As night fell over SUSTech on the evening of Friday 13th, the lights were shining over the Green Pine Stadium for the 2018 Graduation Party. University Council Vice Chairperson Li Fengliang, Vice President Wu Chuanyue, 2018 graduates, undergraduates, and faculty joined many others to enjoy the hours of entertainment that was coming. Fantastic photos captured charming children, glowing graduates, and favorably-minded faculty members as they made their way into the stadium.
The evening kicked off with a performance from the SUSTech Kindergarten, where they performed a wushu martial arts dance. With these children representing the first chapter of our youth, the audience was in full spirit and support as the children provided an enthralling performance for the assembled crowd.
They were followed by SUSTech’s Hip-Hop Society with a thrilling street dance entitled “Dancing Our Life in The Street.” The next musically inspired performance came from the SUSTech band “Wooded Crocodile,” who performed their original songs, “Good Night” and “If the Person You Love Is Not with You.”
Some parents took the stage, no doubt embarrassing their offspring, before performing an original song called “The Children on A Long Journey.” They were followed by Wang Siting and Wang Zhenming, who sung the popular JJ Lin and Kym song, “Looking Forward to Love.”
We then got our next dance performance with the SUSTech Student Jazz Dance Club, entitled “Sister of Red.” With a message of determination and experience of life, dancers Zhu Xiaoyu, Chen Mengshuang, Yan Xiao, Zhang Yulin and Xu Ying provided an incredibly moving performance that brought people to their feet.
The SUSTech Folk Music Troupe assembled on stage for a folk music ensemble performance of “SUSTech Dream,” an original composition written primarily for the 2018 graduates. The SUSTech Dance Group then staged the classic Han and Tang Dynasties dance “Picking Osmund,” captivating the audience with their flowing moves on the stage.
The theme then shifted to modern China. Su Mu, Zhi Hui, Zhang Yuchen and Cai Nan sang a variety of patriotic songs such as “Miss My Comrade in Arms,” “Who Does Not Say My Hometown Is Good,” and “Sleepless Tonight.”
Since SUSTech implements its global vision in all aspects of campus life, the Latin Dance Club of SUSTech took the stage, or should we say, burned up the floor with their number “Toca Toca.” Their fiery moves amazed the audience and received rounds and rounds of applause.
The Graduate School recited two poems from Republic of China dynasty, “Farewell” and “No More SUSTech,” resulting in tears from a few members of the audience. The tears continued as SUSTech’s Acapella Choir followed the poetry reading with a poignant performance of the songs “Farewell” and “Dare to Be the First.” It is worth mentioning that the latter is SUSTech’s first official campus song, which made its debut tonight.
After Su Mu and Zhi Hui returned to the stage to sing the dazzling duet, “Aspire”, Chen Zhenzhen, Chen Taowen, Li Yourong and Zhang Ruiqirepresented the SUSTech Symphony Orchestra as their string quartet played “Spirited Away” from the Japanese anime of the same name. The final performance of the evening came from Zhang Yuchen and Cai Nan, who stilled the crowd with the delightful duet, “Building A Chinese Dream Together.”
As the crowd wiped their eyes and got to their feet to make their way home, all could agree that it was an excellent end to the 2018 Graduation and Commencement Day.
