..Cina bukit terbukti lebih baik dari China komunis tanah besar

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‘Lion dance here more vibrant than in China’           

But the 30-year-old has never seen a lion dance performance during one of the largest occasions in Chinese culture – Chinese New Year.
This year, Borter, with his girlfriend Corinne Kaufman, 25, and best friend Roger Müller, 39, both of whom share the same passion in lion dance, made it a point to come here to experience the Chinese New Year lion dance performance.
“We want to experience how it feels to perform the lion dance during a big occasion like Chinese New Year, which is why we chose to come around this time.



“We are only used to seeing the food, the scenes, the ‘dong dong qiang’ on television. It is simply not the same when you get to experience it in the flesh,” Borter said.
He said Ipoh is also special for them because the wushu master they trained under in Switzerland, Ipoh-born Chow Kok Yeng, used to train at the Chin Woo Athletic Association here.
“We think it is appropriate to offer our respects to the school our master trained in. He is very important to us. It is thanks to him that the three of us could make the trip to this country during the festive season,” he said.
According to Borter, Chow, who he sees as a grandfather figure, had migrated to Switzerland to continue teaching wushu many years ago.
“My father used to train under him too, which was why I was exposed to Chinese martial arts at a young age,” he said, adding that he started formal training at 10.
Kaufman and Müller said they were motivated to learn Chinese martial arts and lion dance after watching movies when they were kids, especially those that featured renowned kungfu masters Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
“We would practise wushu and lion dance back in Switzerland, but it’s very basic. There are also very few lion dance teachers there.
“Here, there are so many techniques for us to hone our skills. It is truly overwhelming,” said Kaufman, who began training in wushu at 16, the same age as Müller.
The three, who arrived on Monday said, the lion dance techniques taught in Ipoh were more vibrant and beautiful, different from that taught in China.
“The lion dance here portrays the lions like cats with agile and softer movements. They look powerful but sweet at the same time,” he said.
The biggest challenge, Borter said, was to practise the dance in a way that makes the audience think that they are looking at a real lion dancing instead of two humans performing the nifty moves.
“There’s good spirit here when we train at Chin Woo. We have already learned the basic wushu and kungfu techniques, so that it makes our learning curve for lion dance less difficult,” he said.
Apart from the full Lunar New Year immersion experience, Borter said it has always been his long-time dream to bring important parts of Chinese culture back to Switzerland.
“European kids are too attached to their games. I believe that by bringing some elements of Chinese tradition back, like the lion dance, it is a good chance for them to learn something more than what they are normally exposed to,” he said.
He hoped that the Ipoh Chinese Chin Woo Association would give its Swiss counterpart and Chow its fullest support in their mission to promote Chinese culture in Switzerland.
Borter is a full-time wushu teacher in the Swiss Chin Woo Association, while Kaufman works as a real estate agent and Müller, a carpenter. They return home on Feb 2.
During their 10-day trip here, they are being looked after by Master Tan Chooi Eng, 65.

            

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