The other day, we went to the Esplanade…
…beside the mighty Rajang…
…for the outdoor performances of the Sibu International Dance Festival 2015.
Here, you can see some of the dancers on their way to present their dance with the Rajang River in the background…
There were dancers from several different countries such as these from Singapore…
…that started off the evening’s programme with their jazzy a la Broadway number…
…and they were followed by the ones from Sri Lanka…
…including this guy…
…who danced while doing some acrobatic acts with the bowls he had with him – something like the Chinese one using plates on sticks.
I really enjoyed the one by these Filipinos…
…from the University of the Philippines Dance Company with their very lively and entertaining presentation called Tagu-taguanΒ (Hide and seek). I’ve seen performances by their internationally-acclaimed choir on youtube like this one, for instance…
…and I really must say these people from our neighbouring country are absolutely super multi-talented!!!
This group from Taiwan got some volunteers from the audience…
…to join in and they obviously had a whole lot of fun!
I did not bother to take any more photographs after that as it was very difficult to take nice shots of people in motion, not with my small and cheap digicam but if you are interested, you can always check out the official Facebook page – they do have very much nicer ones there, taken by professionals, I guess.
Spearheaded by the Hornland Dance Theatre here, this event has been going on for the fourth year running now and it certainly has been very well-received. This year, the participants came from the aforementioned countries and also Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and of course, Malaysia and there was even somebody from the US! Other than this outdoor event, there were also performances for two or three consecutive nights at the Dewan Suarah (Civic Centre) here in Sibu as well as dance-related conferences and workshops at selected venues (hotels) in the town. If you are thus inclined, this would be a good time to come to Sibu and you can get to enjoy the dances and everything, both cultural and contemporary.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Such a nice event to see dancers from so many countries performing here. It can get a little tiring standing there too long though. I’ll definitely end up sitting on the floor.
There are benches and places to sit all around and watch but if you want to go very near that you will have to stand…or sit on the floor. It was a walkabout thing though so after a few dances, they moved to another spot in The Esplanade to do a few more before moving on to another. Not really the thing for me, the walking here and there. Hehehehehe!!!!
Sungai Rajang! the famous river we all read about in our school textbooks, heh π cool set of pics of the diverse bunches of dancers … and hey, your photos are really clear and cool for night shots! π
I just click…and sometimes, I get lucky! π π π Just pick the nicest of a series of shots.
That looks like a fun event. I do love to watch dance.
Would be a great time to come to town then. They do have dances at the shows in conjunction with the Borneo Cultural Festival held annually here as well. There may be dancers from other countries too but maybe not that many…but this one’s solely on dancing, no singing or whatever.
What a cool festival! I really enjoyed these photos, thanks so much for sharing. π
You can click the link to go to their Facebook page, lots of photos there. They’ve set the page to public so anyone can drop by to browse around.
Looks like a fun+hip hop+loud event.. I can’t stand loud noises now, but if the event is held near my place, I would drop-by to 8 also π
No, not loud, plus it is open air some more. I would have left right away if it had been loud – my ear drums not so good already (from all the years, listening to loud music through earphones via my Walkman, or from my clubbing days), they will vibrate when the music is too loud, not really painful but very uncomfortable.
Same with Princess Ribbon, if it’s near by place, will drop by…
So all those shows you went to, all near your place…or you had to hop all over the island to watch the singers?
Interesting! Yeah, I agree, there’s something about our neighbors which make them more inclined to be musical. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but they’re not the happiest people in the world for nothing. I’ve been to the Philippines and I quite like their attitude towards life there.
Hornland, I’ve heard of them. Is one of the Payung owners a part of this troupe? I’ve had classmates who were with them when they used to perform in Civic Center circa 1990’s too, if it’s the same dance group.
I loved the Philippines but it has been a long long time since I went there, the Marcos era.
Yes, I think the other partner, co-owner of Payung, runs that place – his daytime job, so to speak, teaching dancing.
Looks like a nice & fun event but I would avoid the crowd.
Was not very crowded. Frankly, I was quite disappointed especially when it was free! The shows at the Dewan Suarah were not. I had expected a very much bigger crowd.
Wow, very happening eh!
Not bad for this little, what people call dead, town, eh?
I never knew that the Rajang is the longest river in Malaysia. Learn something new every day!
It is, but not in South East Asia – the Mekong is the longest, if I am not wrong.
The place look so nice in the evening. Last time we went there was morning Hahaha….waiting for the gang to sekaligus go makan π
Yes, generally, very quiet place, hardly anybody.
Philippines are so good when it comes to dancing and singing. I love watching such shows.
This event is great to promote Sarawak and Sibu in particular to international tourists!
Very good of the people concerned to have the initiative of running this thing annually.
I used to be the teacher-advisor of the cultural dancers at one of my former schools – they used to hold shows and inter-school competitions then. Of course, I was much younger and slimmer then…and anyway, the students learnt the dances themselves from watching video tapes – I would just comment and give suggestions as to what changes could be done to improve the dances. I certainly enjoyed it very much – those were the days.
I love watching dance performance especially contemporary dance. My favorite show at one time was So You Think You Can Dance. I wish I could dance but I have two left feet π
Out of the question for me now, not at my present shape and size. π¦ But I had my time…once…a long long time ago. π
macam very happening, nice to be out spending time like this especially if no haze. haha
It’s not too bad here, below 100…and it has been raining heavily two afternoons in a row – that sure helps a bit.
Interesting especially they come from different countries… If my legs allow, I would love to watch them all…otherwise will just stay for a dance or two and move on… oh, unless those concerts that put my legs into motion, then I will stay on and on… π
The Esplanade is a small place, not that much walking actually but still, I was too lazy to move about – old people like that lah.
You can go to their shows at the civic centre and watch, seated in air conditioned comfort though. 3 nights, different dances…only RM25 a ticket per night, RM75 altogether. You can’t get it this cheap anywhere else, I’m sure and you can check the list of dances and choose which night to go to, no need to go to all.
This outdoor one is free, open to all one.
wow.. how cool is that backdrop.. LOL.. I am officially jealous. If i come to visit I wld like u to take us around.. please.. if u r free! hehe
Of course I am free. I am retired, shake legs…eat and sleep. I love visitors and I do enjoy bringing people around for the best in town! Welcome, welcome… Anytime!
What great photos from this event! Sounds like a fun time!!!
Yes, it was very entertaining and luckily, it wasn’t hot that evening. Not quite the place for something like this actually, over here with our scorching tropical heat!