Sabah students aim to impress in South Korea dance festival

7 Oct 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: A team of Sabah students is ready to showcase their talent in the Andong Maskdance Festival, an international dance competition in South Korea.

The team, called Ngalay Yang’s, consists of nine students aged 12 and 13 who flew to South Korea on Thursday night (Oct 5).

They will face 30 other teams from different countries in the qualifying round on Saturday.

The team’s teacher-manager, Noorhayati Awang, said the students had trained hard to perform their best in the festival, which runs from Oct 2 to Oct 9 in Andong city.

She said this was their first time joining an international folklore and modern dance competition, and they were feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement.

“They are very happy and thrilled to be part of this competition,” she said, before boarding the flight at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

“Some of them have never travelled abroad before, so they are looking forward to not only showing their skills but also learning new cultures.”

Noorhayati said the team will compete in the “Abroad” category and present a creative rendition of the Limbai Bajau Samah, a traditional Sabah dance.

“The team has prepared well for this event, so we hope we will do well,” she said.

She also expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the Sabah Government, as well as other donors, for their support and contributions that enabled their team to participate in the competition.

She added that they had planned to join the international Dance World Cup in Braga, Portugal in June, but they could not due to a delay in funding.