China won the 7th Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF 2012) competition

Young Chinese dancers did it again. Emcee, Gan Po Tiau announced that the troupe from China also won the Prime Award last year.

The dance troupe called Zhu Hai Hansen Dancing Group did enough to convince the jurors that they are the team to beat when they emerged champions in the 18-country folkdance competition. I don't quite get the point of competing a folkdance against another, as every single one is unique, beautiful in its way. But I suppose the organiser has another idea and perhaps it is a way to put some sort of pressure on every competing troupe.

Chinese contingent receiving their trophy

Day-1: cheeky performance

Day-1

Day-2: love story

Day-2: One of the tricks up their sleeves during the performance

Day-2

Many, many congratulation to the victorious team!

See you again next year.

Sabah International Folklore competition final is here!

Today is the final day of the Sabah Internationla Folklore Festival 2012 and the international category of the competition will be announced in about 4 hours' time.



Member of Taiwan's Aboriginal Youth Folk Dance Team of Szu-chen Junior High School

Watch this space; I'll update the winning troupe as soon as it is announced tonight.

Till then, happy weekend!

Sabah International Folklore Festival 2012 - Part I

Prelude to the big international event at Sabah Cultural Centre this weekend.

The 2012 Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF) participanting troupes are now in town. The peak of this most anticipated festival is on 14th - 15th July but for the city folks the international troops did some introductory performances on Tuesday at Lintasan Deasoka, or City Square as some call it.

I arrived a little late and by that time the Indonesian folkdance troupe were done with theirs.

Egypt: Elsharkia Folkloric Troupe with their amazing horse dance performance

'Snow white' - mesmerising piece of artistic movement by the troupe from Kazakhstan

Indonesia is represented by dancers from Sanggar Bedewa Kabupaten Nunukan

South Korean dancers from Yaewon-Chumsawee Dance Company

Fast dance - refreshing and can't-stop-smiling performance from Latvia

'The balancing act' - Team member of the Philippines dancers, Lahing Batangan Dance Troupe 

Young performers from Sri Lanka's Ranranga Dance Academy

For more pictures, check out my photoblog.

The International Folkdance Competition would be held at the Sabah Cultural Centre from July 14-15. For information on the schedule and tickets & venues, refer here.

See you there!

7th Sabah International Folklore Festival 2012 : Schedule

Also known as Festival Kesenian Rakyat Antarabangsa Sabah, the seventh edition of this international event is currently ongoing. Scheduled to kick of on July 8, but as we drive through the main venue, Sabah Cultural Centre yesterday there was nothing much going on yet.


Hunting with blowpipe is one of the rituals during the local ethnic Murut traditional dance.


I wrote earlier on the competition schedule during theFestival 2012, highlighting the details of both local folkdance and international folkdance competitions. There will be 18 folk dance troupes from 18 countries showcasing their own unique folk dances and promoting understanding and goodwill through culture. They are from:

1. Brunei Darussalam
2. Czech Republic
3. East Timor
4. Finland
5. Latvia
6. Philippine
7. Poland
8. Thailand
9. South Korea
10. Sri Lanka
11. Kuwait
12. Egypt
13. Nigeria
14. China
15. Indonesia
16. Taiwan
17. Papua New Guinea
18. Kazakhstan

The following itinerary is the latest information gathered from the local daily, and are not stated initially in the brochure:

* Cultural Parade, Wisma Budaya to K.K. Community Hall, 10 July 2012

* Folk Art Exhibition, Ming Garden Hotel, 10 - 15 July 2012

* Sabah Traditional Food Fair, Sport Complex Penampang, 10 - 15 July 2012

* Local Folkdance competition, Sabah Cultural Centre Penampang, 11 - 12 July 2012

* Prime Show, Magellan Sutera Harbour, 13 July 2012

* International Folkdance Competition, Sabah Cultural Centre Penampang, 14 - 15 July 2012


KK City Folklore Parade (10 July 2012)

The cultural parade is jointly organised by Sabah Cultural Board (SCB) and Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), and is to be flagged off at Wisma Budaya starting at 1.30pm by SCB Chairman, Datuk Wenses Anggang.

From Wisma Budaya, the parade will proceed to Lintasan Deasoka for 'pocket show' via Jalan Laiman Diki and Jalan Tugu, in front of City Hall. All the participating international troops and local cultural groups are expected to participate in the parade. Only the international troops will perform in Lintasan Deasoka though.

The parade will then proceed through Gaya Street and will end at Kota Kinabalu Community Centre. As such, roads mentioned above will be closed in stages to make way for the troops.

This is actually a very good opportunity for the public and especially photographers to make full coverage of the event. I've done one earlier this year during the Universiti Malaysia Sabah annual parade along the streets of Kota Kinabalu.

Lastly, tickets for the cultural shows are available at:
1. Wisma Budaya Building (088-268836)
2. Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang (088-715464)

Sabah International Folklore Festival 2012

The Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF) is back again this year from July 8 - 17 and this time it is expected to feature 20 international cultural dance troupes.

This is the 7th edition of the SIFF and it is essentially a celebration of the world cultural diversity and a platform to promote peace through music and dance. The festival feature both international and local folk dances that highlight the incredible diversity of our world's culture.

The East-meets-West musical extravaganza

What    : 7th International Folklore Festival, 2012 (Festival Kesenian Rakyat Antarabangsa Ke-7, 2012)
When   : 8 - 17 July 2012
Where  : Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang
Theme : "Peace Through Culture"


What's in store for you

LOCAL FOLKDANCE COMPETITION
Date/Time     : 11 & 12 July 2012/ 7.00pm
Place            : Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang
Ticket price   : RM10 - Adult
                      RM5  - Children under 17 years old

INTERNATIONAL FOLKDANCE COMPETITION
Date/Time     : 14 & 15 July 2012/ 7.00pm
Place           :  Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang
Ticket price   : RM50 - Premier class
                      RM30 - Adult
                      RM10 - Children under 17 years old

PRIME SHOW
Date/Time   :  13 July 2012/ 7.00pm
Place          :  Magellan Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu
Ticket price :  RM10,000 / table
                     RM5,000 / table
                     RM3,000 / table
                     RM1,000 / table

The 7th SIFF 2012 is not something for you to miss!

Tickets are available at:

Sabah Cultural Board              -   Tel: +6088-268836
Cultural Centre, Penampang    -   Tel: +6088-714464
More info                                -   www.sabah.gov.my/lks


TheGreenMechanics: 

We had similar cultural festival last year but due to the 'heat' of SARS then, we decided to give that one a miss. Hopefully we'll be able to make it this time around.

I've just got to love this. I like everything that's preserving the various heritages we have around the world. It's like living green and preserving mother nature!