Traditional Lion Dance Championship

From left: Leong, Yeap, Dato’ Sri Liew, Dr Lee, Siow, Prof Chuah, Chiang, Cheah, Wong, Lau and Mok during the opening ceremony

A total of 10 lion dance teams from all around Perak came together to compete head-to-head in the inaugural UTAR Perak Open Traditional Lion Dance Championship 2019 on 17 March 2019 at Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, UTAR Kampar Campus.

The UTAR Perak Open Traditional Lion Dance Championship 2019 was organised by UTAR Wushu Club of Kampar Campus’s Lion and Dragon Dance Division. It aimed to create a platform for the lion dance teams in Perak to compete and learn from each other, and to raise awareness on the importance of preserving lion dance as intangible cultural heritage.

UTAR Lion Dance team welcoming the guests

Invited to launch the competition was the Guest of Honour-cum-UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, accompanied by International Hong Teck Sports Association Chief Instructor Siow Ho Phiew, Head of Department of Student Affairs (DSA) of Kampar Campus Chiang Jeng Fong representing UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Advisor of UTAR Wushu Club of Kampar Campus Dr Lee How Chinh, DSA Senior Assistant Manager-cum-Officer-in-charge of UTAR Wushu Club Adrin Yeap Wai Kuan, Chairperson of UTAR Wushu Club of Kampar Campus Leong Kok Weng Kavein, Organising Chairperson Cheah Kar Hon and sponsors, namely CEO of Sixbase Holding Sdn Bhd Wong Kok Hoe, CEO of the Alley Perak Morris Lau Wah Sing, CFO of the Alley Perak Marcus Mok Pooi Zheng and Director of Hotel Pi Sdn Bhd Dato’ Sri Ir Dr Don Liew Mun Hon.

Prof Chuah painting the lion’s eyes during the eye-dotting ceremony

Prof Chuah complimenting the organising committee for the successful event

As a lion dance lover, Prof Chuah said, “I am particularly fond of the lion dance performances from young. I am from Penang and have been accustomed to lion dance performances because there will be lion dance groups along the street to visit the shops and homes to do performance and pick the greens in the whole 15 days of the Chinese New Year in my hometown.” He added, “Malaysia is a very unique country with different ethnicities staying together. And, thanks to the persistence of the Malaysian Chinese, Malaysia is able to retain most of the Chinese culture, traditions, art and language besides the great China. For example, the lion dance and 24 festive drums are also part of our cultural treasure that is flourishing in Malaysia. I am proud and happy that UTAR has its own lion dance and 24 festive drums teams. Also, today our UTAR Wushu Club has successfully organised this meaningful and inaugural Perak Open Traditional Lion Dance Championship in Kampar Campus.” He encouraged the players to guard the lion dance culture and concluded his speech with a Chinese phrase that says “Without the continuous bitter cold, there can be no fragrant plum blossom” (不经一番寒彻骨焉得梅花扑鼻香). He said, “As long as we persist and work hard, our next generation will inherit our Malaysian culture and tradition.”

Cheah thanking all parties for the success of the event

In his welcoming remarks, Cheah delivered his gratitude to the university, Prof Chuah, advisors, sponsors judges and audience for their support. He said, “Support from all parties was the motivation that drove us forward and it was the ‘important tool’ that brought success to the event”. He added, “Lion dance is not an easy act to perform; it is a whole body exercise that emphasises on endurance, persistence and skills. Lion dance has made great contributions to promote Chinese culture in Malaysia because Malaysian from different ethnic groups likes to watch lion dance performances. Through this lion dance competition, our committee members wish to promote the beauty of the Chinese culture among the people and also encourage more lion dance competitions to take place in the future.

During the swearing-in ceremony

The participated teams included Persatuan Sukan dan Kebudayaan Ma Ching Ipoh (怡保马青文化体育会) Team A and Team B, Persatuan Chee Fee Tai-Chi Choy-Lee-Fat Perak Malaysia (马来西亚霹雳智飞太极蔡李佛武术学会), Pertubuhan Tarian Singa dan Naga Hong Teik Teluk Intan (安顺弘德龙狮体育会), Perak Ipoh Quan Ji Lion Dance Team (霹雳怡保拳技龙狮团), Kuala Kangsar Chiau Hooi Beo Dragon and Lion Dance Team (江沙昭惠庙龙狮团), Perak Teng Yi Culture and Art Gallery (霹雳腾艺文化艺术坊), SMK Jalan Pasir Puteh Wushu Club Lion Dance Team (大和园中学武术醒狮团), Tsung Wah Private Secondary School Lion Dance Team (江沙崇华独中醒狮团) and SJKC Chong Min Lion Dance Team (安顺钟民华文小学醒狮团).

The list of winners is as follows:

Awards	Winners	Performance theme
Champion	Pertubuhan Tarian Singa dan Naga Hong Teik Teluk Intan	Coincidence with Ji Gong 巧遇济公戏赐青
1st Runner-up	Kuala Kangsar Chiau Hooi Beo Dragon and Lion Dance Team	Million Army Rescue A Dou 百万军队救阿斗
2nd Runner-up	Persatuan Sukan dan Kebudayaan Ma Ching IpohTeam B	Intelligence Lion Showing Its Mighty on the Peak 灵狮峰显狮威
Consolation Prize	SMK Jalan Pasir Puteh Wushu Club Lion Dance Team	Bravely Jumping through the Mountain Peak to take the Fairy Grass 勇跃山峰夺仙草
	Perak Teng Yi Culture and Art Gallery	To Pick the Liquor (Greens) with Wisdom 智取醇酒青
	Persatuan Sukan dan Kebudayaan Ma Ching IpohTeam A	The Powerful Lion Picking the Greens from the Cliff Dexterity 雄狮巧取悬崖青
	Persatuan Chee Fee Tai-Chi Choy-Lee-Fat Perak Malaysia	The Smart Lion Climb Up to the Mountain to Pick Lingzhi 醒狮上山采灵芝
	Tsung Wah Private Secondary School Lion Dance Team	The Powerful Lion Picking the Greens from the Cliff Cleverly 雄狮智取悬崖青
Best Equipment and Formation Design	Kuala Kangsar Chiau Hooi Beo Dragon and Lion Dance Team

The Champion, 1st Runner-up and 2nd Runner-up walked away with RM1,000, RM800 and RM500 respectively while five consolation prizes of RM200 each was awarded at the presentation ceremony.

The Champion, 1st Runner-up and 2nd Runner-up teams sharing their happiness after the hard work

The closing ceremony marked the end of the UTAR Perak Open Traditional Lion Dance Championship 2019. The Chief Referee for the competition Siow concluded, “Neither overwhelmed by victory nor discouraged by defeat (胜不骄败不馁), ranked in the last place does not mean you are the worst because each team has its own strength. So, I hope everyone will work hard to perform better in the future.” He also shared the strength and weakness of the participants, review and suggestion from the referee team to the participants regarding the matters on formation, equipment playing skills, lion’s action and expression that are very important in traditional lion dance performances.