Unearthing a Jewel of Malaysian Chinese Dance – Low Kee Sien (1937-2010)

A chance conversation by the author with Wong Kit Yaw, a senior Chinese dance lecturer at ASWARA led to the personal discovery of a rarely talked about or never before mentioned-in-writing (in English) teacher of Chinese dance known as Low Laoshi or Teacher Low. At the meeting that was subsequently arranged at his home in the Old Klang Road area, a beautiful gentle man was resting on his chair, weak from innumerable treatments for chronic kidney disease (which was later disclosed as cancer) tended with the tough love of his former school-teacher wife, Madam Mao. Still, when he started talking about dance, his experiences and his journey, his eyes sparkled, he was vibrant, he laughed and was excited. I imagined what an interesting and passionate teacher he would have been in his day.

Low Kee Sien was born in 10 November 1937, the third child of 12 in Kuala Lumpur. His mother had apparently said that he danced before he walked! He just loved dancing and there was no clear reason for this other than simply being gifted - no one in his family danced. Later, while a student at the Chung Kwok Secondary School in Batu Road and later at the Chung Hwa High School, Low nurtured his interest in dance by reading books and became the leader of the dance club at school. He choreographed and arranged all the dances for their concerts. In 1956, he was selected to represent the school at a leadership course that was held in Morib, Selangor. It was here, as part of his training, that he met one Mr. Khoo who taught European folk dance including the Scottish Highland Fling. Mr. Khoo became his mentor and continued to encourage Low’s deep and obvious passion for dance. At the Morib program, the dancing was performed and taught without music accompaniment but by singing a capella. Low also learned Malay folk dances during this time. One of his clearest memories which clearly epitomizes Low’s obsession with dance, was how he used to go to the Pavillion Cinema in Jalan Bukit Bintang to watch movies from mainland China. He sometimes watched a movie as many as 7 times especially documentaries of culture and folk dance. Back at school, he would try out these dances with his group of 40 to 50 classmates and perfect these routines.  After his Form Five examination in 1957, he continued his dancing and practicing at a friend’s home in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur every weekend under the tutelage of Mr. Khoo.

In 1959, he left for Taiwan to study Commerce, Banking, Finance and Accounting at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. He managed to obtain a US Government Scholarship to pursue his tertiary education and selected to go to Taiwan was because it was affordable. During these years, he played a lot of sports, representing the university in football and basketball, but still found every opportunity to dance. Much of the dancing was American and European folk dance which he enjoyed but he missed his Chinese dance classes and thus sought out teachers and specialist groups. Between the years of 1961-1964, he studied Chinese dance with anyone that he could source and developed his knowledge and skill.

Upon graduation, he worked as an officer in a bank in Taiwan but found the job extremely mundane. He returned to Malaysia and started working as a teacher at his alma mater Chung Hwa and the following year joined the Chinese Teacher’s Association. He became the Head of the Recreation Committee organizing camps and workshops for teachers in Kuala Lumpur. It was in this period that he became acutely aware that there were too few dance activities within the Chinese Schools system. In an effort to address this problem and shortage, he organized workshops, first in KL and Klang and across Malaysia including towns such as Ipoh, Port Dickson, Bentong and Seremban. These workshops would last a week and focused on the basics of Chinese folk dance but also incorporated simple Malay and Indian dances. The 1969 racial riots of Malaysia put a damper on these cultural activities and it was rumoured that there were suspicions by the authorities that these dance activities were a smoke-screen for communist propaganda. Low claims to have had nothing to do with subversive activities and absolutely no interest in politics. However, as time passed, the flames of suspicion died down and the dance programs were reactivated. The workshop programs spread to Penang, Malacca and other towns. It was in the southern towns where Low met Madam Lee Shu Fen, the famed teacher from Taiwan, based in Singapore, who further inspired him and taught scores of Chinese youth the fine art of Chinese dance.

For the next decade, Low worked tirelessly through the Chinese dance associations to reach out to the communities throughout Malaysia. In 1972, the Hokkien Association organized the 1^st National Competition and Festival. Unfortunately, the participation from schools in the Klang Valley was limited and the majority of the participants of the inaugural festival were primarily from the northern territories. In 1974 and 1975, the Old Klang Road Youth Society organized another competition that garnered better response from schools and associations from Malacca, Penang, Ipoh and Seremban. This was held at the Stadium Negara. In 1978, Low instituted the 1^st National Chinese Dance Competition that was supported by 45 associations that was called Pesta Tarian Cina Kebangsaan. This festival was held over 3 nights with more than 40,000 people attending the performances! The event was organized in Kuala Lumpur for the next 3 years and then moved to Ipoh and other towns. This annual event was the highlight and focal point of all Chinese schools in Malaysia with Low as its driving force.

Suffering from fatigue, Low decided to rest in 1981 and set up a publication business dealing with school text books. As his wife sternly yet jokingly noted, Low was “never a good businessman”.  A few years later, proving his wife to be right, he gave up the business and entered into what he refers to as the third stage in his life. He received numerous invitations to teach overseas especially in Taiwan and Singapore and started his own dance studio in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur called the Au Siang Dancing Academy. He was assisted by Teoh Hong Lim who also conducted the classes. His love for dance propelled him to go where he felt most needed and useful – teaching in old folks associations, dancing groups and retirement homes.   

This continued until poor health forced him to give it up all forms of dance in 2009 and focus on regaining his health and strength. He lost his battle with kidney failure (and cancer) and passed away peacefully in 2010. He died before this article was published but the memory of his beaming smile at being remembered by the arts community will remain etched in my mind forever.

Undoubtedly, innumerable teachers and students of dance will remember this passionate rare jewel of Chinese dance in Malaysia.  Meanwhile, for those who are venturing into careers in dance, it is good to read and recognize the shoulders upon which we build our lives.