Written by: Priyanka Krishna
The circular tables were set throughout the ballroom. The chandelier dangled from the ceiling. The polished marble floor reflected all of the light, as the stage was set with drums. At eight at night on Thursday, many participants of THIMUN Singapore arrived at the Orchid Country Club to attend the THIMUN Dinner and Dance. It was an opportunity for participants to take a break from the hectic days of debating and lobbying.
The night started with a buffet dinner serving a wide range of options: non-vegetarian halal, vegetarian Indian, and lactose-intolerant, along with an array of desserts. The dinner was exceedingly popular among the attendees, as Baptiste Gaud (Delegate of Poland of GA4, Lycée Français de Singapour) and Adrian Divo (Delegate of DR Congo of GA4, Lycée Français de Singapour) expressed, “The naan was really good, and the pasta was too.” Whilst there was a variety of options catering to different dietary requirements, a major source of disappointment was the extensive queues for the food. “The food went out really fast, and the queue was really long,” noted Gaud and Divo.
The formal mood of the dinner was soon overwhelmed by a stirring performance by a Singaporean drumming group. As Aishani Sambasivam (Delegate of Paraguay of ECOSOC, Australian International School Malaysia) stated, the drum performance “was spectacular! Everybody joined in and the crowd was fully supportive. They were amazingly coordinated.” The performance started as the drummers vigorously walked through the ballroom, gradually making their way up to the stage. They concluded by raising the roof with another drumming rendition characterized by colored lights and their contagious spirit. This exciting presentation successfully boosted the energy in the room, and prepared everyone for the dance.
“Dancing was fun,” noted Zain Karim (Delegate of Paraguay of ECOSOC, Australian International School of Malaysia), “I loved the energy and the music.” Karim was not the only one who was greatly thrilled by the dancing. In fact, almost everyone who attended grouped at the front of the ball raving with utmost enthusiasm to EDM music. Nial Cane (UNICEF, Yew Chung International School of Shanghai). stated it was a “very eventful night.” Cane also noted the “whale [stuffed toy] being ripped open” after it was thrown among the dancers. All in all, Cane elaborated, “The atmosphere last night was great.”
As the night of great fun socialising with delegates met from all over the world came to an end, the participants left by one bus at a time. As Karim stated, “It was an awesome night and it was indeed a night to remember.”