ID :
247396
Thu, 07/12/2012 - 08:25
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/247396
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Authentic Three-Night Sri Lanka Touch To Borneo Cultural Festival In Sibu
SIBU (Sarawak, Malaysia), July 12 (Bernama) -- Sri Lanka may be far away but
local folks attending the Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF), Sibu's signature
tourism event, will be privileged to enjoy three nights of the traditional folk
dances from the country, beginning Thursday night.
A 12-member troupe from the country's Ranranga Dance Academy, comprising 10
dancers, including four boys, arrived here to perform at the festival.
According to the head of the troupe Gaminie Basnayake, the dancers who are
between 15 and 17, would perform folk and traditional dances from the country's
lowland, central and highland regions.
"We are very happy to come to expose our traditional dances to the rest of
the world. Our dancers are selected from among the best and they have trained
for between six to eight years," he said.
He said Sri Lanka was very serious in wanting to preserve its tradition and
culture.
"Like anywhere else, our young boys and girls these days are more interested
in western culture. The Bollywood culture is also having a bad effect as it
influences them to be very modernised and to neglect their culture and
traditions," he told reporters after a courtesy call on Sibu Municipal Council
chairman Tiong Thai King at his office on Thursday.
He added that fortunately the country still had some very committed teachers
like Sujatha Siyamalapitiya, the troupe's teacher, who had even agreed to serve
on a voluntary basis to teach dance and other forms of art.
Meanwhile, the council's deputy Chairman Daniel Ngieng said the seventh
edition of the festival, had received very good response from members of the
public in the state's central region.
"I have been told more then 20,000 attended the festival nightly and the
number swells, specially during weekends. Next year, we will organise a bigger
Borneo International Folk Dance Festival with the help of the Sarawak Tourism
Board," he said. Sarawak is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of
Borneo.
--BERNAMA