JOHOR BARU: Four hundred zapin dancers and musicians from three countries will take part in 'Festival Hujung Medini: Zapin Rumpun Melayu' event organised by Johor Heritage Foundation (JHF) this weekend.
The zapin festival, happening this Saturday and Sunday night at Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Indoor Stadium, will feature dance troupes from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, each with their own unique take on the popular Malay dance form.
Held for the first time, visitors will be able to see performances of variations of zapin dances from the three nations with Malaysia being represented by Johor, the home of the Zapin Melayu Johor.
JHF director Mohd Shahrin Rahmat said:"It will be a monumental event that will further propel the heritage of Zapin at the international level.
"That is what Johor aims to do as various efforts has been done to make our Zapin known worldwide," he said.
Shahrin said so far, JHF has brought Johor Zapin performances to various countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and many countries in Southeast Asia.
"The Australian people were so fascinated with our Zapin dance and not too long ago, our JHF Zapin dancers were involved with Datuk Siti Nurhaliza's Royal Albert Hall concert in London where again, Zapin was being showcased to a global audience," said.
State Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan said the state government was bullish in getting the Zapin dance art to be recognised and gazetted under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a global heritage.
"We have been working for the past two year to obtain UNESCO's recognition.
"But even with the study and documentation of the Zapin art particularly in Johor, it is not that easy," said Zulkurnain.
He added the Johor's Zapin has many forms and variations and so far a study revealed that there are 18 types of Zapin dance.
"There may be more and we are working on it. Meanwhile, the research done by JHF has concluded that there are at least 21 variants of Zapin dance in the state." he said.
Zulkurnain believed JHF is compiling all the study for it to submit to UNESCO to get a recognition similar to other forms of dances such as Mak Yong from Kelantan.
Admission is free. The dance festival will start at 8pm on both nights.