| Wani Roslan |
HAJI Mohd Jaafar Maun Primary School in Kiulap and Sultan Hassan Secondary School in Bangar emerged as champions in the finals of the 40th Brunei Traditional Dance Competition for primary schools and the 8th Brunei Ethnic Dance Competition for schools, colleges and Sixth Form Centres respectively on Tuesday.
Haji Mohd Jaafar Maun Primary School performed the ‘Alus Jua Dindang’ dance, while Sultan Hassan Secondary School performed the ‘Umak Ruma’ dance.
The runners-up in the respective categories were Lambak Kanan Jalan 49 Primary School and Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School.
Organised by the Co-Curriculum Education Department at the Ministry of Education, the finals took place at the Riadah Hall of the Youth Centre in the capital, where the guest of honour was Pengiran Sarimah binti Pengiran Haji Ahmad, Acting Head of the Special Education Unit (SEU), Ministry of Education.
Roslin bin Suhailee, Acting Assistant Director of Co-Curriculum Education and the chairman of the competition, said that the rapid development of technology has resulted in a decline in public interest in traditional and ethnic dances compared with other fields of arts such as contemporary dance.
Winners from Haji Mohd Jaafar Maun Primary School in high spirits. – PHOTOS: BAHYIAH BAKIR
Acting Head of the Special Education Unit (SEU) at the Ministry of Education Pengiran Sarimah binti Pengiran Haji Ahmad with the winners
In a bid to reverse this trend, he said the competition aimed to develop local traditional and ethnic dance as an artistic heritage that could be preserved and appreciated as part of the Brunei identity, in accordance with the national Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) philosophy.
In an interview, one of the teachers of Haji Mohd Jaafar Maun Primary School in Kiulap said that preparations for the competition were held during the Co-Curriculum Activity (CCA) sessions and on Friday and Sunday to avoid disturbing the students’ lessons.
“The majority of our participants are in Year 2 up to Year 5. The instructors are the schools’ teachers themselves as they have experience in the dances and they also learned from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Co-Curriculum Education Department,” she said.
She said the competition helped the students learn more about traditional dances. She also expressed hopes that the participants would pass on their knowledge to the future generations to preserve the dances.
In an interview, Abdul Hamid bin Aji, a teacher from Sultan Hassan Secondary School said, “Our dancers are from the Andaman Club, which is under my supervision.”
The school also invited a dancer from the Murut ethnic community to show the student the ‘real’ concept of the ‘Umak Ruma’ dance, he said.
The objective of the competition is to promote student interest in local culture and heritage, particularly traditional and ethnic dances.
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