Artistic expression: Wong has dedicated his time to teaching and pursuing his passion for dance.
PETALING JAYA: A Perak-born choreographer marked his name in the books as the first Malaysian Chinese to be awarded the Anugerah Adiguru by the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage of Malaysia (Aswara) 2022 for his contributions to Malaysian Chinese dance.
Wong Kit Yaw, 65, who is also a dance educator and dance director, spent close to 40 years teaching and designing dance in the country and his localised dances managed to portray Malaysia’s characteristics despite the fact that the dance originated from China.
Local Chinese dances differ from those in China, just like Malaysian Chinese literature and mainland Chinese literature, which are very different in styles and content even though the same language is used.
“I will continue to promote Malaysian Chinese dances,” he told mySinChew, Sin Chew Daily’s English-language portal, adding that the award is significant to those involved in the performing arts.
Dancing has been a lifelong journey for Wong, who began pursing his passion at eight and later joined the dance troupe of the youth wing of Selangor Hokkien Association after completing his secondary education in Kuala Lumpur.
His journey did not stop at school level as he took up Indian classical dance and joined the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore to learn more about the art form.
He returned to Malaysia in 1988 to become a choreographer for children’s dances Kik Kik Kok Kok, Oh! Sarong and others.
Wong has been a dedicated dance instructor with Aswara since 2000 and has continued to teach at the academy even after his retirement in 2018.
