Two Eves in a Damn Sinful City

“So we would go home after class and practice.”

“Yeah, we were lucky to have each other.”

THE DRAGON's Bankolu Alo sat down with Bibian Anibueze and Serena Gordon, this year's Fashion Show directors. They direct by being themselves to the fullest extent, and dragging others along for the ride by encouraging them to do the same. The reciprocal energy needed to be fluid as dancers is exhibited as much in these two dynamos' movements under the bright lights as it is in their effervescent, self-announcing synergy on display whilst being co-directors of Sin City. The Show runs this week, Thursday 24^rd and Friday 25^th November, doors at 7pm. Ticket proceeds go to Rays of Sunshine & the Florence Nightingale Hospice charities. They're available at the student shop, SU office, SU bar and online (https://www.sgsu.org.uk/societies/society/fashionshow/).

*  *  *

To the uninitiated, their routines could look like the chaotic manifestation of too many daydreams fuelled by the booming, drooping tones of the latest trap artistes. However, what lies under the hood, and what was confirmed in conversation with these two impresarios, is their truth. The meticulous cultivation of exuberance into a physical, mutually enjoyable form. What goes into being able to take such pain (and joy) with the details? Serena is quick with her reflection of “Having no other life”, while Bibian is quicker with her development of the idea to “being organised”. Serena nods, adding “being really weirdly OCD about things helps.”

Despite undoubted respectively long days full of the medical student ennui, they are full of energy and fizz with an enthusiasm that is impressive if not infectious. So, what does their role as directors involve that makes them so in love with life? “First of all coming up with an idea, telling everyone that idea, and hoping they go along with it.” Bibian offers. “All the things no-one knows about. All the planning, all the designing. Well, the promotional things.” Serena buffers. “Organising the whole dancing aspect – which is the Show – and having enough people willing to do it. Then promoting it enough so enough freshers will come. Really all the boring things.”

It sounds like a raw deal. Where’s the silver lining? They’re pretty crystal on what exactly that is. “We still get to dance” Bibian beams. Serena confirms, “That’s all that matters.” The passion is not just for show. On what Fashion Show means to them, Bibian says that it is “Everything. We both love dancing. We wanted to do something to show that we are more.” Serena bookends “And here we are”. Bibian is effortlessly bold in crowning it “the most amazing experience you’ll have at George’s.” Serena's cosign runs deep “Yeah, I cried.” Does the feeling stack up to other shows, other competitions? Bibian is yang “They don’t allow you to get as merry as we do at Fashion Show. We get very merry. We’re very social.” Serena is yin “Maybe a bit too social”. We can judge for ourselves from an intimate distance “at the SU discos”.

*  *  *

“Sitting on the train, on the bus, travelling to placement, headphones in and a song comes on. My head starts bopping automatically and it’s like ‘Ok, this is happening’” Bibian traces. Serena says “Or you’re trying to stay awake during a clinic, so you sing a song to yourself. You keep singing the same song to yourself and then you start to visualise the moves you’d do to it. Then it just happens.” The decision of whether they’d like to dance to a song is a delicate mix of innate quality, patience, artistic foresight and a healthy dollop of “procrastination”.

*  *  *

Their respective first recalled experiences of dance share a common thread of captivity-turned-freedom, albeit on tangential trajectories. First up, Bibian: “When I was about eight years old, my mum caught me brukking my back. After school, just brukking my back on the corner. Extensive lordosis and kyphosis. She never let me dance again. And so it was, until I became a free woman at university.” Serena thinks back. “I remember my mum dragging me to this classical Indian dance class called Bharatanatyam. I was three years old; at first there was excitement but after four weeks that had turned to torture. ‘I hate this. I want to do Bollywood. This isn’t Bollywood’. Seven years later, I’m still doing Bharatanatyam. I got banned from some classes because apparently I was too sexual.” Bibian offers some 20/20 hindsight to lend weight to Serena’s early tutors’ assertions. “If you’ve ever seen Serena on stage, you can understand that. Her neck moves in inhuman ways. Plus, she gets the Bollywood faces down. Bollywood faces equal sex.” She muses. Undeterred, and through stifled laughter, Serena maintains her innocence. “I was oblivious. I was just doing what the teacher had taught me” she says.

*  *  *

Trips down memory lane provide a wealth of experiences, good and bad, that both Serena and Bibian will doubtlessly tap into to fuel the genius that goes into putting on the best show. The appraisals seem as dutiful – and warm – as the steps they take on those cold nights in November to enthuse their audiences. Serena recollects “Face-Off in our first year as freshers. George’s is so sick, we just slay so much. To top off the year before, which was awesome, they wanted to win again. They grabbed this guy to choreo who was/is a psycho –“ Bibian softens the assessment, “amazing, but mainly a psycho”. Serena continues “Yeah, I don’t know what happens in [his mind] but bad things. He had to teach us all the finale and you just couldn’t understand what it would look like when you were in the thick of it. All these really random movements where you felt like the most unattractive, awkward person ever. And no one picked it up. They had a week where they tried to teach it to us and we couldn’t pick it up. It was the most difficult thing but when you watch it back, oh my God, it was a sick routine.”

Bibian echoes her partner-in-rhythm’s sentiments. “It was a very stressful experience because in his mind he already had the vision of – ok these people do this, these people do that – but he didn’t communicate that to us. So literally, we’d be learning different things and be thinking ‘what is happening?’. Until the last moment – I think it was literally the day before the competition – none of us knew what it looked like. Eventually we saw it and thought, ‘oh, we get it now’. But the stress was still not worth it – until we won. Then it was worth it.” She stresses the lesson in it all in terms of choreography. “You definitely have to look at the bigger picture first; at the same time, we still need to make sure every single person is happy. So I guess we just… We’ve tried to communicate with people as and when ideas happen, so that they all know and all kind of understand our vision for the show. That way, we’re all on the same page and nobody will give us a dance that we’ll think ‘oh no, what’s happened?’. So that’s what we’ve tried to do this year. We don’t have to work that hard in terms of inspiring people; most of our choreographers love dancing, they want to dance and are all amazing at it.”

*  *  *

Though we sit currently in some grey nondescript corner of St. George’s, the potency with which these two bounce off of each other has been unabashedly etched in the air. It’s a mixture that promises to be in full bloom come the first night of their show, and beyond. Against the tireless lights of the sets behind them and the tireless efforts of those pushing them forward, the excitement will be palpable and, if you dare to allow it, contagious.

"the excitement will be palpable and, if you dare to allow it, contagious"

The excitement comes from an honest, amiable place. Bibian and Serena are gushing, yet discernibly frank, in their offer of advice to anyone unsure of getting involved with Fashion Show or Dance Society in the near future:

“it’s incredible. When I first started dancing I wasn’t that amazing. I still wouldn’t say that I’m that amazing, but back then, I definitely wasn’t good. Going in every week and instructors whipping me into shape made me the kind of person that people would vote in to be director. Keep going. Initially you might start out and think ‘oh I’m not very good’ or not be very confident but you just need to keep doing it. It’s like every skill really, the more you practice the quicker you become... Perfect.” Bibian reflects.

Serena adds “The Dance Soc committee is really dedicated to making it social. They have tried a lot of things already, have a good following and I hope that continues. They deserve it. They have enough ideas that it could last a whole year and stay really interesting. It’s one of the great societies where people even in their final year will continue to do it. With some societies you reach a peak and then you drop out. With Dance people won’t let it go, they keep going to the end. People come back when they’re working. We have F3 doctors coming back, just to do it. That’s how dedicated they are. You meet such a great range of personalities and it’s something to look forward to. The monotony of placement and lectures is so easily broken up by just a Wednesday dance class.”

For the more cynically pragmatic among you, they have one parting sales pitch. Not that they need it. “As well as that, meeting seniors in that kind of environment helps you with your studies. First year medics, biomeds and healthcare scientists you know where to come. We’ll help you win OSCEs”

Serena, philosophically, gives the notion some easily palatable millennial packaging. “#wegotnotes”.

A debt of gratitude to JB for their invaluable contribution to the creation of this piece. 

The Dragon Unofficial Fresher's Guide 2016

Dragon TV - Episode 3 - Part V 2015

Presenter: Rob Vaughan
Edited by: Rob Vaughan

Live in Hope. - A response

One wonders how long Time must wander through perennial peaks and troughs, until Time comes for this tree that slumbers to erupt again in emerald wonders.

Written by: Anonymous













Link to original post: http://thedragonmagazine.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/live-in-hope.html

What Your Lanyard Says About You

What Your Lanyard Says About You¹

Lanyards, eh? They’re everywhere now. When I was a boy it was good enough to just staple your ID badge to your nipple (my family demanded identification at all times), but nowadays we wear all manner of frippery. And I bet you thought that the piece of cloth that connects your ID, watch, pens, keys and depleted uranium to your neck was just for infection control- but far from it! Whilst you’ve been letting your valuables smack into OSCE patient’s faces and doing “medicine”, I’ve been carefully analysing the different types of lanyards according to a complex psychometric algorithm that I developed in my serial-killer-esque bedroom. Needless to say my girlfriend has left me. Anyway, here are the fruits of my labour.

The St. George’s Student Union

The all in black classy number? No. Let’s face it, this is the vanilla option. It says either “I got tangled up in one of these during fresher’s fair and forgot” or “I’m a bland personality-less humanoid who is terrible in bed”. You are the background actor in someone else’s ITV drama. If you’re directly employed by the university then I’ll give you a free pass but otherwise please take this opportunity to choose another lanyard².

The NHS NHS NHS…

Yes! Wear your passport to the people’s Republic of the NHS proudly! This means that whether you believe that the NHS is the Titanic heading towards the iceberg of global capitalism or vice versa, you’ll keep playing your violin till the end. And in honour of this I salute you. And apart from socialist pride, this lanyard is by far the most finely made. The cross-stitched Egyptian cotton prevent friction burns from even the heaviest lanyard.

The St George’s Hospital Foundation Trust

Pretty in pink? Hardly! That pink is the blood of the proletariat. You might as well go full Virgin red. Besides, who do you think you are? An actual doctor!? You have to earn the right to wear a symbol of the inexorable slide towards privatisation. It’s almost as if they don’t understand basic human social cues… I’m not saying that everyone who wears this lanyard is in fact a conglomeration of intelligent and well coordinated hagfish inside a human skin suit, but I’m not saying they aren’t either. That’s for the courts/history to decide.

The Lanyard-Less

You zig when the world zags, and by doing so embody the spirit of the noble otter- independent, stylish and possessing a pheromone virtually toxic to the human nose. In this metaphor that fishy miasma represents the little windup wire thingy that you attach the badge to your belt with. You know this is repellent, the uni equivalent of a hands-free bluetooth headset, yet you do it because it is in some way better than a lanyard. In a world of insanity, maybe the only sane choice is to act insane³.

The Royal Society of Medicine

This is a smart choice. Just the right whiff of the royal college lanyard favoured by consultants but not enough to come across as arrogant. This is the lanyard of the career climber. Be careful around this one though, their glowing CV hides a dark history of doing anything to get what they want. They have killed, and they will kill again. If someone wearing this lanyard asks you to accompany them on a trip to a secluded mountain lodge, abandoned fairground, derelict lighthouse or disused meat factory then politely refuse. This should buy you an hour. You must then burn your phone and identity documents (to be safe just burn down your entire house), withdraw all your money and pick a random flight. Do not contact your friends or family, they will already be dead. Never look back. This is your life now.

The Medical Student

This is available from Amazon at the low low price of £3.49! But be quick, because they’re only six left! This is perfect for the student with early onset dementia, or with a self esteem so low that they need almost constant validation that they are in fact supposed to be here.

The Conferencer

Look, I get it. You went to that conference one time because he/she was going, and you thought it might make your FPAS look less depressing. I know how it goes. It’s super boring but they look into it, so you overdo it a bit on the enthusiastic tweets. Things get a bit weird that night after a few bottles of free conference wine and hotel schnapps, he/she comes back to your room and you kiss. But he/she says it was just a mistake, and he/she just wants to be friends, so you guys watch Spider-Man 3 and awkwardly fall asleep side by side on the single bed. Now they’re with someone else and all you have is the lanyard to remember them by. Like I said, I get it⁴.

The I Have a Life Outside of George’s

It’s nice to do other things. For example, I compete in beetle fighting tournaments at a professional level. But doesn’t it come off a bit braggy to wear the lanyard? Sure, I could wear one of the many glorious lanyards that I have accrued from my beetle fighting career (if I could only wash the beetle juice off them) but that’s not why I got into the beetle fighting game. I do it for the beetles, many of whom have no other route out of beetle poverty. You especially shouldn’t wear the lanyard if what you’ve done is nothing to be proud of- say a show at the Edinburgh Fringe. And so there’s no confusion, I’m directing this at you Jon Kirk⁵. Here’s my review for your autobiographical one man show: Jon Kirk: A Life of Satire and Shame, has no satire, and the only shame is on the part of the audience. It is essentially an incoherent romp through his formative years, but this is no ordinary bildungsroman. There are several quite distressing scenes, including a fifteen minute erotic dream sequence in which he silently acts out Finding Nemo. I assumed the piece was a post-structuralist criticism of pre-communist Czechoslovakia, before realising it was just bad. See this if you want to see a grown man on the edge of tears. Three stars.

The Other Uni

DTF or GTFO.

Please address all complaints to Roop Gill⁶.

Footnotes

1. This is exactly the kind of click-bait title that appeals to the narcissistic core of ‘Generation Me’. And this is exactly the kind of faux-intellectual comment that might get this article picked up by The Medical Student.
2. Of course a majority of non-medical student Georgians will wear this option, but as part of the unilateral “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” anti-non-medical student policy here at the Dragon I can’t mention them, and must in fact actively try to alienate them.
3. This seems profound but is actually nonsense.
4. Here I’ve constructed this narrative, which looks like a depressing anecdote from my own life, to draw attention away from the fact that people ywho go to conferences are in fact actually quite hard working and successful, and therefore better than me. This mutual muck-slinging is a technique I also use in my personal life, and I highly recommend it.
5. This appears to be a self-indulgent in joke. However the man in question does not in fact exist, therefore it was just a waste of the reader’s time.
6. Don’t worry they’ll still reach me! Roop personally reads each criticism to me as I fall asleep, interspersed with deeply personal insults and crotch punches.

Written by: Benji Fricker-Muller

Does anybody else feel that they are special?

Does anybody else feel that they are special?

Able to see things or do things better than other people? Believe that in their own way they are essential to the existence of others?

Have you had these thoughts?

Probably/hopefully/maybe just me.

All three are interesting outcomes and are worthy of discussion.

Probably

Photo courtesy of Tom Bucknall

This means that most of you reading this, at some point, have believed that you are different. I, for example, have often wondered if I am the first person to think certain thoughts (Philosophical mainly- and mostly forgotten before a pen and paper are at hand). The chances are that this is not the case and many before me have thought these thoughts. But have they perceived the ideas differently? To illustrate: if you look at one tree, will others see that one tree the same? (Possibly a discussion for another time). These are questions that plague me and I could do with an answer (Preferably before I start getting Pretentious).

I digress and my point is that there are so many people existing and so many that have existed it is almost impossible to say that you are individual.

Hopefully

I would like to believe that there are others out there that see the world in a similar light, so people can see eye to eye (Diversity is obviously important too). If you did have your own unique way of thinking it would be lonely. Does anyone feel lonely?

Maybe Just Me

Am I a psychopath? Do you guys even exist...

http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-with-an-Existential-Crisis

Written by: Tom Bucknall

Dragon TV - Episode 2 - St. Patrick's Day Disco

Cameraman: Mide Adebambo
Presenter: Roop Gill
Editors: Mide Adebambo and Roop Gill

Live in Hope.

 "I wonder when is the time,
after a certain period of time 
that I look out at the tree 
and see the leaves on the tree."

Written by: Anonymous

Dragon TV - Episode 1 - Gold Disco 2015

Cameraman: Mide Adebambo
Presenter: Roop Gill
Editors: Mide Adebambo and Roop Gill

St. George's: A Fresher's Perspective [ARCHIVE]

Estd. 1751 - The second oldest medical school in the UK

“Oh, where’s that then?” a response this reporter, and many others from our esteemed university, have been met with when asked where it is they study. 
This, sometimes vexatious, reaction along with “what? Like the hospital?” evokes this reporter into questioning why it is so few have heard of St. George’s and what it is we students can do about our unknown status.


So why has no one heard of the mighty George’s? Amongst other things, the niche courses offered by the university immediately segregate the attention of those who do not with to pursue a medically orientated career. In addition, our small student body of around 4000 and our rather modest campus size - located in the strangest corner of the greatest city in the world - causes St. George’s physical contribution to the map to be little more than a pinprick. These attributes could be considered a drawback when attempting to compete with other universities, and can sometimes cause us to repine when we see larger universities attracting big musical acts during their freshers weeks; and in summer one cannot help but choke on the humid, syrupy air of the hospital and dream of feeling a balmy breeze whilst lounging in the shade of an oak on a patch of greenery within the squeaky, aseptic halls of our learning environment.


However, these somewhat unorthodox and unconventional variations on a university have caused the students of St. George’s no discomfort, nay, the opposite as St. George’s has been voted “London's best student experience for two years in a row in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey”. These quirks in our size are described on the SGUL website to lend a “genuine community feel”, and who could disagree? At my first “meet&greet” freshers event I was told by a benign and eager 4th year that within a couple of years I would know “pretty much everyone”, this I cautiously took on board; especially considering that this very same 4th year told me that Circles was no more than “a casual drink with team-mates after training”. However, as the weeks into IFP progressed, and as I began to realise that I had been misled by several older members of the university, it dawned on me that I did know, or at least recognise, the more active students of St. George’s.


At our university, mixing between year groups has never been simpler. Of course, like all universities, sport is a major factor when it comes to integrating with others, and in a wonderfully welcoming nature, the publicity and openness of Circles allows those who may be interested in the sport but lack the proficiency to play to get involved too. In addition, there are several clubs and societies one can get involved in, including a wide range of faith-related societies and the strangely elusive Chess Club to which I joined at the Freshers Fair, but still have yet to hear from. To dissipate any clique-iness that could arise through holding an allegiance to a club or sport, another interesting George’s quirk comes into play. This one being families, a random (usually) dispersal of freshers amongst age old dynasties allows for new bonds to form between siblings and their parents as they get to know members of the family inside and outside of family-led events. This can, however, lead to nepotism in other aspects of university life, namely at Circles where there may be a lax in the dishing out of fines and even in the clinical cubicles where the medics among us learn to be fair and equal doctors (especially when an overseeing grandparent decides to go easy on you).

A St. George's Family, WW8 2013 - Photo courtesy of Daniel Truman

The lack of artisans, thespians and literary enthusiasts has left a depressingly large hole in our university life; with very few of us showing ebullience with regards to fiction and causing our heavily-scientific library to pale in comparison to those universities with a greater breadth of subjects. Such an evident deficit in artistic variation amongst George’s students has led this reporter to consider whether the uni-faceted tastes in music and fashion at our university is due to a lack of diversity in student interests. Despite this lack of artistic input, we have still managed to display our artistic brilliance through the events put on by members of The Tooting Show and The Revue Society; I myself, have been to see all of their productions and highly recommend them to the students of St. George’s. Not only is there great enjoyment to be had in seeing your effort coming into fruition, but the social aspects of involvement in these productions is also said to be equally gratifying, this was noticeable in the subdued and glum looks of the members of Revue on the closing of The Producers, speaking to a performer this reporter was told: “I miss it… the play [The Producers] becomes your life and I’m so glad I got involved”.

Revue's Christmas Show 2013 Cast - Photo courtesy of Alvin Man

Despite our smaller size, longer study/working hours and limited resources we at St. George’s have still managed to match-up to and compete with universities of a much larger size. This exhibits the perseverance, intelligence and make-do attitude that has allowed us to do so well. And how well we have done! Coming first in the cheerleading competition we entered, and both men’s football and Rugby teams made it to the UH cup finals; not to mention our win at Face Off 2013, displaying our characteristic ingenuity and innovation with our theme of technology not deterred in the slightest by our competition including universities with a dramaturgic background.

St. George's winning dance team at Face Off 2013

However, I believe that these triumphs are due to the actions of few within our already diminutive university. Over the years many have commented on the slowly decreasing involvement of freshers within university life, causing poor turn outs at SU events and decaying the sizes of various clubs and sports teams, leaving diamonds firmly buried in the rough. The reason for this absence of advocacy? Laziness, says this reporter. The “I can’t be bothered” attitude of today’s undergraduates is distressing to see and although advertisement of different activities has never been higher due to the use of social networking sites, it seems that we cannot muster ourselves to attend a disco, turn up to training or attend an audition. We may all have our excuses for our poor showing, ‘lack of time’ and ‘too much work’ being the favourites, but it is always the same faces cropping up at events whilst others shirk away from the idea of mingling with their peers. Nothing should hold anyone back from actively getting involved in university life; ask current members of a society or sports team if they regret their signing-up. The regret will only lie with those who end their university career having accomplished only a degree and cannot convey the true meaning of St. George’s university when faced with the question: “Oh, where’s that then?”

Written by: Roop Gill on 15/05/2013