Loading ...5th Sabah International Folklore Festival 2010 (Schools Competition)
July 21st – 25th, Sabah Cultural Center – A culmination of multi ethnicity and cultural diversity as well as variegated harmonious musicians and fascinating performers from the world over converged upon the Malaysian Borneo for the 5th Sabah International Folklore Festival 2010. Unlike previous festivals, this is promised to be a completely different experience for everyone for many reasons and one of them being that this year there are a total of 14 countries competing for this epochal event.
As was previous years in conjunction with this cultural and musical festival, the Sabah Creative Dance Competition precludes the international participants of this ostentatious event where the assortment of ethnicity, traditions and lilting symphonies from schools all over the state gathers together for the second time at the Sabah Cultural Center.
The competition is held for two days from July 21st to the 22nd as part of a ‘curtain-raiser’ for the Sabah International Folklore Festival. It involves all elementary and secondary schools from each district in Sabah and each of them has the opportunity to showcase their creativity and talent. Tickets were priced at MYR 20.00 for premier class, MYR 10.00 for adults and MYR5.00 for under 17 years old.
The night was infused with an atmosphere of convivial cheers and high spirits coming from the crowd which pervades the hall that night. The gathering of audience which consists mostly of students from the participating schools, teachers and their families were amongst the crowd.
S.M. Saint Peter of Telipok district performing the ‘Nunuk Ragang’ dance.
S.M.K Datuk Panglima Abdullah from Semporna with their rendition of ‘Creative Igal‘ or ‘Kaut‘. This dance is a narrative which symbolizes the Bajau people being thankful for the bounties the ocean has given to them.
S.K Pekan Tamparuli elementary school performs the ethnic Lotud dance of Guno which in essence means ‘Spirit’.
The Kadandiu dance performed by S.M Teknik of Keningau.
S.K Tanjung Papat 1 elementary school from Sandakan with their rendition of the Mengalai dance originating from the ethnic Suluk.
S.M.K Putatan performing Dansa which literally means ‘dance’ in malay and are usually executed for wedding ceremonies. It originates from the people of Kokos which derives from the Christmas Island of Australia.
S.K. Seri Gaya of Kota Kinabalu city with the dance called ‘Serumpun’ which connotes the lives of the Murut community in Sabah.
S.K Pengalat Besar from the district of Papar with the ‘Sulam’ dance.
S.K Kiawayan of Tambunan displaying their talents with the ‘Lumaag’ dance which was one of the many remarkable performances by the elementary school students as the second night continues with the Sabah Creative Dance Competition.
‘Sazau Papar’ from the students of S.M. St. Peter of Telipok; which is a rendition of the sumazau dance which is performed by the Kadazandusun community of the Papar district as each area has a slightly different variation and uniqueness to its style in the execution of this acclaimed dance from Borneo.
S.M.K Datuk Panglima Abdullah high school brings to the audience the Igal-Igal dance also known as Igal Tabawan from the ethnic Bajau/Suluk people of Semporna.
S.M Teknik, Keningau executing the ‘Pengalai Kipas’ dance which how the Suluk elucidates the philosophies of life in within their community.
S.K Tanjung Papat 1 from Sandakan performing the ‘Mengiluk’ dance.
Towards the end of the night, more schools performed admirably and executed their dances with more panache and vigor than they did last year. One such performance was the students of S.M.K Putatan as they displayed a superlatively excellent recital of the ‘Rengut Selinap’ dance.
What separates this troupe from the rest was that they infused their fast paced performance with Step Dance and Hip-Hop into their arrangement of the traditional aspects of the dance. It is also the only school to have included a total of 18 dancers, the most performers for a single dance. It was definitely voluminous as they performed, for the deafening cheers of their friends and families reverberates throughout the hall showing support for their school.
S.K Seri Gaya, Kota Kinabalu elementary school performing the ‘Sazau Papar’ dance.
S.M.K Sepulut from Nabawan with their delivery of the ‘Lulusung’ dance.
S.K Pekan Kinarut, Papar with the Limbai dance from the Bajau ethnic from the Kota Belud community.
Every school implemented their training and ingenuity to the fullest as more of the students accomplished their dances with vibrantly energetic and graceful maneuvers and it really shows that they worked harder this time around as shown by S.M. Maktab Sabah.
Once again the crowd went wild as the troupe took to the stage their version of the ‘Rait’ dance of the Bajau ethnic. Their costumes were not only stunning but their performance which added a few elements of alteration to their music induced their presentation with lithe acrobatics as the added tempo lent a vigorous spirit not only to the students but to the spectators as well.
Labuan Federal Territory also joined in this year represented by S.M.K Labuan with this piece known as ‘Waris Taming’. Their costumes which included blinking-lights around their wrists and elbows are some of the more uniquely reworked traditional attires of the night.
All of the 21 schools that participated these two nights have distinguished themselves as some of the best young performers from Sabah, probably even the whole of Malaysia. As it is known as a creative traditional dance competition, each group is allowed to affix their own interpretation of the dance they choose to perform.
Here are the full results of the competition:
Secondary School:
First Place – S.M.K. Desa Wawasan, Tambunan
Second Place – Maktab Sabah
Third Place – S.M.K. Sepulut, Nabawan
Best Choreography Award - S.M.K. Desa Wawasan, Tambunan
Best Costume Award - S.M.K. Sepulut, Nabawan
Best Performance Award - S.M.K. Sepulut, Nabawan
Best Music Award - S.M.K. Putatan
Best Male Dancer Award - Marius Manoel of Maktab Sabah
Best Female Dancer Award - Cherryann Chelsea Alex of S.M.K. Tenom
Primary School:
First Place – S.K. Kiawayan, Tambunan
Second Place – S.K. Pekan Tamparuli
Third Place – S.K. Pekan Kinarut
Best Choreography Award- S.K. Kiawayan, Tambunan
Best Costume Award - S.K. Kiawayan, Tambunan
Best Performance Award - S.K. Pekan Tamparuli
Best Music Award – S.K. Kiawayan, Tambunan
Best Male Dancer Award – Mohd. Zahir Abdul Latif of S.K. Tamparuli
Best Female Dancer Award – Sharon Line Abinus of S.K. Kiawayan
We congratulate all the winners of the Local Folkdance Competition. Stay tune to Lifeinborneo.com for our coverage of the International Folkdance Competition!
