'Permata Seni' Children Leave Indelible Impression On Dubai

From Abdul Muin Majid DUBAI (United Arab Emirates), July 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's young "Permata Seni" (Jewel of the Arts) performers took Dubai by storm with a series of spectacular performances that left audiences clamouring for more. The youngsters put their astounding talents on show as they performed at three venues in conjunction with the ongoing 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness being hosted by Dubai. The 70 Malaysians comprising musicians, dancers and choir singers put their heart and soul into their respective routines, resulting in polished performances belying their young age that drew glowing praise from spectators. "Seeing such lively, energetic and talented children performing just took me back into my element and I'm so happy that I was part of the crowd," said Singaporean Suryani Said-Piracci, a former school teacher who had experience in theatre production, including the 'Lion King'. "It was really high energy, with talent abound, the colours, the spectacle -- it's all 300 per cent," she said when met after the Permata Seni performance at a gathering attended by members of the Malaysian community and Friends of Malaysia organised in conjunction with the participation of the wife of the Malaysian prime minister, Rosmah Mansor, at the conference. Such was the talent of the young Malaysians that Suryani said that foreign talk show personalities grabbing the children to be on their shows was not a far-fetched possibility. Permata Seni is an education programme aimed at developing the artistic talents of Malaysian children between the ages of six and 12. Launched in January 2010, the programme is the brainchild of Rosmah, who is also Permata Seni patron. It is divided into three mentoring programmes -- choir, music and dance. The programme is managed by the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry through the Department of Culture and Arts as well as Istana Budaya (Palace of Culture). In their maiden appearance in the Middle East, members of Permata Seni also put up splendid performances in conjunction with the 'Dubai Summer Surprises Festival 2012' as well as the 'Children and Youth Summit', which is part of the Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness. The decibel levels in the gymnasium hall at Dubai's Institute of Applied Technology (IAT), the venue of the Children and Youth Summit, went through the roof as spectators cheered during Permata Seni's performance of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen', 'Mama Mia' and 'I Have a Dream' as well as the dance numbers. The scene was repeated during the various segments of all three Permata Seni shows in Dubai which is currently experiencing hot summer weather with the mercury soaring way past 40 degrees Celsius during the day. Kuwaiti Dana Al-Rashidi, 17, described the Permata Seni show at the IAT as "great and gorgeous". "It was unbelievable. I didn't expect such young children to be that talented. It's something that the whole world should know," she said with youthful exuberance. Her sentiments were shared by many other summit participants who said that culture could serve as a bridge to bring people from different parts of the world closer. A chief engineer with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, Mamdouh Sobhy Mohamed Refaei, said Permata Seni members had done a good job in promoting Malaysian culture abroad. "My daughter is going to study in Malaysia soon. I hope that she'll be able to see more of Malaysian culture and other aspects of Malaysia when she gets there," said the Egyptian. (photoBERNAMA) MALAYSIA