Malaysia is known for its cultural and ethnic diversity. The three largest ethnic groups are the Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities, with various indigenous groups in Malaysian Borneo. This multicultural makeup is reflected in Malaysia’s cuisine, festivals, and traditions. With that said, Malaysia has recently won a gold prize in a dance festival!
M’sia clinches gold prize at Cheonan World Dance festival
The Cheonan World Dance festival is an event that attracts many talented dancers all over the world. The said festival particularly focuses on traditional dances paired with their traditional attire and music. With that said, Malaysia, being a multicultural country has taken the stage in the dance festival, showcasing a stunning Iban ethnicity dance.
Source: Provided to Wau Post
Performed by UTP Performing arts Group (University Teknologi Petronas), the team comprising of 28 dancers headed over to Korea for the vibrant festival. Speaking to Wau Post, the group shared that there were over 16 teams from around the world participating in the event.
“There are 26 of us in the dance group and we come from different courses”, they said adding that 20 of them are dancers and 6 of them are musicians.
Source: Provided to Wau Post
Dancing their heart out
When asked about the time they spent practicing for the competition, they shared that they’ve started practicing every night without fail to ensure that they’re able to execute the dance perfectly.
“We had our semester break in August; hence we were able to start practicing every day for it”, they mentioned.
Source: Provided to Wau Post
However, they shared that a challenge they faced during the competition was that they had to make the costumes themselves. Apart from practicing every night, the team would also have to work round the clock to ensure that their attires were made prior to flying to Korea. Thankfully, their hard work and passion paid off as they managed to win a gold prize from the festival!
Congratulations to Team Malaysia from UTP! Thank you for putting Malaysia on the map!
Watch the video below:
@upag_utp We made it 🇲🇾🏆!!! Our performance of Tarian ngajat iban shone on the international stage, beating 16 countries ! #cheonan_world_dance_festival_2023 #fyp #sarawak #iban #ibansarawak #ngajat
♬ original sound – UTP Performing Arts Group – UTP Performing Arts Group
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