Prom Night

Straightening your tie in the rear view mirror as you park your car, watching your date in the passenger seat tidying up her make-up through the small mirror in her blusher kit, you anticipate a night filled with pleasant memories. This seems to be the ideal image of prom frequently portrayed by television shows.

But how true does that seem to everyone who attended the inaugural Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas’ Prom Night?

The answer to that question? Without a doubt, yes.


Aptly themed as Feu et la Glace or “Fire and Ice”, there was a perfect balance of an ambience consisting the striking fire and the cool, calm ice in the hall of the Sime Darby Convention Centre. The hall was separated into two parts to accommodate the theme. The fiery lighting on the left side of the hall were themed as “Feu,” which means “fire” in French and the cool, calm blue lights of the other side were themed as “Glace,” which of course, means “ice.” Even the twenty one allocated tables were named after gemstones that carried characteristics of such colours.


Naturally, most of the guests dressed appropriately to the theme. There were many shades of red, silver and blue, donned by the people that paraded the soft carpets of the hall that night. When all the final preparations were completed, registration began at 6.30PM. The crowd started filling in from then on. Guys were seen wearing their best shirts and ties of colours ranging from maroon to electric blue while the elegant ladies came in long blue dresses or stunning red dresses with a short train, some even in amazing hairdos.


By 7.30PM, the VIPs and staff members who were gathered outside of the hall were ushered in. By 7.45PM, everyone was seated in their respective tables eagerly anticipating the start of the night. The emcee for the night was Marcus Lee, a bubbly young man who certainly looks comfortable handling an audience.

The night began with speeches from Mr. Anandakumaresh, campus director of Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas, Wong Choon Lim, president of Student Council and Abby Ho, the Head of Prom Committee. Following Abby’s speech, there was a last minute call via satellite phone from Mr. Rahul Ramachandran, Manager of Student Experience, who was unfortunately unable to attend the night due to a business trip to Jakarta. He congratulated the Prom Committee for their hard work and wished everyone a good evening.

The night then kick off with stunning performances from the TCSH Dance Crew who performed in two separate routines, including an invitational performance by the Dance Crew from Taylor’s Main Campus. The performances include several bone-twisting break dancing moves and creative routines.

Shortly after the kick off, guests were treated to an array of internationally-styled buffet, which included dishes such as prawns, calamari, chicken, fish, beef, and vegetables. Indeed, the food was as delicious as they looked, as many guests immediately began feasting. It was a touching sight to see staff and students alike socialize without any boundaries, as they catched up on all the memories and moments they had through the year.


Whilst most of the guests were enjoying their meal, performances by the Prom King and Prom Queen nominees begun. The nominees were paired as couples to showcase their talents to win the hearts and votes of the audience through singing - Ayesha & Ezmir performed ‘Disturbia’ by Rihanna while Anthea & Darren performed ‘Officially Missing You’ by Tamia, acting - May, Irfan, Iza & Leon collaborated to do a short sketch), dancing - Sacha & Jimmy did a comedic dance that certainly spark laughter in the audience and the only couple who did all of the above - Isabell & David who performed a very creative and entertaining sketch which includes singing and dancing.

In between these performances, ten sponsored lucky draw prizes were given to ten lucky guests in the hall during the night. Mr Hariandra, Head of Academics, was one of the lucky winners of the night. However, the luckiest of them all was David Kee who won the first prize and who was also one of the nominees for Prom King.


Following that, the awards for the Best ECA club and Best Club President were given out next, of which the winners were TCSH Model UN and Chua Kee Aik of the Tree Huggers Club respectively. The best dressed male was Chin Ken, clad in a form-fitting suit, and the best dressed female was Sharon Ng, dressed in a striking greenish gown. The best makeover went to Xinyi who certainly looked unrecognizable from her previous image in college. The best student council member award was given to Marcia Lee for her continuous effort in the Student Council.

Finally, the votes for the Prom King and Prom Queen of TCSH Prom 2009 were calculated by the committee and soon it was time for the crowning of the very first TCSH Prom King & Prom Queen! Tension filled the air as the audience held their breath hoping for their favorites to claim the title. Finally, the emcee announced the long awaited names - David Kee was crowned as Prom King while the lovely Isabell Zubinsha was crowned as the Prom Queen. This was accompanied by a thunderous round of applause from the crowd and booming music featuring the famous “Star Wars” sound theme. Ms. Sharina had the privilege to do the crowning while Mr. Ananda put on the beautiful red sashes for both of them. The streamers burst out while everyone cheered adding to the perfect moment for both of the well-deserved winners. It was clearly a wonderful night, for both the Prom King and Prom Queen Winners were from the same class – HH4 – of which is, for everyone’s information, the smallest class in TCSH, consisting of only seven people!


Following the ceremony, David and Isabell both did a formal dance, accompanied by their respective dates to Farah Diyanah’s slow song ‘Like a Star’. Romance filled the air as other couples of the night were mesmerized by Farah’s powerful yet sweet vocals and falsettos, truly setting the mood for love. The last performance of the night was indeed the best, as it ended the prom night with a bang. Shalissa Chua performed Lady Gaga’s songs, ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Poker Face’ while playing the acoustic version on the keyboard. It got everyone cheering loudly and eventually led to the opening of the dance floor!


In the end, while some stayed to continue dancing, some others headed outside the ballroom to capture the memories! It was indeed a good, good night to remember and for some, a memorable and fitting closure to another chapter of their lives.



By ARTHUR CHIA and SARAH LIM
Photos by ARTHUR CHIA

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