The long awaited 14th Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship has finally come and gone. Running from the 20th till the 22nd of November 2009, the event held at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands attracted an even larger crowd as compared to previous years.
Once again using the unique X-pole layout, the event attracted an overwhelming 40 teams from around the nation. A difference to this year's competition is that the west side of the poles (the one that Goh Chor has used in past editions) has been altered to the international fixed standard poles (jongs) set up, recently seen in most international competitions.
The highlight of this year's competition is the introduction of the Double Lions category, in which teams get to send 2 lions to jump simultaneously to the beats of one set of musical instruments. This category attracted 9 teams and was held over the first two days during the preliminary rounds. Subang Khuan Loke Dagon & Lion Dance Association emerged as champions and performed as the closing act on the day of the finals.
This year's preliminary rounds saw the majority of the teams suffering major falls. This might be attributed to the fact that the competition is now following the new rules issued by the International Dragon & Lion Dance Federation based in China. Among the many rule changes is that the performance times has been reduced from the previous 10-15 minutes to 8-10 minutes.
Another major change to the rules that should be noted is that the point giving system is now different. I will spare the full details for a later post, but teams are required to do 10 stunts to earn the full 2 marks allocated for difficulty. Anything more than that will not earn the team any additional marks, but in the case of a tie, the tie breaker will be given to the team that has more stunts. The stunts that are counted has been listed out by the Federation and teams are advised to read it up because any other stunts done by the team, no matter how difficult or beautiful, will not be counted. This was evident in this year's competition as some teams who jumped a lot were only awarded with 1 or 2 stunts recognized. Prior to the competition, teams were asked to dance all their stunts out without the lion for the judges to see and acknowledge.
Another major change is that the individual scoring judges now give their marks after taking account the mistakes committed by the teams, unlike last time where there will be a gross average score and then the deductions being made to that. As such, there are only net scores given in this post.
Interestingly enough, the 8 finalists of this year's competition comprised of the Big 4 in Malaysia, namely Kun Seng Keng, Goh Chor, Khuan Loke and Kwong Ngai with each association having 2 teams each in the finals.
This year's competition was a stark comparison of the last nationals (see here) in terms of how smooth the finals turned out to be. While the 13th edition of the nationals saw a mistake-free finals (save for a team dropping it's cheng), this year's finals had more than half the finalists making mistakes.
Without further ado, here are the scores and pictures from the finals. Enjoy.
Persatuan Seni Goh Chor Wushu Tarian Singa, Bukit Siput, Johor Final Score : 7.79
The first team of the day to dance was Goh Chor's junior team. They had an impressive way of going up the poles, and did most of the stunts that their senior team used to do. Not too long after going up the poles, they suffered a major fall, but continued on and put up a show that was much appreciated by the audience.
Sg Way Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association, Selangor Final Score : 8.94
Using a very unique colour combination head, this scratch pair from Khuan Loke defied odds by fighting their way into the finals despite training together for only 4 days prior to the competition. Aside from making it to the finals, they had also earlier gotten champion in the Double Lion category. They had a number of crowd favourite stunts, including a 270 turn right after a suicide. A small mistake dampened their hopes of getting a good score.
Petaling Jaya Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association, Selangor Final Score : 8.96
Coming out of retirement yet again, the old trusty pair from Khuan Loke who had once garnered 2nd place in the World Championships came out yet again to fight for honours for the team. Although lacking in speed and strength due to their old age, they put up a very steady show with the lion's expressions still a notch above average. They can finally retire in peace thanks to the gold medal that they had won a day earlier in the Double Lion category.
Persatuan Seni Goh Chor Wushu Tarian Singa, Segamat, Johor Final Score : 8.99
The 2-time defending national champions also came out of retirement to help their troupe in this year's nationals. A crowd favourite over the past few years with an extremely huge fan base, they were out of the lion dancing scene for about a year or so, and it showed. While still very impressive, they were not as smooth and steady as they had been in previous competitions. Their music team also comprised of all new members compared to their previous band, and it did seem to have a slightly lesser oomph compared to before. A minor mistake on the ground while doing a single leg stack is something that no one would've expected from them, but it happened.
Kun Seng Keng Dragon And Lion Dance Association, Bukit Pasir, Johor Final Score : 7.81
This team needing no introduction, they suprised the lion dance world when they reverted back to using the futsan lion head, as how they had started off before. Alas, their style of dancing is still very much hoksan with their music also being pure hoksan. For a considerably new pair, they did very well in terms of jumps, but had a major fall while doing a 180 degree turn to a stack. Still, they completed the performance to the delight of the crowd.
Kun Seng Keng Dragon And Lion Dance Association, Muar, Johor Final Score : 9.24
The world champions, Tian Yong and Kok Fu, were next to dance. Having never won the Genting national title as a pair before, they were fired up to put a good show. And that is exactly what they did, with an extremely amazing display of expressions, speed and stunts. The only category that could be improved might've been the music, which comprised of mostly new faces, but they still put up a splendid showing, blending in just about every stunt that they have ever done before. They used the box that they had used the year before in the World Championships, this time complete with a set of electronic firecrackers. A new move that they did was a back kick from the top 4 poles straight to the tail landing on the lower 2 poles before doing their now famous tail swing. Definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Persatuan Tarian Naga & Singa Kwong Ngai, Balakong, Selangor Final Score : 7.69
The dancers, once crowned national champions in 2003, were finally back in the competition after having to skip the 2005 and 2007 editions. Having danced for many many years now with a tail dancer much shorter than the head, they were still agile and had a lot of fast paced crazy moves. They even had a nice twist to their 360 degree spin. Unfortunately, they suffered a major fall while attempting a reverse stack. They had fallen the previous day during the double lion competition and would've probably been injured due to that.
Kwong Ngai Lion Dance Final Score : 9.22
The final team of the day was the Kwong Ngai futsan team which has been making waves in the lion dance world in recent times, They have been winning award after award in almost every competitions that they had participated in, and it was no wonder why as they have a very steady pair that can pull off many difficult stunts. They are very fast and aggressive, and put up a good fight with Kun Seng Keng for the title this time around.
Final Results: Kun Seng Keng Dragon And Lion Dance Association, Muar, Johor : 9.24 Kwong Ngai Lion Dance, Kuala Lumpur : 9.22 Persatuan Seni Goh Chor Wushu Tarian Singa, Segamat : 8.99 Petaling Jaya Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association, Selangor : 8.96 Sg Way Khuan Loke Dragon and Lion Dance Association, Selangor : 8.94 Kun Seng Keng Dragon And Lion Dance Association, Bukit Pasir, Johor : 7.81 Persatuan Seni Goh Chor Wushu Tarian Singa, Bukit Siput, Johor : 7.79 Persatuan Tarian Naga & Singa Kwong Ngai, Balakong Selangor : 7.69
The top 3 teams qualify for the 8th Genting World Lion Dance Championship to be held in July 2010.
PS: Credits to Yee Chean and Andy Chan for some of the pictures used in this post.
The Universiti Malaya Lion Dance Team once again successfully carried off the UM Lion Dance Night, the third such event to be held since 2007. This year's event is more of a follow up of what they had started in the 2nd UM Lion Dance Night, which is the Lion Dance Drama.
Recaps of the past two events can be found here: 2007, 2008
NOTE: A sincere apology to all those who attended the event because I had earlier reported that there will be performances by both Kun Seng Keng and Kwong Ngai. I wasn't informed about the change until I was there at the event myself... Apparently, due to unforseen errors, the two teams had to pull out from this event.
As they had done in the previous UM Lion Dance Night, the eventful night was kicked off with a Drum Performance. This year's performance was similar to last year's, comprising a huge band of multiple drums, cymbals and gongs.
The only visiting team to this year's event, the Yahya Awal Dragon Dance Troupe took to the stage with their first performance of the night, a Day Light Dragon Dance performance.
This was then followed on by the Eye Dotting ceremony, which was once again carried out by Master Lim Meng Kok. Among the VVIPs this time was the ex-Chief Minister of Penang, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon.
The night then proceeded with Yahya Awal's second performance of the night, Luminous Dragon Dance Performance. This was a fantastic display of speed and agility, and it isn't a wonder that the team has a few national and international titles under their belt.
The event concluded with the much talked about Lion Dance Drama, similar to what has been done last year. Adding more twists and excitement to the story this time, 2 lions performed to get the message of kindness and appreciation to the audience. The drama has been split to 6 parts due to Youtube's 10 minute per video restriction.
The 14th Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship is the biggest and most established high stilt lion dance championship well known within Malaysia. Around forty aspiring teams from around the nation will be competing in this championship. Spectators will be treated to superb mastery of skills and colorful displays of lion dance props as each team strive to prove their prowess to become the 14th Malaysia National Lion Dance champion.
Additional New Competition - Double Lion Competition This year, the world’s first ever double lion’s competition will be added into the championship. This segment requires higher skills and cooperation among the lion dance troupe. For those who seek excitement and thrill, this lion dance would surely be an eye opener.
Featuring for the first time in the industry, two lions performing simultaneously to the beat and rhythm of one drum.
Synchronization, or the blending of two completely different acts, agility & co-operation that will be held by the core of impressive teamwork, will definitely generate great excitement and awe! Don't miss this special feature, the Double Lion Competition. Catch this special act on the 20th and 21st November from 8.00pm onwards.
GEORGE TOWN: It was a suspense-filled event to the very end as the packed arena waited to see if the tie for first place in the International Lion Dance on Stilts Competition here would break in favour of a Malaysian team or a team from Hong Kong.
In the end, the world-renowned Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association’s Team A from Muar was awarded the title as its performance had a slightly higher difficulty level.
Team A of Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association performing at the finals of the International Lion Dance on Stilts competition in Penang.
The association is no stranger to the lion dance scene, having won 30 international titles since 1992 and 37 national titles since 1991.
The Muar team and the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association’s team scored 9.18 in yesterday’s finals held at the Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome at Komtar.
The organisers said the tiebreaker was set according to the rules and regulations of the Dragon and Lion Dances Federation of Asia.
Hong Kong team leader Tang Siu Lun said they were happy to have tied for the highest score and felt no disappointment about losing out following the tiebreaker.
Giant leap: The Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association’s performing their routine.
Muar team manager Tan Chong Hing said he was quite happy with the results but felt his troupe could have given a better performance.
“During the finals of a championship, it all boils down to the on-the-spot performance. Today’s performances of both our Team A and Team B were not up to mark,” he said.
Team B lost precious points when the lion’s front legs slipped towards the end of its routine on the high stilts, scoring the team 8.73 which was the lowest points in the finals.
The other two teams in the finals were the Chinese Taipei Kao Shiong Liang-Guang Dragon Dance, Lion Dance and War Drum Team, which came in third, and the Meihu Sports and Culture Association from Penang.
The two-day competition was organised by the state government and Penang Wushu, Lion and Dragon Dance Association.
The preliminary round on Saturday saw the participation of nine teams from seven organisations from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.
