Malaysia’s first female lion dance coach juggles day job with raising new generation of cultural bearers
The Straits Times
Tan Yee Lee was officially recognised by the Malaysian Book of Records in February 2026. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Like for many a young female professional in Malaysia, it has become a near daily routine for Ms Tan Yee Lee to get ready for her “second shift” after knocking off work.
But instead heading to a spin or yoga class, she sets up wooden benches and ornamental lion heads for a practice session with trainees of her lion dance troupe in Rantau, Negeri Sembilan.
Master Tan, as the coach is known to her troupe at the Rantau Dragon & Lion Dance Association, was officially recognised as her country’s first female lion dance trainer in the Malaysian Book of Records on Feb 8, 2026.
The recognition was ovedue. She received her licence in 2018, and has led her charges to hundreds of lion dance performances since.
“We need to pass down this culture we inherited,” said Ms Tan, who first started learning the ropes and moves as a 12-year-old, after getting exposed to the traditional dance by her father, a former lion dance practitioner.
Her day job is in business development for a petroleum retailer.
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