Tag - Culture

Kota Kinabalu: Promote Sabahan dances and make it easily accessible for tourists just as it is for the Indonesian Kecak dance at the Uluwatu temple in Bali and Sarawakian traditional dances at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching, said Sabah Federal Secretary, Dato' Abu Bakar Hassan. Abu Bakar who was on a working visit to the Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture, Kepayan, here, Thursday suggested this to the Department of National Culture and Arts Sabah and hoped they would be able to cooperate with Sabah Tourism to promote the cultural dances in Sabah. "Make Sabahan dances as popular and as well-known as the Korean Gangnam style dance." He pointed out that it is all a matter of how well it is being marketed. Apart from that, he also pointed out to the Department of Special Affairs (JASA) here that they should continue collecting accurate data and if programmes are not found effective, it should be changed. Broadcasting agencies under the government such as Bernama and RTM were also requested to reach out to the people to inform them about what the government has done to assist the people. "Radio is more effective for rural area folk as not everybody would be able to read printed material such as newspapers," he added. Source : Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: The United Sabah Chinese Communities Association, here will stage a large-scale Lion, Unicorn and Dragon Dance event, a week before Chinese New Year. The association has been organising the yearly event since the 1980s as a tradition. Disclosing this, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin said the event will be held at Padang Merdeka from 3pm to 8pm on Feb 2. He said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman will be the guest of honour at the auspicious occasion. "This yearly event will not only educate the public and disseminate information on Chinese culture but also, at the same time, will give them opportunity to see interesting actions in the performance. "The aim of the event is to encourage local youths to be active in community activities that bring many benefits," Pang said. He said this to reporters after receiving a courtesy call from the association and its members at his office at Wisma Muis here on Wednesday. So far, Pang said the State Government has given more than 120 units of Lion and Unicorn heads to the association to be used in the yearly event. He added that his ministry has been channeling funds to the association in support of the event. Source : Daily Express

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah International Folklore Festival can incorporate traditional music from other countries and combine them with the traditional music in Sabah. Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the possibility of doing so was being considered in future Sabah International Folklore Festival as it would serve as a forum to get to know traditional music from other countries, as well as to introduce Sabahan music to the world. The programme was sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America and organized by the Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu Sabah (SPArKS), he said when speaking in an interview after a musical performance by Grammy Award winners, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer with fiddler virtuoso Barbara Lamb as part of the American Music Abroad programme at Wisma Wanita here on Wednesday. Cathy and Marcy have performed together as folk music duo since 1980 and with Barbara as a trio since two years ago. Over the years, the trio has released several albums, won two Grammy Awards in 2004 and 2005, and wrote more than 200 songs as well as toured extensively. The trio performs all sort of American folk-bluegrass country music and plays a range of instruments including guitars, banjos, violin and ukuleles. Cathy, Marcy and Barbara have also performed with local artistes including the Rhythm of Borneo. Masidi said the trio has delivered a lively performance, albeit their age, and the lesson to be learnt by our local musicians was not to let age be an obstacle to an excellent performance. He said the performance, themed American roots, was different from what we usually hear in Kota Kinabalu. Masidi also noted that the trio gave recognition to local musicians to perform together, which showed how different genres of music could be combined. “I hope there can be more music performances like this, not only for entertainment, but to give an opportunity for local musicians to learn from those who are exposed to international music.” Masidi added that he had talked to the officer from the Embassy of the United States to consider the possibility of sponsoring more American musicians to perform in Kota Kinabalu. Cathy, when asked how to bring traditional music into the international arena, suggested local musicians to share their performance on websites such as YouTube. She also suggested working together with Sabah Tourism Board in promoting their music to music festivals in other countries. Meanwhile, Marcy said a career path traditional music had always been tougher than other genres. “But you (Sabah) are fortunate because there are people willing to listen, and to broadcast your news and performances on television. “This is a very important assistance because word-of-mouth is the best promotion.” Marcy also said local musicians could share their music and their love of traditional music on YouTube. She believed that Americans would fall in love in our traditional music as well. As for Barbara, she hoped they could perform once again in Borneo. “I just want to say that we love Borneo. We love working with your musicians, we love your music and I can’t wait to perform again here.” Also present at the event were Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Sabah Datuk Suzannah Liaw, SPArKS president Cheong Kok Ann and information officer of the United States Embassy, Harvey Sernovits. Source: Borneo Post