KUCHING: Janice Liaw Qian Ning emerged as the Superstar Solo Grade A champion in the third edition of Tyng Dance Academy (TDA) Sport Championship.
Claudin Tay Jia Yen was second while Jocelyn Yap Tai Xii was third. Trisha Yap Tai Qii, Amanda Goh Suk Min and Natalie Loh Yu Xuan came fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Each winner was awarded with a medal and certificate while the champion received a trophy.
In the annual event, over 100 over dancers from 5 to 26 years old competed in the various dance genres including Latin (cha-cha, rumba, jive, paso doble), formation, classical ballet, jazz, K-pop and contemporary.
Lawyer Shankar Ram Asnani presented the prizes to the winners at Seafood Shangri-La, CityOne Megamall Rooftop last Sunday.
Shankar, who was impressed at how good and well organised the event was, said, “Such events are important for the youths of Sarawak because we have a lot of talented dancers.
“The dance championship should be held on a greater scale so that the state government can support the growth of dance academy.
“I am sure we are able to produce a lot of talented dancers who can compete in the international arena.”
TDA principal Chan Tyng Tyng told reporters that to date, the academy had 180 dancers. However, only 100 joined the championship.
“We have 2-year-old and 3-year-old dancers but they are not here. The youngest dancers that we have in the championship are 5-year-olds,” she said.
She added that TDA was promoting the dance sport to Sarawakians. She added that TDA represented the state in the Taipei Dance Championship, Taiwan last month.
When asked by reporters what was the assistance TDA required from the state government, Tyng said, “We are figuring out what are the better ways to fund athletes to go overseas and compete.
“Take example the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games. It usually involves athletes from Kuala Lumpur and not from Sarawak.
“Yes, we do have a lot of athletes but there is a need to expose and fund them to compete on a grander scale.”
Among the invited guests were Shankar’s wife Karishma Shankar, Sarawak Dance Sport Association president Chester Lim Hian Thoong, Penghulu Tan Heng Kee, Foo Kee Ann and Ng Song Hee.
