Once again, I am extremely sorry for the lack of updates. As time goes on, more and more responsibilities pop up and thus limit the amount of time I have for this site.
As such, I'll be uploading all my latest media on the Facebook account stated above, since it is much more convenient to upload stuff there plus it is also a whole lot more interactive than this blog.
I will decide in the near future if I'm going to continue this xanga site running. So for the time being, please do follow me on the Facebook account..see you there!
Many are eagerly waiting for the tiger dance this Chinese New Year, to be celebrated next month. But said my former boss at The Sun newspaper Robert Ho, it was former Home Minister Tan Sri Ghazalie Shafie ( who passed away last week ) who in the late 1970s proposed the Tiger dance be performed by Malaysian Chinese instead of the lion dance. Simply because the tiger “is Malaysian”. I must thank Robert here publicly for sharing wth me that interesting piece of information. “You go check”, he told me. And check I did. It led me to our history files and in particular I was drawn to a book – Histories,Cultures,Identities – Studies in Malaysian Chinese World written by Sharon A. Cartens.
According to the book, in the 1980s, public debates on the Malaysian National Culture erupted as never before. Unprecedented since Merdeka. Meetings and conferences were held by politicians, government officials and leaders of various organizations representing the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. Statements were issued, memorandums forwarded outlining “visions ” of a Malaysian culture as envisaged by each community.
Three main issues preoccupied the Malaysian Chinese at that time. One of them was that the lion dance be officially assigned a place in Malaysian national culture. The other two being the future of Chinese schools and demands for historical recognition of Chinese contributions to their Malaysian homeland. For the purpose of the topic of this article, let’s stick to the lion dance proposal.
Perhaps it was because of its “nature” – of being “born” in China and performed to the tunes of Chinese musical instruments, the lion dance was somehow deemed “sensitive,” back then when the hurt inflicted by the May 13 tragedy was only beginning to heal. It was seen by the government as ‘very China Chinese and not Malaysia Chinese”. Detractors said the dance’s “origin and practices were not uniquely Malaysian.” Hence it was practically put under a “ban” and performances were subjected to police permits. Advocates and supporters of the dance felt the widespread practice of the lion dance within Malaysian Chinese community “made it Malaysian”.
In 1974, lion dance performers had welcomed home then Prime Minister Tun Razak Hussein from his landmark visit to China. That stimulated interest among Malaysian Chinese towards the dance. Over the next two years several Chinese politicians supported the formation of the Selangor Federation of Lion Dance Associations and began calling for national recognition.
The government finally responded and the response came via Tan Sri Ghazalie the Home Minister. Speaking in 1979 at a seminar on “ the role of Malay studies in the development of national identity”, Tan Sri Ghazalie declared that “foreign cultural elements such as the Chinese lion dance could never be accepted as part of Malaysian national culture”. Strong words indeed from a minister who was empowered by laws of the land including the ISA. And Tan Sri Ghazalie or King Ghaz as he was famously known, was one who never minced his words.
But the minister somehow “soften” his stand by suggesting the lion dance be changed or replaced with the tiger dance accompanied by music of the gong, flute, the Indian tabla and Malay gamelan as well as Chinese instruments. After all the tiger, he said was an animal “associated” with Malaysia.
However nothing came out of it. The proposal fizzled out. Perhaps the Chinese community just didn’t see the reason nor the logic to change the lion dance to the tiger’s. The “ban” on the lion dance thus was still in place and the Chinese had to “accept” the reality.
As time goes by the government relaxed it’s stance. Lion dance performances were allowed during Chinese New Year celebrations. Soon lion dance could be performed at special events. Now lion dance is accepted as Malaysian.
But this coming Chinese New Year being the year of the Tiger, there are plans for tiger dance performances. At some places the tiger dance will take the place of the lion dance to usher in the new year for good luck ( tigers are believed to bring financial luck). Or the tiger and the lion perform side by side even.
Still the tiger dance, like the lion’s, also originated from China centuries ago. From a report in The Star newspaper I learn that it has a style and choreography similar to the lion dance. Tigers have long been regarded as a majestic symbol of authority. The tiger is sometimes revered by the Chinese as a “ diety dubbed God of wealth”.
We have come a long way. Now we don’t care if the tiger dance or the lion dance for that matter originated from China. Our dances in our country are performed by our people - Malaysian Chinese. Sometimes joined by Malaysian Indians and one or two Malay. As for the tiger dance making its debut next month, we have to thank Master Siow Ho Phiew , a Malaysian lion master and craftsman from Kuala Lumpur. It was he who brought the dance to our shores and assembled his 10 member troupe.
Some say the late Tan Sri Ghazalie was being sarcastic when he came up with his tiger dance proposal. But there are others who say he was “visionary.” He had the “vision,” they say, to create something uniquely Malaysian. True the tiger dance to be performed Master Siow’s troupe will not be accompanied by gong, gamelan and tabla as suggested by the late Tan Sri Ghazalie. But nevertheless the tiger dance will be a reality as he had wanted. Sadly Tan Sri Ghazalie will not be able to see it. He left to meet his Maker some three weeks before the tiger dance is scheduled to perform.
PRANCING lions mesmerised the audience with their agile movements and carefully coordinated steps as 18 lion dance teams put up a tough fight in the SCM Cup Traditional Lion Dance Championship 2010.
The event, held recently at Sunway Carnival Mall Seberang Jaya in Prai, saw the teams of 10 members each displaying various difficult stunts to impress the judges.
Spectators are kept in suspense as 18 lion dance teams battle it out at the SCM Cup Traditional Lion Dance Championship 2010.
The Bukit Mertajam Berapit Hwa Kwang Da Ti Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Association, however, were a step ahead of their opponents as they delivered a nail-biting performance.
The gold lion with light yellow frills performed several tricky stunts on a giant clay jar. It received a thunderous applause when it balanced itself on two wooden benches precariously arranged to stand leg-to-leg.
We are the champion: The Bukit Mertajam Berapit Hwa Kwang Da Ti Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Association team members posing with their prize and trophy after winning the championship at Sunway Carnival Mall Seberang Jaya in Prai. With them are Ong (centre), Chow (standing third right) and Kwong Wah Yit Poh Province Wellesley office manager Khoo Tee Kiang (standing fifth right).
The team walked away with the grand prize of RM2,000 and a trophy for its effort.
The team’s sister troupe, Bukit Mertajam Berapit Hwa Kwang Da Ti Dragon & Lion Sports Association Dance Team A, also delivered a breathtaking performance.
Sure-footed: The Lion team from Bukit Mertajam Berapit Hwa Kwang Da Ti Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Association performaing a balancing stunt on benches piled up leg to leg.
Its lion performed stunts on a three-tier high table and chair structure as it carefully avoided breaking a flowerpot placed in between two chairs on the uppermost tier.
This team won third placing with RM700 and trophy.
In second position was the Ampang Xuan Wu Dragon & Lion Dance Club which gave an equally thrilling performance in their dark orange and black-frilled costumes. They received RM1,000 and trophy.
Their sister club, the Kuala Lumpur Xuan Wu Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Association, which came in fourth, won RM500.
The teams were judged on several criteria namely lion design, costume, movement and equipment design, and overall presentation.
In her opening speech, Penang Youth, Sports, Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Lydia Ong Kok Fooi said it was important to further strengthen ties with each other and uphold the rich cultural values and practices.
Sunway Carnival Mall centre manager Chow Heng Wah said the event, which the mall jointly organised with Kwong Wah Yit Poh, was held for the third consecutive year.
He said since participation in the event was extended nationwide from this year onwards, there were several teams from Kedah and Kuala Lumpur.
The 14th Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship VCD is now retailing in Malaysian stores for RM33.90.
The VCD is again published by NSR who has been covering the Genting series since 2004. This time, there are 4 CD's as opposed to 3 in the previous editions, with the 4th CD covering the newly introduced double lion category.
Angles are generally better as compared to previous years, although there are some highlights that were shot from a poor angle. There are also a number of glitches in the editting, especially in the audio area, most noticable in the double lion category where the sound is at times out of synch.
Those minor gripes aside, I'm pretty sure most of you are still eager to get a copy for yourselves. A DVD version will also be released in time to come.
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.
