Singapore lion dance troupe retains world title at Resorts World Genting
Daniel Lai for The Straits Times
SINGAPORE - A lion dance troupe from Singapore's Yi Wei Athletic Association defended its title at the 15th Genting World Lion Dance Championship on July 27. Yi Wei had triumphed in 2023 to break Malaysia's 13-year stranglehold on the title at the competition, which is held biennially. In this edition, Yi Wei sent two teams of eight to compete in the battle of Chinese mythical creatures, and again came out tops.
Its Team B was crowned the grand champion with a score of 9.78, and its Team A was first runner-up with a score of 9.66.
Mr Lee Kai Ming, 30, a coach at Yi Wei, said: "Winning this championship means a lot to us because this is a world-recognised lion dance competition, and we are representing Singapore.
"SG60 is coming soon, and we're happy that we can win this competition for Singapore," he added.
Organised and hosted by Resorts World Genting in Malaysia, the three-day tournament featured 40 competing teams hailing from nations and territories like China, Hong Kong and Australia.
Mr Lee said that the Yi Wei teams began their preparations for the competition and planned their choreographies in April.
Team A's performance was based on Guan Gong, an ancient military general who is now worshipped as the Chinese god of war, while Team B based theirs on Nezha, a Chinese deity often depicted as a child in iconography. The teams practised at a rented location on Defu Lane.
This year, Resorts World Genting deepened the prize pool to celebrate their 60th anniversary, and Malaysia's Transport Minister Antony Loke presented the winning teams their trophies.
Yi Wei's champion Team B took home US$18,000 (S$23,000), while Team A won US$10,000.
In 2023, the champion received US$15,000, while the first and second runners-up received US$8,000 and US$5,000 respectively.
Yi Wei's celebrations, though, will come only later, said Mr Lee, as the group has turned its attention to preparing for upcoming competitions in Singapore and abroad, starting with the 29th Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championships from Sept 8-13.
