KOTA KINABALU: SK Mutiara Kota Kinabalu will be sending a team to compete at the Dance World Cup hosted in Prague, Czech Republic from June 27 till July 6.

The team comprises eight pupils (boys and girls) from Primary Four to Six, accompanied by eight teachers led by head coach Carmelliny Tony.

This year’s World Finals event gathered over 7,500 dancers from over 50 countries.

SK Mutiara qualified to represent Malaysia in the competition after earning their berths during the nationwide selection process held by the National Department for Culture and Arts here, said its headmistress, Junaidah Yassin.

“The upcoming competition will be the second time the school is competing after ITS first outing in Braga, Portugal in 2019.

“We returned with first place in the solo boys category, three third places in solo girls, and two second places in trio and group categories. It was a fruitful outing for us, especially as we are a cluster school for cultural activities.

“We are very proud of the pupils’ achievements where the dancers excelled and brought home honour for the school with trophies and certificates. This is our first participation after the pandemic, and we expect our dancers to excel in Prague as they did in Portugal,” she said.

The parents and teachers have been very involved in their children’s preparation for the past eight months, she added.

The pupils are excited and have been training hard to achieve their dreams, she said,

This time around, the dancers will be participating in three categories: the girl solo performance called Giring, a Lotud dance; a boy solo performing the Murut warrior dance; a trio performing a Bajau Sama dance by a girl and two boys; and the group category, performing a welcoming dance called ‘Pesorong Kam’.

The long journey to Prague, which is more than a 12-hour flight, will be handled by AIC Footprints Travels and Tour Sdn Bhd, who also managed the school’s dance troupe in 2019.

She said the school will organise fundraising activities to collect enough funds to send the team to Prague.

SK Mutiara Parents Teachers Association Chairwoman, Rejanah Bahanda, a beauty and health product entrepreneur, shared that she is selling a product specifically for this cause.

“We will contribute 50 per cent of the proceeds towards the expenses for this event,” she said, adding that at least RM300,000 is needed to cover the entire expenditures of the competition, including airfares, accommodation and food.

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