ChildAid gets edgy makeover

Young performers had professional make-up artists on board for their publicity shoot

Dressed in black with dark eyeliner and voluminous hair, the child and teen performers for the year-end ChildAid concert were given a makeover over the weekend for an edgy look in line with this year's Electric Edition theme.

Last Friday and Saturday, they turned up at The Arts House to pose for the publicity shoot for the annual charity concert organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times. The concert raises money for the ST School Pocket Money Fund and the BT Budding Artists Fund.

While the performers' hair styling and makeup were done by a team of seven make-up artists from the show's hair and make-up sponsor Cosmoprof Academy, they brought along their own clothes for the shoot. Their dress code: edgy black.

Sisters Maya Raisha Zainudin, nine, and Nur Shaheen Zainudin, 12, brought along multiple sets of clothes as well as four pairs of shoes between them, including calf-high boots. The Singapore Chinese Girls' School pupils will be performing a song-and-dance item together with other female performers.

School of the Arts student Samuel Phua, 15, a saxophonist, brought along five black shirts.

After the organisers of ChildAid picked out the appropriate outfits, the performers changed and went into the make-up room.

The first group of girls in the room were all smiles, checking out the progress of their peers' make-up from time to time.

School of the Arts student 15-year-old Regine Law's bright pink eye shadow contrasted with her fair skin, attracting the attention of the other girls, with Maya exclaiming: "You look patriotic!"

Their make-up done, the girls had a round of standing in front of the full-length mirror and taking photos.

For a group of six boys, getting their make-up done drew awkward chuckles as they wondered if they would end up looking like flamboyant American singer Adam Lambert.

On the upside, School of the Arts student Samuel Phua, 15, told Life!: "It's the first time I'm seeing myself without pimples."

Samuel, along with Clarence Liew, 20, Lek Hao Kai, 19, Howard Chan, 15, Nicholas Tan, 19, and Dominic Chin, 17, tried to channel a rock look, as instructed, as they posed together for their publicity photo.

Their photographs were taken in the dark with some of them waving lightsticks while a photographer moved a light source around them, so the end result showed them amid a swirl of lights, in a photographic technique known as light painting. ST executive photographer Desmond Wee, 51, who was taking the photos, said one challenge was capturing their expressions: "Once the lights are off, you cannot see their faces."

Freelance photographer Dios Vincoy Jr, 41, who moved the light source around the performers said it was a shoot that allowed him to be creative.

In an indication of what the audience can expect of this year's concert, show director Jeremiah Choy, 49, from Orangedot Productions, said: "Lights will be a design element this year."

ayiying@sph.com.sg

The ChildAid concert will be held on Dec 7 and 8 at Marina Bay Sands' Grand Theater. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ChildAid

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