Monday, September 17, 2007
SABAH LOCAL PAPER
4th September 2007
The Sabah International Festival
NEW SABAH TIMES 7th Sept 2007
Bigger folklore festival in offing
Bigger folklore festival in offing
all 11 troupes move to the beat of the ‘Sayang Kinabalu’
song sung by the Polish Dance Troupe
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah International Folklore Festival will be held in a bigger scale with better promotion in the future.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun said the event had not been widely promoted.
“We accept that presently, we are still at the experimental stage as we want to gauge the response from other countries,” he told reporters after watching the prime show held at the Auditorium Tun Raffae here on Wednesday evening.
He assured that the next time around, the event would be held on a grander scale given the foundation and the budget for it.
Masidi said that he was enthusiastic with the response he saw from the public at the premiere show.
“It was very positive…I believe the response will be the same in the next two days,” he said.
At the same time, he said that the event would help foster better relations between Sabah and other countries in the world, as it would promote understanding and friendship beyond borders.
“It will also allow us to get together,” he said.
Masidi also said that his ministry would market the event as part of its diverse tourism products.
He explained that tourism was among three of the main pillars of economy in Sabah.
“About 60 percent of our visitors are repeat visitors, and most of the time, our hotels are 100 percent booked. We are still short of 6,000 rooms,” he said.
He said that Sabah is unique due to its myriad of culture and races.
“We are also unique because of the high level of racial tolerance practiced by every race in the state.
“It is not impossible to find a family practicing different religious beliefs living harmonically with each other,” he said.
Meanwhile, the packed auditorium saw the excited audience witnessing exquisite performances by 11 foreign dance ensembles participating in the third Sabah International Folklore Festival.
Tickets sold at RM50 and RM20, respectively, were quickly sold out.
Some people expecting to be able to purchase their tickets at the venue were disappointed as only 1,000 seats were allocated.
The entertainers comprising the PESAKA dancers from Brunei, Menghai County’s Art Troupe (China), Malwa Sabhyacharak Club (India), Japan Dance Club (Japan), On Alty Kyz (Kazakhstan), Kalve and Mrupisie (Latvia), Kortowo (Poland), Rovesniki National Folkdance (Russia), Saudi Arabia folk dancers, Sriwana (Singapore) and Naresuan University folk and dance group (Thailand).
Each performance was unique. The Rovesniki National Folkdance Ensemble charmed the crowd with their highly energetic dance and acrobatic performance. The ensemble is formed by a group of girls and boys aged five to 18 years old.
China’s Menghai County’s Art Troupe and Thailand’s Naresuan University’s folk and dance group also enthralled patrons with their melodic musical performances using the very basic music instruments made mainly of bamboo.
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