If you want to bend bamboo, do it while it is still a shoot.

The title above is a translation of a Malay saying, "Kalau hendak melentur buluh, biarlah dari rebungnya." Likewise, if we want to instill something positive in people, we need to do it when they are still young.

About a couple of weeks ago, I was at the weekly Gaya Street Fair and was pleasantly surprised to see local dance performances by a young dance troupe from a local primary school and gamelan performances by a gamelan group from a local secondary school. It's heartening to see their performances being showcased to local and foreign tourists at the street fair.

This is all part of the Pusat Seni Setempat or Culture Hotspot organised jointly by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall and the Sabah National Culture and Arts Department. There were also performances by local singers and the department's cultural troupe. One improvement the organisers should consider is a proper stage for the performances. If you are interested, you can catch the next one on Sunday in the third week of October.

Here are some photos of our young dancers.

Dancers from Stella Maris primary school.

Sumazau dance.

Dancers getting ready.

Another traditional dance

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