2016 UCL Annual Ball

350 alumni attended the UCL Annual Ball held by UCL Club of Beijing on November 5th 2016 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing. The Ball has set a few unprecedented records: it was the first ever UCL Alumni Ball, the first UCL alumni event to be live-streamed and is the largest UCL Alumni gathering in Asia ever since UCL was founded in 1826.

The Ball had 150,000 viewers on Yizhibo, 200,000 viewers on Huajiao, 350,000 live streaming views and 400,000 likes. The event gained nation-wide attention and received positive reviews and comments.

President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Arthur honoured our alumni with their attendance, accompanied by 8 UCL executive officers including Vice-Provost Mrs. Lori Houlihan and Prof. Guo Zhengxiao.

The ball brought together outstanding representatives of different fields from both China and internationally. To mention a few of them: Honorable Professor Wang Enge, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Long Yuxiang, member of Committee of Foreign Affairs of CPPCC and Executive Chairman of CICCC; Senior Colonel Zhao Yanfang, Deputy Secretary General of the Central and Eastern European Branch of WRSA; Martin Liao from Hong Kong, SBS, JP, NPC Deputy, Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Hong Kong Alumni Henry K. H. Wang, FRSA, FIChemE, C.Eng, International Advisor & Author, Managing Director of Gate International Ltd; Andrew Ng, President of UCL Club of Hong Kong, Founder of Solicitor & Notary Public of Andrew W Y Ng & Co. and Luo Zhuohui, VP of the UK WRSA, Board Director of WRSA, Director of the China National Petroleum Corporation(CNPC) Planning Equipment Manufacturing Division. Notable guests also included: Sam Zhang, Executive Vice President of JX Zhao's Group; Wang Bo, Partner of Galaxy Internet; Shen Hailun, Partner of Tianlangxing Capital; Wang Zheng and Li Changlin, Co-Founder of UCL outstanding technology company – LeFUN; Li Guangdou, Branding Strategy Expert, Brand Consultant of CCTV; Zhang Yan, Co-Founder of Dalian Culture; Xia Feng, Co-Founder of Intelligent Stereo Be Sound; Wang Pingzhong, renowned architect of the “Meng Xiang Gai Zao Jia”; and alumni from Ningbo, Guangdong, Chongqing, Shanghai and Taiwan joined the UCL Annual Ball. High profile alumni Zhou Shouzi, CFO of Xiaomi, and Lou Jun, Partner of IDG Capital, both sent their congratulations.

Before the party, started a red carpet ceremony was held. All the guests signed the welcome board before entering the hall.

President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur, made a speech and introduced “It's All Academic”, the UCL fundraising campaign, which raises money for causes ranging from curing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease to UCL’s new East London campus, and from building new courses to supporting more people to study at UCL. The project had already conducted large-scale fundraising events globally this year since starting in London in September. Professor Michael Arthur spoke highly of the ball, appreciating the organizational work of UCL volunteer alumni and expressed looking forward to attending more official UCL alumni events in Beijing.

Next, UCL Vice-Provost Mrs Lori Houlihan handed out Thank You letters to all Ball volunteers.

Mr. Luo Zhuohui, VP of the UK WRSA, Board Director of WRSA, Director of the China National Petroleum Corporation(CNPC) Planning Equipment Manufacturing Division, gave a welcoming speech recognizing the success of the event.

President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur, gave a wonderful toast to all Ball attendees. Dinner was served afterwards.

London is a culturally diverse, global city. We enjoyed this dynamic city during our student days and gained good memories. Hence, the evening's programs were selected to reflect this multi-cultural spirit. The cream of China's top international talent got together to give you a rockin’ taste of London. We gave a round of applause for the British Band Nancy and The Fantastic and thanked them for their funky renditions of the greatest hits from UK.

With British songs in the background, tables were set with names of London’s Tube stations. While enjoying the delicious dinner, this setting took alumni down the memory lane of Russell Square’s lawn, bustling King’s Cross station, and Big Ben’s clock ringing from River Thames.

A series of traditional Chinese performances followed the British Band. The magical “when London meets Beijing” program showcased professional, greatly entertaining performances.

Peacock is a symbol of luck in Chinese culture. The traditional Peacock Dance moved in rhythmic grace to symbolically wish UCL, the Provost and his team and the Ball attendees good luck and prosperity.

The acrobatic and delicate performance, “The Flying Apsaras”, displayed a form of traditional folk dance that demands great precision and perfection from the dancers. An Apsara (also spelled as Apsarasa) is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.

The National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts performed their famous “Monkey King” show. 2016 is the year of the monkey, and the story of the Monkey King is widely known in China. This unique and beautiful performance is a dance interpretation of auspiciousness and festive spirit.

The following show is the nationally acclaimed “The Martial Arts of China” performed by the martial arts team of Capital University of Physical Education and Sports. The performance was a blend of strong and subtle moves portraying different schools of martial art.

The last performance to round off the night was the rhythmically passionate “Drum Dance”. The evening performances were enjoyed immensely by all the Ball attendees.

President Michael Arthur and Ball guests enjoyed the evening’s visual feast.

After the performances, President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur, led all the guests to stand up and gave a toast providing the Ball’s official photographer an opportunity to capture the moment. Following the group photo, lucky draws surprised the guests and brought the party to the next level of excitement.

Basked In warm, inviting and harmonious atmosphere, the dance floor opened to the UCL group dance led by experienced Salsa teachers – Liz Balloqui and Yuro. They are professional dancers from Mexico and Cuba with many years of experience in Salsa and Latin dance instruction. This was followed by a live DJ performance by the ‘Kitchen’, who has more than 10 years of DJ experience. The ‘Kitchen’ holds resident DJ positions in several major night clubs in Beijing, he also performed in countless events and is the music consultant for the famous radio show "Here Come The Beats" featured on Beijing Music Radio FM 97.4.

The distinguished President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur, and his beautiful wife, Dr Elizabeth Arthur, led the group Salsa dance. UCL alumni were inspired and motivated by both their charm, youthfulness and inclusive nature.

Time flew past during the fun and games. The group dance was one of the highlights of the evening, The Ball was a night to remember filled with laughter and everlasting friendship.

The Grand Ball was brought to a successful end. It was an unforgettable and joyous night. President Michael Arthur, Dr. Elizabeth Arthur, Vice Provost Lori and the UCL executive team kindly took photos with alumni after the party and assured the alumni they would visit again!