Beatboxers, pop and baila artistes billed to perform at “Xtaztic 2016”
Scenes from last year’s show. Pix courtesy Xtaztic
They’ve been doing this for a grand total of 10 years now, but ask the boys of S. Thomas College ,Mt Lavinia about organizing ‘Xtaztic’ and they’ll still get you buzzed with their enthusiasm.
For the UN Club, which organises the event every year, Xtaztic is a chance to put their best coordination skills to the test.
When we visit the school for a quick preview of the show, work is already under way. The first sign is a poster at the front gate designed by a student of the organising committee.
The concert is to take place on February 13, at the Viharamaha Devi, Open Air Amphitheatre from 7 p.m.
The school’s UN Club was formed to inculcate the message of the UN’s mandate in the minds of the students – the club does this through several charitable activities, and by coordinating student participation at conferences such as Sri Lanka Model United Nations and Colombo Model UN.
“Most of us joined the club because it was the club to belong to, plus it had a good name,” says Sandesh Rajanathan, President of the club.
“We all saw these successful projects happening and wanted to get involved.” Every year the students choose and partake in community service projects such as health camps, and most often a portion of funds from Xtaztic goes towards these causes.
This year, they will direct a lion’s share of the funds towards infrastructural development work at brother school S. Thomas Prep Colpetty.
“But we’re hoping to conduct another health camp as well,” notes Sandesh. “We’re planning to travel to Nuwara Eliya to conduct a camp to help out with basic needs, such as eye care, dental etc.”
“We’ve been very innovative this year,” he said. “We’ve tried to go beyond the normal organizing process – using Snapchat and Instagram and other social media platforms to run our campaigns – for example we ran a 28 day promotional campaign on our platforms.
We want to make sure that we’re catering to the correct audience.” This year, performers will include seasoned professionals as well as a handpicked selection of upcoming young musicians.
The Sherifs, fronted by Azlan Sherif, will return to the stage once more – they’ve performed consecutively at Xtaztic for a few years now – with Sharmaine Willis and her dancing troupe.
Beatboxers Julius Mitchell and Dineli Sun will also take to the stage – Julius is one of Colombo’s most prominent beatboxers alongside his talented collaborator Dineli. Glory, a band specializing in pop and baila, will also take to the stage.
Crowds at the previous year’s event.
House and EDM DJ Clifford Isaac and Jayy Vibes (Amuseum’s resident DJ) are also set to perform. The younger performers are Nimaya Harris, Dhanuk Fernando and youth band Infinity. The UN Club is guided by staff advisor Dillon Ranaweera.
Head to the Viharamaha Devi Open Air Amphitheatre to catch Xtaztic. Tickets priced at Rs. 1,000 are available via members of the organizing committee or at the gate.
Julius
