Lion dance is a sport unlike many others which we see today. Coming from traditional Chinese culture, this particular art-turned-sport has got thousands of years to back it up.
The Genting World Lion Dance Championship saw its 13th instalment in 2018 located right inside the Arena of Stars. With 36 lion dance troupes from all over the world, the event was truly magnificent in all its glory.
There were many moments which had the audience wowed while some moments left fans worried. All sorts of sport brings about a certain level of risk but lion dance is on a whole different level.
Imagine jumping from one pole to another, they’re all taller than you and much further apart than the average step.
Needless to say, there were many injuries involved over the weekend.
The three-day event started on Friday, July 20th, 2018 with the preliminary rounds.
Here’s a summary of Day 1:
| No. | Team Name | Country | Score | Remarks |
| 1. | United States Dragon & Lion Dance Federation | USA | 8.14 | |
| 2. | Thailand Wushu Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Federation Team B | Thailand | 8.90 | |
| 3. | FOBI Kalimantan Utara Indonesia | Kalimantan, Indonesia | 8.99 | |
| 4. | China Foshan Nan Yue Dragon and Lion Dance Association | Foshan, China | 8.75 | -0.1 for usage of illegal props |
| 5. | Yi Wei Athletic Association Team B | Singapore | – | Withdraw due to injuries |
| 6. | Developing Virtue Dragon & Lion Dance Club | California, USA | 8.41 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 7. | Chung Hwa Middle School (Kun Seng Keng) Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe Brunei | Brunei | – | Withdraw due to injuries |
| 8. | Indonesia Dragon & Lion Dance Federation | Indonesia | 8.67 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 9. | Kuan San Tang Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe | Singapore | 8.90 | |
| 10. | Thailand Wushu Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Federation Team A | Thailand | 8.98 | |
| 11. | Pertubuhan Kesenian Dan Kesukanan Tawau Sabah | Sabah, Malaysia | 9.02 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 12. | China Shenzhen Bao An Fu Yong Feng Huang Wushu Centre | Shenzhen, China | 7.94 | -1 for falling down |
| 13. | Lian Feng Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe | Taipei, Taiwan | – | Fell down with major injury, unable to complete |
| 14. | FOBI Kong Ha Hong Indonesia | Indonesia | 9.14 | |
| 15. | Hong Kong Fiery Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe | Hong Kong | 8.90 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 16. | Philippines Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Association | Philippines | 8.88 | |
| 17. | Hong Teck Sports Association Australia | Australia | 7.32 | -1.4 for multiple mistakes |
| 18. | Vietnam Tian Eng Dragon & Lion Dance Center | Vietnam | – | Fell down with injury, unable to complete |
Obviously, falling down will end up hurting anyone but it was a shocking moment when one of the Lian Feng Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe’s performers passed out after hitting his head against the pole.
Everyone held their breath as the poor guy was deemed unfit to continue and was carried out by a stretcher for emergency aid.
Then, Day 1 ended with yet another frightful fall from Vietnam Tian Eng Dragon & Lion Dance Center’s performers. Because of a twisted hand, they couldn’t continue either.
But if you thought the first day was bad, Day 2 involved even more missteps.
Here’s the summary of Day 2:
| No. | Team Name | Country | Score | Remarks |
| 1. | Myanmar Myeik LAG Lion Dance Troupe | Myanmar | 5.85 | -2.5 for falling twice and minor mistakes |
| 2. | Pertubuhan Tarian Singa Dan Naga Hong Teik | Kedah, Malaysia | 9.20 | |
| 3. | China Guangzhou Panyu Dinggen Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe | Guangzhou, China | 9.13 | |
| 4. | Che Yee Khor Moral Uplifting Society Lahad Datu | Sabah, Malaysia | 8.66 | -0.3 for minor mistakes |
| 5. | Myanmar Black Pearl Lion Dance Troupe | Myanmar | 9.02 | |
| 6. | Myanmar Hong Bao Shi Lion Dance Troupe | Myanmar | 8.88 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 7. | Vietnam Tinh Anh Duong The Duc Hoi | Vietnam | 9.13 | |
| 8. | Hong Teck Lyon Dragon and Lion Dance Associtaion | Lyon, France | 5.94 | -2.2 for falling twice and minor mistakes |
| 9. | Yi Wei Athletic Association Team A | Singapore | 9.23 | |
| 10. | Alumni Organisation of Yinge Junior High School | Taipei, Taiwan | 9.22 | |
| 11. | Vietnam Hainan Lien Huu Sports Association | Vietnam | 9.13 | |
| 12. | Wushu Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Federation of Thailand | Thailand | 8.59 | -0.5 for obvious mistake |
| 13. | Leung’s White Crane Dragon and Lion Dance Association | USA | 7.88 | -1 for falling |
| 14. | Australian Jin Wu Koon Cheung Keung Dragon & Lion Association | Australia | – | Withdraw due to injuries |
| 15. | Hong Kong Cheung Keung Martial Arts Association | Hong Kong | 8.60 | -0.1 due to minor mistake |
| 16. | Taoyuan Sports Federation with Dragon & Lion Sports Association | Taipei, Taiwan | 8.50 | -0.3 for minor mistakes |
| 17. | Hong Kong Lee Yun Fook Lion Dance Team | Hong Kong | 9.01 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
Day 2 was truly exciting as there were many amazing teams battling it out at a higher level of danger. However, that only meant more chances of mistakes, falls and injuries.
An honourable mention would have to go to the Che Yee Khor Moral Uplifting Society Lahad Datu team where one of the performers was injured in the left wrist prior to their turn. But he went on with the dance anyways.
#Sportsmanship
And it just so happened that there were exactly 10 teams with scores of 9 and above making it easy to choose the top 10 teams to go against the defending champions, Kung Seng Keng Dragon and Lion Dance Association Muar.
Here’s the summary of the Day 3, finals:
| No. | Team Name | Country | Score | Remarks |
| 1. | Yi Wei Athletic Association Team A | Singapore | 9.23 | |
| 2. | Pertubuhan Tarian Singa Dan Naga Hong Teik | Kedah, Malaysia | 9.23 | |
| 3. | Hong Kong Lee Yun Fook Lion Dance Team | Hong Kong | 9.11 | |
| 4. | China Guanzhou Panyu Dinggen Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe | Guangzhou, China | 9.15 | |
| 5. | Vietnam Hainan Lein Huu Sports Association | Vietnam | 9.09 | |
| 6. | Pertubuhan Kebudayaan Kesenian Dan Kesukanan Tawau | Sabah, Malaysia | 8.98 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 7. | Vietnam Ting Anh Duong The Duc Hoi | Vietnam | 9.14 | |
| 8. | Alumni Organization of Yinge Junior High School | Taipei, Taiwan | 9.27 | |
| 9. | FOBI Kong Ha Hong | Indonesia | 9.01 | -0.1 for minor mistake |
| 10. | Kung Seng Keng Dragon and Lion Dance Association Muar | Johor, Malaysia | 9.31 | |
| 11. | Myanmar Black Pearl Lion Dance Troupe | Myanmar | 9.19 |
Each team brought out their A-game but just like before, it was difficult to do such high-risk moves without making any mistake at all.
It was painful to watch marks be deducted from FOBI Kong Ha Hong and Pertubuhan Kebudayaan Kesenian Dan Kesukanan Tawau for their minor mistakes but it couldn’t be helped either.
It was also a landslide victory for the defending champions, Kung Seng Keng Dragon and Lion Dance Association Muar, as they did something in-line with FIFA World Cup.
They themed their performance around football. The musicians donned black and white jerseys, they did war cries like how footballers would and even brought in a massive football prop for their performance!
If you want to watch professional lion dancers battling it out, you gotta wait til next year for the national championship happening in Genting as well.
