NEWSLETTER 2012/13 CWS

OFFICE HOLDERS AND COMMITTEE

Mr Richard (Dick) Griffiths Patron

Mr Adam Lowe Vice-Patron

Mr Alfred On OAM Vice-Patron

Mr Austin Chin President

Mr Daryl Chin Vice President

Ms Tiffany Chin Rinaldi General Secretary

Mr Roland Chin Treasurer

Mr Daniel Chow

Chinese Secretary

Committee Members Andrew Chin David Quan Dennis Low

Desmond Yuen Jade Schembri Jennifer Yuen Natasha Yuen Nathan Tam

Pauline Ah Toy Quen Foo

Randall Chin Richard Quan Roger Lowe

Shaun Pearson Stephen Pearson

Temple Officer Dennis Low

Temple Caretaker Paul Ho

Public Officer Roland Chin

Community Support

Worker Mrs Susan Lay

Auditor Mr John Hetherington

December 2012

SENIORS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Chung Wah Seniors recently celebrated their 20th Christmas Party on Friday the 7th December. Approx 80 members and friends celebrated a scrumptious Christmas Lunch at the hall with the choir singing all the favourite Christmas Carols. Sister Mary who has been the key coordinator of the Choir was so embarrassed when we called her up for recognition of all her support, she slid off her chair to hide under the table, LOL. The Seniors have been meeting twice a month at the hall and the opportunity for all the Aunties, Uncles and "Old Friends" to get together for some home cooking by Aunty Leila and her band of volunteers has been one of our most popular and successful regular community functions held by our Society. The Group was formed in 1992 and has been a great success mainly due to the hard work and efforts of the Mother and Daughter team of Aunty Leila and Melanie Chin. This was the last Seniors "Get Together" for 2012 and will resumed at a date to be announced next year.

All CWS Carparkers - we are requesting that whilst you are on CWS premises, that you keep your speed limit to less than 20 km. It has been observed on several occasions, that some cars are entering/exiting the CWS premises at high speed. We have pedestrians, young children and Seniors on CWS premises at various times throughout the day and we ask that all drivers exercise a safe speed limit to ensure the safety of all. Your cooperation in observing a safe speed limit on CWS premises is appreciated.

A SAFE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS WISH TO EVERYONE

SENIORS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY

Mother and daughter team — Aunty Leila and Melanie Sister Mary

Our merry Volunteers

CHUNG WAH SOCIETY DRAGON & LION DANCE TROUPE’S SINGAPORE SPECTACULAR!

Earlier this year, the Chung Wah Society (CWS) Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe co-ordinators received an official invitation to attend the 25th anniversary dinner of the Tian Eng Dragon & Lion Dance Centre over in Singapore. Over the years, the troupe co-ordinators have established close relationships with lion dance troupes around Australia and in Asia. Tian Eng was established in Singapore in 1987 and its aim is to promote and preserve the Chinese culture, particularly in the arts of dragon and lion dancing. The troupe has entered numerous dragon and lion dance competitions around Asia and has won on many occasions. Most recently, the troupe were crowned champions in a traditional routine lion dance competition that was held in Penang.

A few members from the CWS Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe travelled to Singapore to celebrate this joyous occasion. On the 18th of November, the day began early in the morning with CWS members enjoying a nice breakfast of local delights, such as jook and roti prata! Upon arriving at the venue, many different lion dance troupes from around Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam started to arrive for that day’s proceedings. Events were kicked off by a traditional performance by a Teow Chew group that did a performance with drumming and around 20 gongs and 20 pairs of cymbals. The performance included dancing by 2 figures that were representing the connection of sending messages between heaven and earth.

A street parade then commenced which marked the arrival of all the troupes that were performing that day. It was a spectacular sight to see so many troupes marching down the street with each group proudly displaying their lions, dragons, and flags whilst marching to their own unique musical beat. One by one, each troupe arrived at the venue and paid their respects by having their dragon/lion bowing to the Tian Eng dragon and lions, and also to their main praying altar which was set up at the venue.

Throughout the afternoon we saw many dragon dance routines which were energetic and made the dragon appear as though it was floating majestically through the air. We also saw some very highly skilled lion dance routines that involved jumping around on high poles, known as “jongs”. These performances were amazing to watch as the lions appeared to just fly through the air, from pole to pole, and making it look so easy.

The highlight of the trip was attending the dinner, which had an impressive 850 person guest list. Nothing short of being treated like VIPs, the CWS members were treated to a fantastic dinner and many more wonderful dragon and lion dance performances. CWS Vice President, Daryl Chin, and dragon/lion dance co-ordinator Nathan Tam, were called up on stage and presented to Tian Eng’s sifu (master) some gifts on behalf of CWS and the Top End. CWS was then presented with a commemorative plaque in appreciation of our attendance to the dinner. Some of the great performances at the dinner included the eye-dotting of 25 new lions and 5 new dragons, drumming routines, high pole lion dance performances, and a U.V. glow-in-the-dark dragon dance performance.

This was the very first international outing for the CWS Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe and it was a fantastic trip and a great experience for all those that attended. Since attending the dinner, the CWS Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe is now on the world map and has appeared on a few international lion dancing websites and online forums. We not only represented Chung Wah Society and our dragon & lion dance branch, but we also represented Australia at this event. A proud moment for all!

Congratulations to Warren Wong and Kathleen Chong-Fong

on their engagement

CWS with Vietnam Team

CWS with Vietnam and Singapore Teams

Dragon Dance

Daryl and Nathan make presentation to TE Sifu

Lion on high poles

Roland, Shaun and Daryl

Big flag

NIGHTCLIFF RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL CLUB

When I finally moved permanently to Darwin in 1992 I became actively involved in the Nightcliff Rugby League Football Club - the Dragons. I served in various capacities on the committee including that of President. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the club and a celebration ball was held at the Darwin Sailing Club. I was a member of the organising committee. Being the Dragons and being the year of the Dragon, the Chung Wah troupe did an exceptional dance for the occasion. However when planning for the function we came across a ticket to a Dragons function in 1963, which was held at the Chung Wah Hall. The ticket for which was included as part of the ticket for the function this year. Cheers David (Pearson)

CHUNG WAH SOCIETY DRAGON & LION DANCE TROUPE

With the festive season fast approaching, the CWS Dragon & Lion Dance Troupe recently held their final training session for 2012. This was followed by a combined Christmas party for the junior and senior members of the troupe and their families. It was a great way to see off the year by sitting back and enjoying the delicious roasted pig, prepared by the Master Chef himself, Dennis Low. The senior troupe members held their own Secret Santa game with some very interesting gifts received by some. It was also a time to bid farewell some senior troupe members who are leaving Darwin to commence University courses interstate. Good luck guys and we hope to see you back real soon! We, at CWS, would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with the dragon & lion dance troupe and the amazing things they have done this year. As always, demand for the troupe is always growing and we appreciate the time and effort that each member and their families put in as volunteers to make this troupe so successful. You each contribute in your own way and it is great to see the juniors growing in numbers. It’s important to keep this element of our culture alive and to pass it down through the generations. The future looks strong. As we now break for the Xmas/New Year period, enjoy the time off and have a wonderful festive season. Training will resume in January 2013, a date is yet to be decided. Once we resume, we will be busy preparing for the 2013 Chinese New Year period, the busiest period on the lion dancing calendar. Some dates have also been confirmed for the Chinese New Year lion dance performances and shop blessings. Some dates to note are:

Saturday, 9th February 2013 – Eye dotting of new small lions and dragon. Sunday, 10th February 2013 – Chinese New Year’s Day, Year of the Snake. Friday, 15th February 2013 – Casuarina Shopping Square Shop Blessings. Saturday, 16th February 2013 – Darwin CBD and surrounding suburbs. Saturday, 23rd February 2013 – Northern Suburbs, Palmerston.

The troupe will also have many performances and blessings to conduct during the 15 day period after New Year.

Merry Christmas and have a very happy and safe New Year!

CWS JUNIOR LION DANCE - 2012 REFLECTIONS

By Wayne Lo “Chic ka boom!” sounded the final drum beat to signal the last CWS Junior Lion Dance training session for 2012...and what a year it was! The final training session was celebrated on Saturday 24 November that merged into a joint Junior and Senior Lion Dance Troupe family dinner at the CWS Hall. Our newly elected CWS committee member (and busy parent of junior lion dancers), Quen Foo, organised the evening with Steve Pearson while, to the delight of all the drooling tastebuds, Master Chef, Dennis Low, waved his magic over the rotisserie to make appear his famous crispy roast piglet and his succulent roast chickens…(yum, yum!). After a scrumptious dinner, some impromptu speeches were offered and presentations made. A special thanks to all the parents, friends and to the Senior Lion Dance Troupe for helping with the Juniors this year. Training will begin again in mid-January 2013. Reflections The Junior Lion Dance Troupe experiment began over 18 months ago with a few keen juniors. As this experiment continued to grow, its contagion infected more juniors. The infection became more apparent in the following months to a point where new measures were necessary to manage the increasing number of junior participants – now over 30 junior participants. This year, we have moved beyond the experimental phase by having the Juniors officially form their own identity with the introduction of personalised training uniforms. A formal training structure was developed to include group fitness training and rotations through workstations for learning specific skills (i.e. music, animation, etc.). A fun or competitive component (i.e. obstacle course or games) is usually included with the training. Due to the short attention span of this age group, this structure has provided good variety with an element of fun. As I see it, involving the Senior Lion Dance Troupe with the junior training is an essential part of succession planning for the future. Juniors will have gained their interest from seeing the Seniors perform. The Senior involvement provides a good opportunity to share their skills and to ensure the CWS lion dance culture continues. 2012 has seen the Juniors make their public debut in the local community through a number of events... Chinese New Year Street Dance Previously, Junior involvement has been restricted to tail duties in the lion and assisting with musical instruments...but, because of the overwhelming junior participants this year, it was agreed to trial the newly acquired baby lions to accompany the main lions for the shop blessings. The “cute” factor won the hearts of many on-lookers as the baby lion danced in the shadows of the main lion. CWS Chinese New Year Banquet Following on from the Street Dance, the opportunity to dance at the banquet along-side with the Senior Lion Dance Troupe at the CWS Hall was eagerly contested by Juniors despite the long day efforts with the shop blessings. Wearing the fluffy pants and illuminating the lion eyes was an opportunity too good to miss. Chinese New Year Parliament House Celebrations Hosted by the Chief Minister, the annual celebration saw the biggest ever CWS dance extravaganza on display involving 10 lions, dragon dance and fan dance by our Jade Dragons. Stuart Park Primary School Harmony Day Because we have more than 12 students of the school involved with the CWS Juniors Lion Dance Troupe, we accepted the invitation to participate in the school’s Harmony Day celebrations. The troupe received an arousing applause from their fellow students and teachers. Darwin Festival The Juniors rotated through the various dragon pole positions and substituted under head and tail lion positions during an afternoon parade performance through the hub of the Darwin Festival at the Civic Centre Gardens. The request to participate in the Festival was a precursor to the event, Little China.

Cont. on p7

Cont. from p6 Dreams and Visions Having a Junior Lion Dance Troupe is new ground that we have never travelled before. In taking this journey, we, as organisers, are aware that the future lies in our young people and investing our time and effort with the young people now will put us in a better position for the future. With competing demands on lives, resourcing of appropriate persons to assist with junior development will always be a challenge. To better manage our available resources and to further challenge our Juniors, training in the new year will see some proposed changes: • Numbers capped at 30 Juniors • Regular attendance necessary otherwise position offered to another Junior (i.e. 3 consecutive

absentees) • Introduction of an intermediate group • Competency-based grading • Multi-skilling in all facets of lion and dragon dance • Higher level of discipline

Final training for Juniors and Seniors

LOST

Chung Wah Society is missing one of the Gazebos used for the Darwin Show Stall.

If you have borrowed it or know of it's whereabouts, can you please let us know.

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