Thursday, August 13, 2009

 

sometimes i blog because i need to vent, sometimes i blog because i am free and bored. today is a bit of both (shows something about my new school lifestyle huh.)

what will happen to float? great, we won something this year. already people (the more practical minded ones) are looking at what will happen next year, and of the few responses i have heard, the most common being that we will not be able to defend the prizes. why so pessimistic, some will ask. because i feel that we are lying on the complacent side. yes, we have developed tremendously over the past few years in terms of design, thanks largely to experienced designers, as well as their talents. yes, dance has improved over the recent years, to include more lively choreography, integration with the float, as well as our first cheerleading efforts. (honestly that is still my main direction of push at the moment) but can we sustain this?

looking ahead, we will most likely lose our design talent. can we sustain the level of workmanship and the engineering skills? maybe, if the young ones stand up to the test. but design is something difficult to hand down. there is one younger hope in the team, but i personally worry because that's all i can see. beyond him, there might be no more successors. will our seniors be able to come back and contribute positively and in time? i know i didnt manage that myself. i was frequently too late to help, too late to change things. costumes wise, there was a lot of playing smart, but we really still lack alot of skill there compared to many other halls. and no more body paint please, despite what i have been pushing for we end up inevitably on this track, year after year. but at least there was significant reduction.

how about dance? we have talented choreographers, albeit less experience. now they are better still, but will they be committed for the years to come? we would love to have a second fen, or more. but that's nothing to bank on, everyone is free to come and go. can we pull off cheerleading? in truth many seniors were the reason the cheerleading could be completed. a significant number of them have graduated, in particular some experienced ones. if we were to continue cheerleading, we need that core group size that can commit, start early. we used many prc freshmen this year, and it would be difficult for them to stay back for the hols to train up. in effect, both dancers and cheerleaders need a critical group (perhaps the same group) to help the choreographers experiment with their concepts. i dun not see this as feasible in the next float, unless perhaps starting really early to reduce ppl having to stay back for hols, but run the risk of eating into the semester and academics, and everything else in hall. keep in mind that our sem 2 just got busier than we were expecting. much busier. same concerns for running the design process.

i have not thought of solutions, but offhand two things will help: 1. that the next comm starts early, and in particular use seniors (including the freshies that have been involved) to plan and experiment. 2. that seniors come back often to check on and help out. there is perhaps a need to put a system in place to meet specific groups of seniors every week.

but what i am suggesting will not doubt eat into the resources of the hall for term time, as well as alumni energy to some extent. yet there's no other ideas off hand. i pray at least that keviians will retain the attitude to acheive, to make a difference with their own two hands. nothing will change by waiting and hoping for the best. we will only lose the prize for another decade. we must use our own sweat and blood to shape our future ahead, the way we want for ourselves and the hall.

Zhengyu wrote at 9:06 AM.