Our dreams shine the brightest when the night is the darkest. The darker it gets, the clearer the dream itself becomes. On the night of 26th of May, the illusions danced along with the rhythms at the Monash tennis court during Monash Business Club’s Lucid Dream event.

Misty evening diffuses into the air of Monash University Malaysia’s campus as the day gets nearer to its end. As you got closer to the tennis court, you could hear the upbeat music inviting the students. The students gathered in shining outfits with a Y2K theme and greeted each other at the MUSA lounge photo booth. With long, wide boot-cut pants, high heels, and baggy shirts with psychedelic patterns, the scene at the entrance was like seeing particles of sand grains with shining colours captured in a bottle. With greatly various people carrying reminiscences of history and now momentarily landing at the lounge. 

As the students were heading inside the tennis court, the volunteer student security, dressed in neat black attire, stopped them, and kindly informed them to alert the security when unwanted harassment or accidents occur during the event. After going through the entrance, there was another thorough inspection of the attendees’ belongings. The student volunteers asked the students’ permission to search their bags. For safety reasons, one could not bring any type of sharp object or ignition inside the tennis court. Now it was time to enter.

In the dark, reality loses its sun-burnt colour and takes on new skin. A neon, glowing light. Hosted by the Monash Business Club, any member of Monash University Malaysia was welcome, but the majority of the participants were students. As the students stepped in, all they could see were the luminous silhouettes of people. The newly arrived ones were slow at first, to adjust their vision to the darkness, but soon enough they spotted their long-lost friends in the wild rapture of assignments and grabbed their hands. The fog from the smoke machine was erasing all the remains of the daytime from the memories of sports matches that happened at the tennis court. People looked like floating flocks of lights, as nothing was distinguishable except the pigment of people’s clothing whenever the blazing lights from the stage struck their bodies. With the safety lid on, students enjoyed the cool and fizzy drinks from the mocktail bar section while freely roaming the court and communicating with other people. At the game zone, the students were cheered on by the club members who operated the games of alcohol-free beer pong and glow ring toss. Even when the participant missed the target, no one cared. The ping pong ball popped up from the darkness once more, and the glow rings flew again in the air that filled with bursting laughter and clapping. Above the soft clouds, the students lit up their wrists or hair with glowsticks that softly illuminated their smiling faces. The streak of flashlights for selfies left a fleeting afterimage of relief, excitement, and anticipation on their faces for the upcoming stages of the event.

The event started with the powerful opening of dance performances by the Monash Street Dance Society. With matching outfits and charismatic countenances, (sometimes soft smiles and winks when K-Pop songs played), they snatched the relaxed attention of the audience and let them be prepared for more aggressive rhythms. The blazing sounds and the tantalizing lights created multiple shades of shadows that danced along with the performers’ movements. Some students followed the dance moves to the hook of the songs. Chanting, cheering, and shouting to support a friend on the stage, the students started to take on the flow of the beat.

During the short intermission, the student volunteers as securities stayed at every exit and entrance, guarding their positions and meticulously looking out for any possible hazards. The communication among the volunteers flowed smoothly, as there were swift backup requests and multiple exchanges of ideas during the event in a quick, professional manner. It was the moment when the Monash Business Club’s late-night discussions for several days to create a pleasant experience with an unforgettable event for every student finally shined through.

When DJ Blink arrived at the tennis court, he did not hesitate a single moment and effortlessly opened up the dam of music. The crowd was gasping in anticipation, and when the first song’s beat dropped, they all started to jump. During his 75 minutes of performance, DJ Blink interacted with the students with his ingenious way of opening up university students’ hearts.

Everything was operated and complemented by the students. Among the many nights that the Monash students had gone through and will go through in the future in pursuit of their high spirit and visionary ideas, this one with the celebration of the past and welcoming the future was particularly dreamy. The party is over, and the day breaks again, but the dreams will continue.

Written by Juyeoung; Photos by Aaron & Ezriq