KUCHING: Sekolah Seni Malaysia Kuching brought pride to the nation when it emerged overall champion at the ‘International Folkdance Competition’ in Romania, Russia from July 24 to 28.
The school’s 24 students, led by their teachers Debbie Deborah Paka who teaches music and Saiful Akmal, arrived at the Kuching International Airport (KIA) with their championship trophy yesterday.
Their principal Wahab Bujang was among those who welcomed them upon arrival.
According to Saiful, a dance teacher, they performed three types of traditional dances – two from the Bidayuh community and one from the Tidong community.
“We performed two Bidayuh dances namely Sigar Ngikoh Jojak and Wek Jongan and Rambai dance from the Tidong community of Sabah.
“The judges and audience were very much attracted to our costumes, dances and musical instruments because they found them very unique and attractive. That is why we stood out among the rest,” he said yesterday.
He said it was a tough competition as they had to compete with 14 other countries and their victory was a blessing and pride to Malaysia as a whole and Sarawak particularly.
Sekolah Seni Malaysia Kuching was the only representative from Malaysia.
He also revealed that the students, consisting of 12 dancers and 12 musicians, deserved to win the competition as they had worked hard for two months preparing for it.
Their biggest challenge, he said, was they had to continue training despite the fasting month.
“During our stay in Romania, those who fasted had to fast for 15 hours because the day time in that country is longer. That is our biggest challenge.
“But we are very proud that they have done their best and brought back victory,” he said, adding he hoped that the students will continue their studies in their chosen fields to the highest level possible.
Debbie who also shared their experience mentioned that their costumes were the main attraction among all competitors.
“When we walked out from our hotel rooms, we were surrounded by crowds and a lot of people took photos with us.
“Another unforgettable moment was that when we had the chance to perform in open space, there were about 5,000 people watching us. And it was so obvious that all including the judges were impressed with us,” she said.
She also said the judges felt that the team deserved to win not only because of their unique costumes but also the musical instruments used and the unique traditional dances.
According to her, this was the fourth time the school took part in such international competition.
With this year’s success, she said they aimed to work harder to keep the title in future competitions.