Our 1st Joint Installation 

    What do you get when you put two totally different schools together? Lots of fun, that's what! Well, that's what happened when Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaaan (perempuan) Temenggong Ibrahim and Chinese High School decided to join forces and have their first joint installation. Besides the obvious benefits (why are there no guys in TIGS?), we also had a chance to interact with guys & gals from different  schools in our little town of Batu Pahat.

    The installation started with a bang ( a very LOUD one, in fact, which resulted in a few broken lights earlier during the rehearsal) with a 24 Drums Performances that left our hearts pounding. And didn't the girls go gaga over all those rippling muscles?

   Next up, we had speeches by the Head of ECA Department CHS, Mr. Phua Teck Hock, the Teacher Advisor of the Interact Club of TIGS, Mdm. How Mui Hiong, the President of the Rotary Club, Rtn. Christina Chin, the Outgoing President of the Interact Club TIGS, Int. Tan Ei Lin and the Outgoing president of the Interact Club CHS, Int. Siow Pei Xian. They had some pretty interesting stuff to say, none of which I heard since I was busy backstage ( actually next door in a little room, but backstage sounds nicer!) preparing for......Well you'll find out later so keep reading!

    After this, we had presentation of souvenirs to the outgoing directors, badges to the incoming presidents, badges to the new committee members, pledging oaths, speeches by the incoming presidents and also presentation of souvenirs to the President of the Rotary Club, The Head of ECA Department CHS and the Advisors of both Interact Clubs. (Yawn......Booooooring.....But necessary as i now have a bright shiny new badge to showcase in my house!)

    Ooops!! I forgot top mention a cash presentation to the "CHS Department Fund"! Well, now you know. Anyway, now we move on to THE HIGHLIGHT of the afternoon...(drumroll please!) the performances!! The first performances was a modern dance by Butterfly Dance Studio who mesmerized the audience with their ultra slinky moves. Butterflies indeed!

    Then, we were entertained by a Chinese Yoyo performance. Actually, I was cowering in fear. Those yoyos sure looked lethal and could go flying at any moment! Fortunately, the performers were very professional and no skulls were cracked that day. After this, we had a Indian Dance by Prasanna and Nimala of TIGS (Go, TIGS!) Now, you may think that Bollywood Indian Dance are oh-so-easy but believe me, they are not!! A few of us had a chance to try out the dance moves to 'Bole Chudiyan' and come away with achy legs and sweat drenched bodies. We have discovered a new found respect for Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. This certainly burns more calories than aerobics!!

    We also had a song sung by a CHS girl. Who knows, perhaps the next Stefanie Sun? Hmmmm... After this, we had rhythmic gymnastics by three absolutely adorable girls. 'Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya', right?

    And now, the time everyone waiting for (sorry to blow my own horn, but it's true. I mean no one knew what it was all about so obviously they weren't waiting for it but it certainly was worth the wait, that is if you were waiting for it...nevermind. I'm confused myself!!) Anyway, it was a sketch!!!The energetic cast brought the house down with it's version of Romeo and Juliet. Teo kai Ling as Romeo deserved an Oscar while Ng Tien Hui was an absolute riot as the failure boyfriend and the crazy witch. Stephanie Pereira (Yes!! This is why I missed all those speeches!) and Tan Wendy were hilarious as the two bickering 'ah so's'. How Shinli was the ever faithful Juliet, only with more rebellious streak. Hey, we modern women need to stand up for ourselves!! Michelle Lee played Juliet's loyal friend, Maria with a speech impediment, who finally found true love at the end. Manjit Kaur was the luckless flirt, after all the guys but never successful. last but not least, Hema Devi shocked everyone with her wild hairstyle, courtesy of James Poh. Hema played Harry Copter, an Albert Einstein clone who does seem to realise that no one thinks he's cute except him. But true love comes in the end in the form of Maria. And everyone lived happily ever after!!

    The performances continued with the Latin Dance by the little boy and girl. Cute!! Luck Draw next followed again by singing by the Stefanie Sun wannabe. we were then entertained to some classical music by the Chinese Orchestra. Definitely a breath of fresh air!

    The installation ended with a REALLY hot dance (and I mean REALLY!) by the poetic butterflies of Butterfly Dance Studio. The end? Oh, no!! No one went home with their bellies empty as we feasted on many kuih prepared by Int. Siti Nasihin's father. Yummy!!!!

    And that's the end! Certainly a day well spent. And definitely one that will forever be imprinted in our minds. Till, next time, astala vista. We'll be back!!!

-Stephanie Pereira-

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