By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright January 2023

Chinese New Year is incomplete without a lion dance to grace the occasion, bringing good cheer to a neighbourhood and luck to a family that invites it into their home.

Siti Saleha Salleh, a computer scientist the lead dancer, or the Head of the Lion has been at it for the last 20 years devoting herself to perfecting the art without missing a single beat.

She said her apprenticeship started as a lion tail for three years before being given a chance to be in the lead role as head of the lion itself.

In fact, when she first started attending the training session she was only taught to use the cymbal, then the drum, followed by learning the steps of the lion to synchronise with the drum beat.

She told me at our breakfast meet just before CNY this year that it is very important that all dancers listen and pay careful attention to the drum because it is actually the heartbeat of the lion itself.

The lion moves to the beat of the drums and cymbals. To be out of sync would mean "death" to the lion and probably the dancer's career at worst. Thus disappointing the audience that demands nothing less than absolute perfection for a performance they had paid for from their own hard-earned income. 

In the last 20 years, she has been to many houses, offices and shoplots in and around KL Klang Valley during Chinese New Year holidays to bring luck and good cheer to many. 

Her passion for the art and the skills she acquired has taken her to destinations outside Malaysia, including the Maldives to perform at the prestigious Cheval Blanc Randheli hotel belonging to the Louis Vuitton Group for four consecutive years until Covid-19 broke the trend.

How did she get into lion dancing?

Siti replied, "Out of curiosity I followed a college mate to watch him practice with the Muhibbah Lion Dance Troupe at old Subang Airport under the leadership of Master James."

"What started as a curiosity became an obsession of wanting to learn about the art of challenging live performance!"

From that day on she said "I trained under Master James who taught me everything I needed to know on how to be the best performer as a lion head in the troupe. I was the only girl in the group and I had to try harder to be in the lead role".

What does it take to be a great performer as head of the lion?

Siti smiled her sweet smile and said, "You have to be a perfectionist. Every single step counts. It was sheer grit that led me to be where I am for the last 20 years. I had to master everything Master James taught us. For example, when we went to the Maldives sometimes Master was not with us. The six of us who went to the hotel owned by Louis Vuitton group were there on our own. We couldn't have been invited back over the next three years had we missed a single beat!"

However, for CNY2023 we shall miss her performance because of a minor hip injury that requires rest.

She said, "I'll take a break this year and give the younger ones a chance!"

But I am sure from her physique and youthful look she could easily be performing for the next two decades without missing a single beat and still out perform many rookies on the job.

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