Singapore team wins MGM lion dance championship

Singapore’s Yi Wei Athletic Association won this year’s MGM Lion Dance Championship – Macau International Invitational 2019 with a score of 9.3, outdoing the other nine teams.

The Singapore team won the “Traditional Lion Dance Championship,” the first time that female lion dancers joined the battle for the throne.

The China Shenzhen Fuhai Qiaotou Lion Dance Association from China and Taipei’s Chinese Taipei Lian Feng Dragon Lion Dance Group came in second and third with scores of 9.21 and 9.18 respectively.

“This is the third time we joined the competition and the second time we’ve won the championship,” said one of the participants from the group.

“We’re very lucky to have won this because this year, we can see that we have a lot of competitive teams. We’re lucky but I know it’s also our hard work. We’re very happy about these results,” the participant added.

Meanwhile, China Shenzhen Fuhai Qiaotou Lion Dance Association won the championship title of the “Female Traditional Lion Dance Championship.”

The Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association Hung Kuen Lee Yun Fook Lion Dance Team, and Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association (United States) scored second and third places respectively in the Female Traditional Lion Dance Championship.”

Meanwhile, MGM Golden Lion Troupe – Team A and Wenyang Sports Association (Singapore) took home the gold trophies of this year’s “Junior Lion Dance Performance Competition.”

MGM Golden Lion Troupe – Team B, another team of graduates from MGM’s Junior Lion Dance Training Program, also won one of the silver trophies.

Co-hosted by MGM and Wushu General Association of Macau, the two-day championship gathered lion dance teams from 11 different regions to compete at the Macau International Invitational 2019.

Highlighting the inheritance of this Chinese traditional sport, the opening ceremony of the 8th MGM Lion Dance Championship was attended by Chan Siew Kee, the “grandmaster” of lion dance and also known as the “King of Drum,” to lead a group of his mentees from the United States, Singapore and Macau and present a traditional Shaping-Heshan style Chinese drum performance.

Chan Weng Kit, president of Wushu General Association of Macau and Chairman of Dragon & Lion Dance Federation of Asia, said during the kick off ceremony, “Coming to its eighth edition, MGM Lion Dance Championship has become a much beloved event of Macau, and has drawn the locals and tourists closer to this Chinese traditional sport.”

The MGM Lion Dance Championship 2019 featured lion dance troupes from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and the Macau SAR.

On Saturday, the championship started with the “Female Traditional Lion Dance Championship,” where nine female lion dance troupes competed for the championship title, followed by the “Junior Lion Dance Performance Competition” where eight junior teams competed.

Pansy Ho, co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited, said, “Lion dance, an always-festive event that best represents our Chinese tradition, is an undivided part of our Lingnan culture. It is an important piece of our heritage that has connected Chinese communities from around the globe for generations.” LV