Dartmouth’s Alma Mater rang out halfway ’round the girdled earth on June 8, as Dartmouth alumni attending Hong Kong’s “Ivy Ball” sang a stellar rendition on stage. A Dartmouth group battled alumni from other Ivies and MIT in a song contest during the annual black-tie event, snagging second place.
“We all knew the song and we were all very proud to sing it,” says Dilan Mizrakli Landgraff ’11. “Our arms were on each other’s shoulders. We were swinging left and right. We had the best school spirit by far.”
Representatives from each school ranked other groups’ renditions of their school song based on musicality, creativity, teamwork, and overall performance. Columbia took first place (but Landgraff notes that they had a professional opera singer on stage). Dartmouth tied with Brown for second place. Landgraff was less than impressed with the Cornell group’s rendition of their school song—an attempt to turn it into a rap.
Alumni in Asia have gathered for the Ivy Ball each year since 1988. Yue Ling Chiu ’00, President of the Dartmouth Club of Hong Kong, has seen the event grow during her eight years on the organizing committee. “There were around 350 guests when I first started; within a few years the size grew to 550,” she says. This year’s event was held in the Hong Kong Convention Centre and the theme was “crazy fun Asians.”
“The Ivy Balls are super fun. Everyone dresses up and has a great night,” says Shenzen, China-based Steve Avila ’11, a committee member. “Working on the event, I get the opportunity to meet alumni from all these schools who come from all walks of life.”
Being the smallest Ivy makes Dartmouth’s win in the song competition even more impressive. A group of 17 alumni and a ’23 turned out in full force, with men in green bowties and women in green scarves made just for the occasion. “Other schools like Columbia and Cornell had 10 times more tables than us, and we still showed better presence and more school spirit,” says Landgraff.
“It gave me the chills,” Steve says. “The line of our school song that says, ‘Though ’round the girdled Earth they roam, her spell on them remains’—it always really hits me.”
“I’m not from Asia like most of the alumni here, but in the end, it doesn’t matter,” he adds. “We all bleed green.”