Maktab Sabah bags hat-trick of golds World Dance debut

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KOTA KINABALU: Maktab Sabah has done Malaysia proud at the World Dance Cup 2011 in Paris by winning three gold medals and one special award.

The school, which was representing the country and participating in the competition for the first time, stood out over the rest of the contenders in two main events, namely the Junior Group National and the Folklore Dance category and Duet/Trio category.

The 10-member team’s well-choreographed and executed traditional dance routine earned them the gold medal in the folklore event.

The other two gold medals were won through Adhli Saadilah and Marius Manoel in the Duet/Trio contemporary and Best Overall Duet/Trio titles.

Team Malaysia, which was invited to do an encore during the competition’s closing ceremony, was also honoured with the Best Choreography award.

“We were also judged the best performance winner during the gala night, apart from the best innovative choreography.

“We really didn’t expect it, given that this is the first time that Malaysia had ever participated in the competition. But we have proved that we can and we are very proud of our achievement,” said principal, Nuinda Alias.

The Dance World Cup 2011 (DWC) is a prestigious annual competition attracting dancers from around the globe who participate in a variety of categories, such as ballet, modern and contemporary, jazz and traditional dances.

This year the event was held at Disney’s Newport Bay Club Convention Centre in Paris from June 28 to July 3, with 27 participating teams from schools and dance academies, including those from England, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Nigeria, Canada and Australia.

Nuinda who was met upon the team’s return from Paris yesterday, said the unexpected success on the first attempt would serve as a motivation for the school to continue to unearth and polish young talents from among its students.

She said Maktab Sabah has enjoyed several successes at state and national levels but have always wanted to penetrate into the international scene.

“So ultimately I am happy that the talents of these students – as young as 13 to 17 years old – could be explored, and to find that they can compete and shine at international level,” she added.

She said, the dance troupe took the competition very seriously and had intensively prepared themselves through a six months of rigorous training, despite having enormous experience from competitions in various dance tournaments in the past.

“This is a very good, commendable achievement. But what makes me proud the most is the drive and commitment the students have shown. And I must also thank the State Government and the parents for showing their support to make this ‘Road to Paris’ project a success,” she said.

Meanwhile, Adhli and Marius both said they still find it hard to believe that they could actually win a gold on their first try, let alone three.

“The double victory in the duet category is still a surprise to us. But I think the sweetest thing that we achieved was winning the folklore category. I guess we managed to impress them with our culture,” said Adhli.

Marius added, the two gold medals from Paris was another great achievement for the team, who previously participated in the Sabah International Folklore Festival in 2009 and 2010, where we also emerged as champions.

“It was also our first attempt in 2009 and we performed an indigenous ethnic dance. This time in Paris, we performed a Bajau ethnic dance and won,” said Marius.