By Olivia Miwil - January 1, 2022 @ 8:56pm
PENAMPANG: Bryan Chee is looking forward to showcasing his skills for the lion and dragon dance performances.
The eight-year-old, the youngest member of the Yi Fung lion and dragon dance troupe, has been honing his skills with the guidance of his father Stanley and via Youtube during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Stanley, 39, who is also the manager of the group, said that his son has been part of the performance since he was five-years-old.
"In 2019, Bryan had taken part in the month-long lion and dragon dance performance where he played music or the 'tail' of the lion.
"Due to his passion in this performance, it takes minimal effort for him to learn," he said when met at the consecration ceremony of 19 dragons and 46 lions at the Hongkod Koisaan cultural hall, here.
During the ceremony, Bryan was given a significant role in holding the mystical "Pearl of Wisdom", a sphere on a pole, in which he will be followed by other performers as they animate the fabric-made dragon according to the mesmerising rhythm of cymbals, gongs and the big drum.
Starting last month, the group has been training for some two hours daily at night and will continue to do so until Feb 1, which is the beginning of the Chinese Lunar Year.
Stanley said his Kolombong-based troupe, formed in 2019, welcomes more youths including women to join the healthy activity.
"They can be in any role they want, whether playing the musical instrument or performing lion dance or even doing the extreme part of the performance.
"Girls in China and elsewhere have been pole jumping during live performances," he said.
As for the performance rates, he said among the performance troupes, they have agreed to fix it from RM388 up to RM1,388 based on the packages requested by customers.
Meanwhile, Sabah Malaysia Chinese Chamber of Commerce Deputy President Datuk Dexter Lau, who launched the event, said the dragon signifies divine favour, good fortune, and wisdom.
"Today's consecration ceremony has also set a new record for Sabah, for being the largest number of dragons and lions to ever be consecrated in one single event.
"In this brand new year, we have been preparing and eagerly waiting to pick up from where we had left off two years ago, pre-Covid times. I'm certain that we are all ready to embark on a brand-new chapter post-Covid.
"I am confident that today's auspicious ceremony marks a hopeful future for our Chinese community, for Sabah as a whole, and across all segments including our family, our district, career progression, political stability, economic growth, education and culture advancement," he said, adding that the event had followed strict standard operating procedures (SOP) to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
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