Sunday, February 28, 2010

M'sians Celebrate Yr of Tiger in Wellington

Malaysians and friends celebrated the eve of "Chap Goh Meh" with a grand dinner at the Regal Restaurant in Wellington.

According to Wikipedia:

Chap Goh Meh or Tzap Goh Mei (Chinese: ; pinyin: shí míng; literally "fifteen night") represents the fifteenth and final day of the Lunar New Year period as celebrated by Chinese migrant communities. The term is from the Hokkien dialect and refers to the fifteenth day of the first month, which is the occasion of the first full moon of the New Year.

The dinner was organised by the New Zealand Malaysian Society, well done guys!

I am not going to bore you with all the usual dinner snap shots but to show you the BEST lion dance I ever see! In moving pictures!

This is a video grab from the clip I post at YouTube. When you are watching it, take note of the delicate movement of the lion; see how his ears flap and how he "scratch" his back!


Peter Sim, ex president of the society who organised the lion dance said:

"The New Zealand Malaysian Society welcomed in the year of the Tiger with its very own "Malaysian" lion.

The Malaysian Lion Dance troupe was formed about 4 years ago and has performed on a number of auspicious occasions including welcoming in each New Year and on the National Day celebrations.

The Lion Dance performance is based on the southern Chinese style symbolising the ushering in of good luck and good fortune.

The performers are Kenny and Lester Ee as the lion, Ren Chen, Lim Boon Chuan and Sherrie Yim on cymbals, myself on drum and Andy Ng on gong.

Anyone interested in having a bit of fun and maintaining a level of fitness is more than welcome to join us.

The Society has two lions so this is your chance to include your sons or daughters and keep some of our culture alive.

Please contact any of the NZMS committee members if you are interested."

Apart from the lion dance clip, I also post a panning video clip of a long "Yum Seng" roar from all of us to officially closed the CNY celebration!

Here are three video grabs from the clip ;)



Be sure to watch the clips after the story!

Malaysians were also having fun at a celebration at Te Papa last week.

Avelyne lead her Asia Fusion Group and friends through a joyous line dancing rendition of "Gong Xi, Gong Xi". Video clip is also at the end.


Here are the three videos... Enjoy!







Foot note:

Camilia Chin, VP of NZ Malaysian Society commented..

"Dear Peter,

Please convey my heartiest appreciation and congratulations to the entire Lion Dance troupe for such a fantabulous performance!

The Lion Dancers are so good, esp the head dancer who really knows how to shake his stuff - so alive and energetic. The music was very upbeat and lively as well.

I am a Lion Dance fan, so I know when I see a good dance, and this CNY performance was really good.

Dear CY,

Once again your talent at capturing the moment, the angle and the flow of the event is amazing.

You have provided us all nice shots for us to remember the event by.
Well Done! Thank you.

Thank you all very much for all your efforts!

May this new year of the Tiger be happy and prosperous for all of us!

Best Regards,
Camilia

** Thanks Camilia, nice to be appreciated; you are welcome! - CY -

Famous Last Words:

What is in a name? If you are a Malaysian like me who work for NZMS but officially I am only an ordinary member at the other NZMS, confused? Ha ha ha..

I do not know when New Zealand Micrographics Services (where I work) started to use NZMS but I am quite sure the New Zealand Malaysians Society have been in Wellington longer ;)

4 comments:

cy.leow said...

Grace Chen commented on my link thru FB:

"your trigger finger stll as mean as ever..."

Thanks Grace,glad to know that :)

cy.leow said...

Weng Lim commented on my link via FB:

"How I wish you were in Auckland to capture the "Chap Goh Meh" celebration which lasted for 3 days at Albert Park from Friday to Sunday last week-end and show it to all our friends! Anyway thanks for sharing."

Wow! Wish I was there too! Sound very exciting! We will make sure to be there next CNY! Thanks! - CY -

heather said...

Looks like lots of fun was had by all.Nice photos capturing the vibrant upbeat mood of the occasion.has Nigel joined NZMS yet?

cy.leow said...

What is in a name? If you are a Malaysian like me who work for NZMS but officially I am only an ordinary member at the other NZMS, confused? Ha ha ha..

I do not know when New Zealand Micrographics Services (where I work) started to use NZMS but I am quite sure the New Zealand Malaysians Society have been in Wellington longer ;)