GENTING HIGHLANDS: Drums will thunder, cymbals will clash and lions will leap between towering poles at Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting today (Sept 26).
For Xuan Long Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe, however, the stakes are higher.
The Rawang-based troupe returns as the defending champions of the Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship, two years after claiming the title.
In the 20th edition in 2024, Xuan Long edged a field of 20 finalists to take the crown with 9.60 points out of 10, narrowly beating the Catholic High School Alumni Association Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe, which scored 9.55, while Tarian Singa Kwong Ngai finished third with 9.44.
This year, the challenge is different as they are no longer chasing the champions. They are the champions everyone wants to beat.
With 20 troupes set to contest today’s semi-final, only 10 will survive to Sunday’s final.
For Xuan Long, the first hurdle is therefore not defending their title – it is earning the right to defend it.
And doing so will require the same combination of balance, strength, timing and nerve that carried them to the top in 2024.
Lion dance at this level is a long way from simply making a lion move to the beat of a drum.
Performers must work in near-perfect synchronisation while executing intricate movements on high poles, with even the smallest mistake capable of costing valuable points.
The pressure is heightened for Xuan Long, whose 2024 victory came by an extremely narrow margin.
Their 9.60-point winning performance was only 0.05 points ahead of the runner-up, while the final saw most of the competing troupes score more than nine points.
That leaves little room for complacency when the troupe takes to the stage.
A place in the final would keep alive Xuan Long’s bid to become champions for another edition. But for the 19 other troupes, stopping the Rawang side may be just as important.
