Colours of Malaysia 2013 (Citrawarna 缤纷的马来西亚)

6,700 performers and participants took part in 2013 edition of “Colours of Malaysia”.

This is an annual event on its 15th instalment since 1999.

News media published 100,000 visitors, but it looked like 10,000+ because the dancers seemed to out numbered the audiences.

One of the reason could be the rain and thunders at a distant.

The 200 Porsches graced the event was lucky because they have covers above their heads.

Some of the dancers are as young as 6 years old, and also senior citizens.

We were already late when reaching Dataran Merdeka (Kuala Lumpur). The available light were limited.

Most of the participants are pupils, including international students.

Some performers are preparing at the backstage.

Most of the students gathered behind the Sultan Abdul Samad building, next to the Klang River.

It was getting dark and I couldn’t get the best colours from their costumes.

By 7:30pm, the seats and roadside were crowded with audiences.

Everyone waited and waited for the arrival of the VIPs. The night sky started with lightning at a distance, and started drizzling. Participants and audiences could not help wondering ‘”would it rain?” and “when would the event actually start?”.

By 9pm, the show was ready to roll. You could see the similar happy grin on my face.

Some official publications equate Colours of Malaysia to the Rio Carnival Samba Parade. I think we are still far from the world class carnival but it is better than none.

The program has 15 segments or themes.

There were few floats, some really need some improvement work to bring the world stage. The rest were: mobile dustbin, bicycles, superbikes (cool team of solely lady bikers), 200 Porsches, tricycles etc.

I used a point and shot camera to record video for most scenes. For better quality pictures, please refer to the news media. Only media were allowed to roam at the avenue. As a tourist, your view might be obstructed by the security guards, structure beams or other obstructions.

Most of the presentations, especially those with mobile sign boards, were facing the paid audiences and invited guests (travel writers and media). We could see how the backdrop (behind the scene). It was kind of fun to view the props without colours, very different from what you could see o TV live broadcast.

So anytime when the performers are facing the audiences and real tourists, the crowd went gaga.

I have to give big applauses to the fellow Malaysian performers who gave their 100% performance despite the rain. I seen few of them felt down on the slipper rubber mat. You can see the dirty water on the floor, there was where all the performers sit on during the show.

I am grateful that Malaysia is truly a colourful country. I do not like to use flash but when the condition is dark (some Malaysians call it BLACK), we need some lights.