Talent shows are highly sought after events by nature, but if there's one word that ignites that spark in the minds of nearly every college and university student, it would undoubtedly be- APIIT Tantalize!
Having been put together for the third consecutive year, this talent show is top priority and the most important event organized by the students of APIIT.

Taking on the extremely challenging task, chairpersons Ashaff Hussain and Ruwandhi Mendis say that none of this would have ever been made possible if it weren't for their hardworking committee, and the support of the APIIT Student Activity Club.

With over 12 universities and colleges competing head to head to make it to the finals, the show was beyond doubt a place to be at. Moments after stepping through the doors of the Ananda Auditorium, the fusion of extraordinary talent that played out one after the other was simply unbelievable. From the rhythmic steps of the dancers to the strumming of the guitars, everyone could see that only the best out of the best had been put forward to battle it out at this competition.

Winning performances included an amazing dance by Surani Kaushalya (APIIT) in the solo dancing category, 'The Losers' (ACBT) in group dancing, Akila Amarathunga (APIIT) in solo singing, an outstanding number by Nilanka Munesinghe and D.P. Kaluarachchi (University of Colombo) in duet singing, Khazim Miskin (APIIT) under Instrumental Solo category, and 'Untamed' (APIIT) in the instrumental group category, and not forgetting 'Fallacy' (University of Colombo) who emerged winners in the Band category!

Adding to the mind-blowing array of talent, guest performances by the likes of Billy Fernando suited just right in stirring the crowd up! On the whole, it was a pumping auditorium full of fans and an extraordinary line-up. The highlight of the project is the proceeds of the entire event being dedicated to a charitable cause towards the CCC Foundation at the Maharagama Cancer Hospital. Incidentally, the proceeds of last year's event was utilized for providing a state- of- the- art Computer Laboratory to a school in the Polonnaruwa District.

The students of the school had organized a grand welcoming ceremony complete with a dance performance and a parade. The hard work, sweat and tears of Tantalize paid off even more on that day. It was justified. It was an amazing experience to bring this sort of happiness to rural schoolchildren in Sri Lanka. The project reinforces the virtue of social responsibility inculcated in students at APIIT.

I think it would be fair to say that the event was indeed a success! So kudos to the organizers and APIIT for pulling the event off, as we await the comeback next year!