NDP Special: Singapore's Future
Celebrating SG52
The National Day celebration has always been a joyous part of students’ lives. Be it the two school-free days that come immediately after or the school celebration that allows us to leave school earlier, I am sure all of us enjoy them all.
Here, we have created a log of this year’s National Day celebration for those who would like to relive these memories. Generally, this year’s celebration involved less talking and more action from the performers, keeping the audience constantly entertained.
First up, we had the annual march-past put up by our Uniformed Groups (UGs) with music provided by our school’s concert band.
Following that, we had the precision drill squad from the National Cadet Corps (NCC). This year’s performance was impressive, as usual; rifles flew and were skillfully spun without a single one dropping to the ground!
After the display, we proceeded to the hall where the celebration began. The emcees played out a trip to the museum where they learnt about Singapore’s history. The crowd favourite NCC Freestyle Drill performance kickstarted the celebration, raising the bar for the performances ahead.
As we proceeded further into the museum, the theme “togetherness” was reflected in an array of performances from different ethnic groups, showcasing Singapore’s cultural diversity. These included the Dikir Barat (Malay) and the Bhangra Dance (Indian) by external performers. We clapped along to the dance and learned the various dance moves like “making Roti Prata”, “making Teh Tarik” and “cleaning tables” ...
The street dancers emerged, decked in costumes ranging from retro-fashion to street fashion. They danced to a medley of Xin Yao (Singapore music) and local jams (e.g. Save Myself by The Sam Willows). Year after year, the street dance has never failed to impress us and this time was no exception!
Further down the halls of the imaginary museum, we explored the concept of resilience. We were shown a short video clip on how Singaporeans from the past pulled through tough times. Following this, the Dance Society put up a performance depicting the big fire that caused many to lose their loved ones and their homes. The incident was magnificently portrayed by the sharp but graceful movements of the dancers, showing immense sorrow and the subsequent hope blossoming towards the end.
Following that, we had a video of Singapore’s achievements and progress as a nation, as well as another heartwarming video consisting of National Day wishes from fellow RVians and school staff (with In a Heartbeat played in the background).
The final segment was the annual mass singing session led by our teachers and the River Valley Chorale (RVC). This year, we had Mr Liu Gong Kai, Mr Yeo Cheng Rong and Miss Pearl Lam singing Xin Yao (新加坡派) and our favorite NDP theme songs, including We Will Get There and Love at First Light. RVC also presented In a Heartbeat and the most well-known song of all - Home.
This year, we had the honour of the presence of a special guest - the original singer, co-songwriter of the 2017 NDP song (Because It’s Singapore) and our very own RV alumnus - Jay Lim presenting this year’s NDP theme song!
It can be seen that, for this year’s event, the school has taken more effort to inject diversity into the performances, considering that in the past, we usually only had performances from our various performing arts CCAs. All of these thoughtful attempts are reflective of how important it is for us to understand the various ethnicities and cultures in Singapore, especially more so in RV, considering that we have such a homogenous school population.
Even though many of us may regard the National Day celebration as a mere ritual which takes place annually, it is still a significant mark of our accomplishments which we have managed to accumulate in our short history. Although Singapore’s future is shrouded with uncertainties due to the increasingly volatile nature of the world today, the NDP parade is a reassuring symbol of strength - to some of us, at least.