Stomping to rousing accolades

What say you on the issue below?

BIG lanterns and loud percussion beats were the ‘order of the day’ during the Penang Beat Prelude and Contemporary Lantern Night Festival held at the beach in front of the Queensbay Mall.

There was a series of percussion performance by groups from Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur using instruments mainly made from recycled materials to entertain the crowd.

Six-member Wadaiko Syo of Japan, led by Nakanishi Takayuki, got the crowd going when they kicked off the performance by displaying their skills with the Taiko drums.

Wadaiko Syo from Japan features cute young drummers in the group.

This was followed by Thailand’s Exotic Percussions which got the most applause with their ‘instruments’ made up of dustbins and stools. They also got the crowd eating out of their hands with choreographed body movements and cute theatrical acts.

Thailand's Exotic Percussion captivating the crowd with their catchy beats.

The highlight of the night would have to be Kuala Lumpur’s Stomp The Rhythm with its use of varied ‘instruments’ comprising water pipes, car exhausts and bright orange traffic cones, and amazing cheerleading choreography.

The other acts were Percossa Percussion, Nusindo Persada and Jogja Suara from Indonesia, and Malaysia’s own Rhythm of Borneo from Sabah and No Noise Percussion from Kuala Lumpur.

Infectious beats: Indonesia's Persossa Percussion in action.

The event, held over two days on Persiaran Bayan Indah in Bayan Lepas, Penang was organised by the Penang Municipal Council together with the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia Penang and the National Arts and Culture Department Penang branch, to promote the growth of experimental music in the state.

In the lantern competition, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was adjudged the champion in the university and college category.

The university’s entry was a glowing model of the Pearl of Orient.

The lantern, which depicted a partially open oyster shell with a glowing pearl, was also the overall champion.

Teh Yee Kee, 21, who was part of the winning team together with 29 others, said it took them about a month to complete the lantern using only recycled materials sourced from the varsity’s workshop.

The second and third prizes were won by Sentral Technology College and Han Chiang College respectively.

Joanne Ong, 20, of Sentral Technology college said their team of 12 took three weeks to “grow” their “tree” (their lantern was based on a tree).

Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel clinched the title for the hotel category with Eastin Hotel coming in second followed by Cititel Penang. The two consolation prize winners were Hard Rock Hotel and Lone Pine Hotel.

Top entries: The winning lanterns by Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel.

Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel communications manager Tan Phaik Sim said it took them only four days to make the lantern featuring a ketupat, a Chinese lantern and a kolam to represent Penang as a muhibbah state.