Championing Chinese Dance in Malaysia

The 2nd. National Chinese Cultural Dance Competition organized by the Chinese Language Society of Malacca and Multi-Media University was held at the Taman Budaya, Department of Arts and Culture, Malacca from Friday to Sunday, 10-12 Mar 2006. A total of 45 groups, consisting of Chinese dance associations, secondary schools, cultural clubs and private dance schools, including seven from Singapore, took part in the exhausting three-day event.

Although I am personally not in favour of competitions, primarily because of issues of judging, or the inevitable feelings of disappointment when dealing with losses, and equally, the inappropriate sense of over-estimating ability when emerging champions. I do understand that there are many benefits and I attempt to stay focused on the potential to develop a sense of teamwork, and improve the performance quality. Therefore, for the first time, I decided to enter the dance students of ASWARA in this event, to gauge the level of achievement and effectiveness of the implementation of the Chinese dance syllabus, which began four years ago in 2002, into the compulsory curriculum of the Faculty of Dance. Besides this, I felt that the students would gain from exposure and immersion in the Chinese culture and thought that it would be extremely beneficial for them to challenge themselves on a different plane. As Head of the Faculty, I wanted to use the event to promote and publicize the new intake for 2006 in an effort to attract a more multi-ethnic student population. This is one of the main challenges that the institution faces as some departments have only Malay or bumiputera students, although we are constantly urged to encourage more non-Malays to enroll. The tradition of Chinese dance competitions have in fact produced numerous luminaries of dance in Malaysia such as master-pioneer Steven Koh and Low Kee Sien, while cultivating the performance and choreographic abilities of leading dance personalities such as Vincent Tan Lian Ho, Mew Chang Tsing, Choo Tee Kuang, Loke Soh Kim, Anthony Meh, Aman Yap, Wong Kit Yaw and one of the current leaders Cheong Lin Poo, a graduate of Chinese traditional dance from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. It is a thriving environment that has flourished through independent patronage since the 70s.

ASWARA entered two choreographies, the first being Ritual II choreographed by Wong Kit Yaw, who is synonymous with teaching Chinese dance in schools, having being associated with Yu Hua Primary and Secondary School, Kajang as an example, for 20 years. The second entry was Journey choreographed by Zhou Gui Xin, lecturer at ASWARA who was a former principal artist, ballet dancer and poet from China who has been residing in Malaysia since his marriage to Malaysian ballet dancer Ellie Lai. From the first day of competition, we could feel the tension in the air especially as all the groups vied for rehearsal time, which was a mere 20 minutes on stage, to work the space and lights. This was clearly insufficient and the inexperienced stage management was unable to control the choreographers or performers leaving nerves frayed and fraught! Some of the groups had up to 25 dancers and thus the noise and chaos onstage and off, was reminiscent of a busy pasar malam. However, there was a wonderful carnival-like atmosphere and it was a pleasure to see the multi-racial interaction between students of ASWARA, who were the only non-Chinese participants, with the others. The dancers were nervous and this generally showed in their performances during the early rounds. However, after two nights of preliminaries, 10 groups were selected for the finals and Zhou Gui Xin’s Journey was chosen! Danced by ASWARA’s 2006 third year students Journey, was based on the movement vocabulary of the dances of the Xinjiang province, Northwest of China. Home to people of the Uyghur ethnic tribe who adhere to the Muslim faith, the dances, music and costumes reflect a strong middle-eastern influence with flowing robes and bright colours. The dance has a broad and expansive style, using the upper back and arms, reflecting the nomadic lifestyle of its people and the desert terrain of China. In the finals, we were drawn as the 4^th group to perform and we all know the significance of the number 4 (sei which means death) in Chinese beliefs!

Intensive rehearsals resumed again as the final moments approached, every hand position, eye-line and direction was checked and re-checked by all the groups, every possible space for practiced used, and it was curtains at 8 pm. The standard of performance by all 10 groups was incredibly high, with none of the earlier nerves showing, and polished professional performances showcased both traditional and contemporary Chinese works. My personal favourite was a beautiful Tibetan dance that possessed an unusual posture with the dancers leaning back slightly with a controlled and light bounce in the step, performed by dancers from Johore Baru’s Foon Yu High School. The competition ended by 10 pm and then the waiting began. The results were announced in Chinese language to an auditorium filled to the brim. The ASWARA group really did not know or understand what was happening but joined in the festivities, cheering with robust applause for everyone. Prizes were given for Best Costume and Best Arrangement. Finally, the much anticipated moment… As they slowly announced the results in reverse order, some of us actually thought they had forgotten us, until the very last moment when we realized that ASWARA had been declared the Overall Champion of the Competition! There was a thunderous response in the auditorium as it appeared that 10 young boys and girls of non-Chinese ethnicity had danced their way into the hearts of the judges, Prof. Jiang Dong from the Cultural Institute of China, Nanning, Dr. Chua Soo Pong of the Chinese Operatic Association of Singapore and Steven Koh, the highly respected dance teacher from Malaysia. Tears of joy flowed. We are still waking up from this dream and cannot quite believe it! I feel that this is a glorious example of Malaysia’s multi-cultural heritage at its best. As the Dean of Dance, I cannot express how proud I am of the work of the lecturers and students of the department, but I am also fully aware of how much further there is still to go. This is the validation of the tremendous effort to make dances of minority communities in Malaysia an integral part of dance training here at ASWARA, so that we can be truly known as the National Arts Academy.

It is interesting to note that fewer and fewer organizations are championing Chinese dance beyond the primary and secondary schools dance clubs, and schools’ competition scenario where it is thriving, although music and musical productions through companies such as the Dama Orchestra or Musical on Stage, now known as Asia Musical Productions, continue to have a great impact in the Malaysian arts scene. There is a distinct divide between dance for recreation and dance as a profession, or choosing between Chinese dance and classical ballet which is greatly supported by the affluent, urban Chinese community as the artistic hobby of choice. Added to this, with a few exceptions such as Cheong Lin Poo, most of the younger choreographers seem to be gravitating towards contemporary western dance techniques and presentations, perhaps at best incorporating some Chinese dance elements into their creation and vocabulary. While this is not a bad thing, the danger is that Malaysia may end up being merely 3^rd rate imitators of modern dance while losing the very precious cultural heritage which makes us unique. Hokkien or Cantonese opera which used to be staples of Malaysian folk art and theatre are becoming very rare although it is positive to note that the Department of Arts and Culture, Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage has made sincere efforts in promoting and reviving this form.

The experience at the 2^nd National Chinese Dance Competition has increased awareness of several issues in Chinese dance and provided a clearer benchmark for the dance curriculum at ASWARA. In the ambition to continue to produce dance that speaks to Malaysia's multicultural heritage, the Faculty of Dance finally produced its full-length dance drama "Hang Li Po ... not a true story" that weaved a fictitious narrative around a historical character who came to marry a sultan from Malacca. The evening of dance featured 14 traditional folk and classical dances originating from China and performed by a cast of 80 dancers, primarily not of Chinese ethnicity. The 5-performance production, staged at an intimate theatre seating 120 people was sold out, and plans are underway to bring this to the entire nation. A sincere thanks to all who have supported our work in the last 10 years, and we are still requesting your continued support in the years to come.