Traffic hits bottom line for dance troupes

The curse of traffic congestion is hurting a number of dragon dance troupes as Chinese New Year approaches.

“It takes so much time to get to each show, we couldn’t play as many shows this year as we have done in previous years,” said Ko Mg Toe, leader of the Sky Dragon kung-fu and dance club. “Last year, we could play about eight shows a day, but now we can only play five.”


The group performs at a number of events, including opening ceremonies, shop openings, weddings and other celebrations. But lions do not come cheap: each performance costs from K300,000-K1 million.

“We need to invest in our costumes and they need to changed yearly,” he said.

Some costumes are handmade, while some are imported from Singapore. The owner of one dragon dance costume shop told The Myanmar Times that dragon dance groups invest about K8 million a year in costumes and props.

“Dragon dance groups always change their costumes and suit design for their performances every year,” he said.

And February is the big month for dance competitions. This year Junction Square shopping mall is hosting a three-day competition starting February 6 that Sint O Dan Road in Latha township will celebrate five days of competition starting February 11, said Ko Zaw Min Htut, the leader of Blue Blood dragon dance group.

But getting to competitions is neither easy nor cheap. Dance groups usually hire two vehicles and about 15 labourers to carry their costumes and iron frames to shows and competitions. Each vehicles costs up to K50,000 a day while each labourer costs K5000 a day.

The high costs mean some groups have fallen on hard times.

“This year there are only about half the competitions there are last year and show invitations have declined, so it’s harder to cover our investment,” Ko Zaw Min Htut said.

source: The Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/4066-traffic-hits-bottom-line-for-dance-troupes.html