December 14, 2007. Shanghai campus - Glamorous-looking women in Chinese-style qipao and dangerous-looking men in silk jackets and fedoras overtook the CEIBS campus tonight for the school's second annual Shanghai Nights Celebration. Following a Shanghai-in-the-1930s theme, the MBA classes of 2006 and 2007 organized a formal evening party including a runway fashion show, live musical performances, and a fund-raising auction for the charity Save the Children.
Gloria Carerras and Marius Blusczc light up the stage with "Unforgettable"
Kicking off the evening's events was CEIBS Co-Dean and Vice President Zhang Weijiong, who welcomed the 300 plus students, alumni and faculty to Shanghai Nights 2007. He congratulated the student organizers of the evening and reminded celebrants of the recent good news that CEIBS has bid for and won the E10million Europe-China Business Management Project. The Project will offer 160 scholarships for incoming students and existing students, among other programs.
Following Dean Zhang's address, the evening entertainment kicked off with a stirring performance announced by the evening's MC Jeffery Pi (MBA07) and Erika Toledo (Exchange 06). First in the spotlight was "level 10" pianist Robert Zhang (MBA07). Other stellar performances include a heartfelt rendition of "Unforgettable" by Shanghai Nights organizer Gloria Carreras and Marius Bluszcz, both in the MBA 2007 class, a Chinese Opera performance by Dong Lu (MBA07), and a spirited belly-dancing exhibition enhanced by a male backup dancers from the CEIBS MBA classes.
Shanghai Style: Student guests show off their best Chinese silks
One highlight of the evening was the fashion show organized by Elle Liu (MBA07) and Valerie Touya (EMBA02). Ms Touya is founder of Curiosity Concept stores chain of fashion boutiques. The Parisian entrepreneur donated clothing for the fashion show and choreographed a 20-minute performance featuring a dozen female and male MBA students as models. The show left the crowd hoarse from cheering.
Glamour: Vice President and Co-Dean Zhang Weijiong ( right ), Academic Director of MBA Programme Price, Lydia J. ( left )
In addition to the entertainment and fun, Shanghai Nights also supported a good cause: the event also included a fundraising auction for the charity group Save the Children. The auction, lead by auctioneer Georg Jacobi (Exchange 06) raised RMB14,150 to be donated to the Xinjiang-based nonprofit. The money will be used to buy books and musical instruments for the children served by the organization.
Fashion: Students model garments from Curiosity boutique, founded by Valerie Touya (EMBA02)
Auction items generously donated by CEIBS sponsors and alumni include RMB800-worth of high-grade imported tequila donated by Juan Martinez (MBA02), founder of Solhix trading company, 400 bottles of BECKS beer from InBev Shanghai, RMB1800-worth of Lancome cosmetics, and RMB6800-worth of finance courses from Easy Finance consultancy. Other priceless prizes were supplied by MBA students Charles Cai, Sunnie Zhang, Aleksandra Krainski, Vivian Lao, Paolo Mulazzani, and Marius Blusczc.
Dance: MBA male backup dancers heat up the bellydance performance
