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August 6th, 2010 was a day of reckoning for many in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

It was Rag Day, one of the biggest annual events in NUS. For some, it marks the beginning of a new academic year, but for most, it is an event where halls of residences and faculties battle it out to produce the best float and performance in hopes of securing the title of Rag Champion.

I, luckily, had the honour of being among the people performing for rag. As I stood there on the field that day - a dancer for Eusoff Hall waiting for my turn to be on stage, I could not help but reflect on the past three months of activities that led me to where I was that day.

Truth to be told, I was never a good dancer to start with. Prior to signing up as a rag dancer, I failed the auditions for both the Eusoff Dance Corps and also Eusoff's Dance Production. The reason why I did not give up and joined rag dance was because I love dancing and, more importantly, because we did not have to audition for rag dance. Little did I know, as I wrote my name on the sign-up sheet, how far this journey would take me.

Dancing was never easy. In fact, nothing is easy if you want to be good at it. We had our own share of problems as rag dancers during our preparation. We never had any full dress rehearsals until the week before Rag Day and our costumes were never really completed even on rag day itself. There were rumours about how behind schedule the preparation of the float was and that this year we may not able to win anything at all.

We doubted we could do it. We even thought of giving up. But Wei Jie, one of the best choreographers that Eusoff will ever come to know, made us go on. He said that even if people throw shit at us, we will still be able to take it because we are Eusoffians. One of the most important messages that he imparted to us was the importance of not just wanting to win but to have a good time also. Winning, of course, is important but more importantly, he wanted us to put up a good show and enjoy ourselves on stage that night. And that spirit that he gave to us was perhaps the best strength that we brought unto the stage that night.

Eusoff's rag performance was never intended to be a show of complicated dance moves, with people being tossed in the air or having complicated machinery on the float. Instead, we settled on a dance and a float that would ensure that the essence of the plot flows freely. When we went up on stage that day, as raggers and as dancers, all we had on our minds was to give the audience a wonderful time. We all wanted the audience to feel and understand the story that we wanted to portray, and that day, our story came alive.

The smiles on the faces of the piñatas when they came alive, the funky looking cacti dance and also the grace portrayed by the dancers complimented each other to bring out the best from our performance. Although there were mistakes here and there such as the music coming in too early, the poster going missing and Nicole having a bad fall, these mistakes were turned into one of our strengths as it bore witness to one of the best impromptu performances ever shown. Scenes like the crowd and car travelling also helped the audience understand our performance better. Our choreographer's emphasis on keeping the story flowing through all our actions never left our heads during the whole time that we were on stage.

When the stunt girls went up, when the all of us gave the final pose at the end of the music, we knew deep down that Eusoff gave its best that night. Hearing the cheers from the crowd, that was beyond a shadow of a doubt. All that was left was for the judges to decide the winner.

After that, the Olympic Torch was brought in, marking the start of the YOG. The president then took his leave and finally, it was time for the results to be announced. All of us stood together, hand in hand, our heart thumping nervously as we waited for the results. The first award, the Most Environmentally Friendly Float, was an award we had not anticipated we’d win. But we celebrated nonetheless. One award was better than none, after all.

Then, the second award, the Best Float Design Award was announced. We managed to bag that award last year thanks to the intricate detailing that we used on our submarine and this year was no different. Each and every layer on the train had detailing that consisted of things you wouldn’t have imagined could be used for this purpose, creatively arranged to form a beautiful design. The Eagle, for example, consisted of thousands of half burned matchsticks glued together with feathers. When the emcee called out the name of the winner, we knew for sure, then, that we had managed to retain the title.

Winning one or two awards might have been normal. Three was phenomenal. We had absolute trust in Saira and the rest of the static display dancers to bring out the message to the judges for the static display section. And deliver they did. As the emcee announced the winner for the third award, all of us jumped for joy and shouted ourselves hoarse. We knew that all our hard work during the last three months have not gone unrewarded. Tears of joy were shed and hugs were exchanged. But there was still one award left that was important to us, the Best Rag Performance Award.

KE VII had managed to win this award last year and this year they had the same high chance of winning. We knew that it would be a close competition. But we also knew that we had a fighting chance. As the name of the award was announced, we held our breath and crossed our fingers.

"Eusoff Hall!" It was unmistakable, it was certain. We had won the award! We had actually won the Best Rag Performance Award! All the hard work that we put in - the countless sleepless nights, the four hours of practice every day, the missed outings with friends - all of it paid off at that moment. Even Wei Jie and Jie Lin, our two dance choreographers, couldn't hold it in any longer. They had gone through a lot more than the rest of us dancers and it was understandable that this award meant a lot to them. I'm so glad that we did not disappoint them.

As the award was presented to us, many of us jumped for joy. We jumped like there was no tomorrow. We shouted. We cried. We pumped our fists in the air. We celebrated. We let all of our feelings out. No words could describe how it felt that night. It was like having all of your dreams come true in one shot. Rag could not have been sweeter than that moment. It was then that each and every one of us felt that we were all part of the Eusoff family. We were there not as dancers, not as raggers, not as freshies, but we were all Eusoffians. We were a family.

We all trusted and believed that we could make it. We persevered. As we looked at each other, our fellow raggers, dancers and Eusoffians, tears turned into smiles. Three months of hard work had not gone to waste. In the end, everything was worth it. Four out of five awards was our testimony.

We can, in fact, achieve anything if we aim for the sky.
Some from the other halls may question the decision of the judges, as is evident from what is seen on the internet. As one particular hall commented, "a particularly Dazzling Float might have so pained the eyes of the judges that they didn’t notice the following performances". Judging from all the performances and floats shown, I personally think that every hall deserved to win. KE VII for their splendid performance, Sheares for their colourful costumes, KR for their spirited cheer at the end of their dance and Temasek for their special float design. I bet the judges must have had a hard time choosing a winner from all these wonderful performances put up by all the halls. Why the judges chose Eusoff, we'll never know for sure. I'm certain that they had their reasons and I'm also pretty certain that they must have had experience judging before, as it is very likely that many of them were judges for last year's Rag. So why can't we trust in their decision? Why did you not doubt them the year before? Why doubt them only now when your hall did not win?

No matter what others might think, we knew that we put on one of our best performances that night. To top it all off, the recognition we got came from not one, not two but from four awards. Four out five awards, that is. And the icing on the cake is definitely the Chingay performance offer. In the end, we achieved all that we set out to achieve. On top of all that, the journey that we all went through together from when the first design was drawn, the first piece of wood was cut and the first warm up was held, was one of the best journeys that we have ever taken. The friends we made, the memories we shared, can only be found in Eusoff Rag. Undeniably, Eusoff Rag 2010/11 will be one of the most awesome experiences that we all might ever have. And it will not be the last.

Check out the Eusoff Rag 1011 Photo Album @

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• Facebook (Part 2)

(Article written by Luke Phang and edited by Cheryl Nio)