The new age dictionary, Wikipedia, describes Karaoke as - a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. This definition doesn’t begin to describe the truly immersive experience the Karaoke Nite @DI was, where all the senses were called upon to engage with performers and the music.
The Karaoke Nite on March 17th was hosted and emceed with great aplomb by our very own Christabel D’Gama. The smooth flow of the evening gave an insight to the careful planning undertaken behind the scenes – managing the technology, hosting the evening, inviting friends etc. If there were any pre-event jitters or anxiety, it was totally not evident as Christabel sang and danced along to the infectious music.
The evening started with singles. We had Alisha, Daniel, Nigel, Siddharth, Shayne, DJ Harish, Mitch, Kemp, Haydn, Rodney, Caroline, Christabel, Craig line up one phenomenal performance after another.
Duets followed the singles, with Siddharth and DJ Harish pairing up for the first duet of the night. Several more duets followed with Leslie, Gargi, Alisha, Shayne, Rodney, Christabel, Shrimoyee, Mitch, Craig, Kemp, Haydn.
Mariam, Saloni and Alisha teamed up with Super Trouper and the band of boys - Lorenzo, Haydn, Kemp, Mitch, Rahil and Wyatt brought the Backstreet Boys to DI.
ABBA was a clear favourite with Alisha, Caroline, Mariam, Saloni, taking turns to croon to the evergreen beats.
Rodney kept the DI Friday night tradition of Line dancing alive with his energised rendition of ‘Achy Breaky Heart’. Two more rounds of the much-loved line dancing followed.
Music truly knows no boundaries as we flew from Shreemoyee-Christabel’s ‘Waka Waka’ Africa to Siddharth’s ‘La Camisa Negra’ Colombia. ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Mitch and Craig drew lots of whistles and applause as they started singing.
Haydn’s ‘Godzilla’ received standing ovation as audience marvelled on the unbelievably fast paced rap.
We had parent-child, and siblings sing along with Rodney-Haydn, Leslie-Christabel, Lorenzo-Christabel taking to the floor.
Our celebrity members- Shayne Hyrapiet, DJ Harish, Siddharth of Wagah Road, Nigel Gomez, sang with joy and abandon.
Patsy Gomez’s birthday was celebrated by all as the audience sang Happy Birthday for her. Her son Nigel Gomez sang his favourite song in rap ‘Every breath you take’. Her joyful smile was as beautiful as the birthday girl herself.
Members jived on the dance-floor as popular numbers were performed by our talented singers. The audience was completely engaged and high on the electrifying energy of the evening and that is the mark of a successful Karaoke Nite. Congratulations to Christabel and all those whose performance made this a night to remember. The DI Bar was full by the end of the night and discussion about the brilliant performances flowed over into the lawns.
This night brought to light so many hidden talents of DI. It was a revelation to see how much of amazing musical talent our members have. Those of us whose talent is limited to humming along, were grateful to be part of this phenomenal evening. The vibe of this super charged evening can only be experienced and marvelled at.
We now await the next Karaoke Night – we were promised at least once a month?
