RAWANG: Their passion for the lion dance has led a group of Malaysian-Indian performers to restart their former master’s troupe after a 10-year hiatus.
The Tai Yen Lion Dance Association in Rawang was started in the 1980s by Ong Yew Kee and closed in 2011 after his passing. Of Indian ethnicity but adopted by a Malaysian-Chinese family, Ong formed a lion dance team that was multiracial.
A decade later, his former student Achibabu Subramaniam and only daughter Angel Ong Siew Fung have taken the helm to continue his legacy.
“Babu came to look for me and said we should reopen the Tai Yen lion dance team together. I agreed because we wanted to fulfil his wishes for a lasting lion dance team,” said Ong.
They started looking for sponsors and registered the name officially as a team. It was difficult as the team formed right out of the pandemic in 2021.
“Around 10 of my father’s former students came back, and we had to relearn (the dance), since none of us had performed in the past 10 years,” she said.
The former students racked their memories and referenced YouTube videos to learn the latest dance steps and drumbeats, and once they mastered this, they took in fresh blood. Now the team is 15 members’ strong, ranging between 10 and 43 years in age.
Team leader Achibabu is applying for it to be recognised as the first ethnic Indian lion dance team in the Malaysia Book of Records.
“When we started many people doubted us, (saying) that ethnic Chinese must be involved, but I am very proud to prove that Malaysian-Indians can also perform the lion dance,” he said.
Achibabu has since invested RM50,000 to restart the team.
Cultural homage: Members of the Tai Yen Lion Dance Association pictured during a performance. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
“It was really not easy – I was going through a divorce at that time, this is my anchor,” he said while tapping the drum. “This team is my life’s purpose.”
“I did the lion dance from when I was eight years old, until my master passed away when I was 25.
“Although I stopped for 10 years, whenever I see a lion dance, I miss it. I jumped at the chance when I had this opportunity to be involved again,” he added.
This Chinese New Year, the team is booked from Feb 9-17, and around 30% of its bookings are from Malaysian-Chinese customers.
Unlike last year, the team is also performing outside of Selangor for the first time, said Achibabu.
He is planning to open a second branch in Pangkor and is considering entering his team for competitions next year.
One of Ong Yew Kee’s former students, Suresh Ramachandran, said it was the intense passion that brought him back.
“Since young, I was fascinated by the lion dance and would cycle to wherever I heard the drumbeats. I finally started learning it when I was 13 years old, and was with my master for over 20 years.
“After 10 years, I heard a very familiar sound of a lion dance when I was going to the store one day, I followed the sound and saw Achibabu and other old teammates from Tai Yen. That’s how I rejoined,” he said.
