Muar team beats Hong Kong troupe in tiebreaker to clinch lion dance title

What say you on the issue below?

GEORGE TOWN: It was a suspense-filled event to the very end as the packed arena waited to see if the tie for first place in the International Lion Dance on Stilts Competition here would break in favour of a Malaysian team or a team from Hong Kong.

In the end, the world-renowned Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association’s Team A from Muar was awarded the title as its performance had a slightly higher difficulty level.

Team A of Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association performing at the finals of the International Lion Dance on Stilts competition in Penang.

The association is no stranger to the lion dance scene, having won 30 international titles since 1992 and 37 national titles since 1991.

The Muar team and the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association’s team scored 9.18 in yesterday’s finals held at the Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome at Komtar.

The organisers said the tiebreaker was set according to the rules and regulations of the Dragon and Lion Dances Federation of Asia.

Hong Kong team leader Tang Siu Lun said they were happy to have tied for the highest score and felt no disappointment about losing out following the tiebreaker.

Giant leap: The Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association’s performing their routine.

Muar team manager Tan Chong Hing said he was quite happy with the results but felt his troupe could have given a better performance.

“During the finals of a championship, it all boils down to the on-the-spot performance. Today’s performances of both our Team A and Team B were not up to mark,” he said.

Team B lost precious points when the lion’s front legs slipped towards the end of its routine on the high stilts, scoring the team 8.73 which was the lowest points in the finals.

The other two teams in the finals were the Chinese Taipei Kao Shiong Liang-Guang Dragon Dance, Lion Dance and War Drum Team, which came in third, and the Meihu Sports and Culture Association from Penang.

The two-day competition was organised by the state government and Penang Wushu, Lion and Dragon Dance Association.

The preliminary round on Saturday saw the participation of nine teams from seven organisations from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.