all not the same in the fact that we will never be the same.We are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct and individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive. Whether we are red or yellow, black or white the spirit of love co-exists amongst us Nuisters. It was this notion that teachers and students from all corners of NUIST came together to embrace their dreams and start 2018 in a grand style. The annual Nuist New Year Gala was here, with the theme “Global Village-世界手牵手”.
The Global village is also a term used to express the relation between economics and sociology throughout the world. It can also be termed as the world considered as a single community linked by telecommunications. As a depiction of the theme, the event commenced with五洲共舞 (wu zhougong wu) meaning Five continent or whole world dance, a song performed by students from Morocco, Kazakhstan, Benin, Algeria and China.
If you don’t know about the culture of other countries, then the New Year gala was an event you definitely had to be. From the students of Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Russia dressed in nice and colourful traditional clothing, an interesting and rich culture was witnessed in a form of a dance. This was followed by a Speech from Mr. LIU Xuanfei. Who thereafter hosted and presented a brief session of the award presentation to the two winners of the prestigious Chinese Government Outstanding International Student Scholarship. Indeed, it was a victory for the entire NUIST family as the whole auditorium applauded and shared in the glorious moment of Richard Boiyo and Rosalia Fitriana, both from the College of International Students of NUIST as they were presented with their prizes.
Have you ever thought meteorites existed in space only? Well, in the evening of December, 28th 2017 space was brought to earth when members of the Art department the organizers of the annual New Year Gala exhibited their talent showing their spectacular dance moves. The power of the male voices was also felt from the performance of Turan Taskyn (Kazakhstan) and Chinese counterpart.
They say it was a 六六六 dance (triple six dance) and indeed it was a liu liu liu (splendid). Watching an all-girls dance team rock the stage, proving what a man can do a woman can also do the same and even better. The evening was a wonderful one, it was bigger on the grand stage when students from Korea and Vietnam gave us a friendly dance battle.
What one hears determines ones’ mood in a way or two. The rhythm and passion in the voice of Alex and Tima gave all and sundry a good mood to approach the next year in a positive way as they sang the song “GETS LUCKY”. Seeing all these talents, Nuist was indeed getting lucky.
Soon the surprising moment arrived. Just when the audience thought they had seen enough, a group of highly talented kids mounted the stage and blew up everyone’s mind with what they called the dragon dance. It was fireworks, the whole auditorium lit. Their size caused a lot of people to wonder “how could they execute such a performance to the satisfaction of the house?” Well, no one knows how water entered the coconut. In Nuist everything is possible.
An all-Chinese Musical group also gave the audience a feel of “Electronica” from the world of guitar. Boys dress in their nice black trousers and shirt as white as snow and girls in their elegant red outfit. The Rhythmic squad made a performance of “salsa”. Their passion and movement could make one think that the dance originated from them.
It is said that the best event is one that has the power to hold audience still till the very last act of its climax – complexity in language, performance, descriptions, everything else is secondary. This was exactly what the New Year Gala presented to its audience, an unforgettable fun and the audience asked for more performances. The melodious voice of Yumi with the song “Listen” paved way for the program to come to an end.
Of course, this event would not have been a whole without the three beautiful and handsome looking lovely hosts of the night (the male host 洪羽翔 HONG Yuxiang, female host 1: 徐嘉璐 XU Jialu, female host 2: Yuhai Kateryna). The event featured the introduction of some talented leaders and teaching staff of CIS, not forgetting the photo shot before and after the event. If you missed this year's New Year Gala, you missed a whole semester of fun.
Martin Luther King Junior once said, “I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character,” In Nuist a nation of this nature is granted to students to have fun and mingle around. This proves that Nuist is a Global Village and We Are Friends in this village. Long live CIS, long live NUIST.
Author: Eliyahu Kainyah Yalley
Photographers: Publicity Dept.
Reviewer: Fleischer Clifford Lodd
Layout: Ayu Kusumaningtyas
Editor: Geraldi C Pamuji
