Cycling back to the past

SINGAPORE — As one of the most well-known acrobatic cycling troupes in Singapore in the 1980s, the Kong Chow Clan Acrobatic Cycling Troupe had to perform jaw-dropping, sometimes dangerous, stunts, some of which involved balancing on a bicycle like a pyramid or cycling while holding onto each other like a dragon.

Reminiscing about the stories her father Chia Kum Loke, who was one of the pioneer members in the troupe, shared with her, Judy Chia, a freelance show presenter, said the acrobatic stunts required intensive training to master them. She added that members also needed to be willing to put in the hard work.

“It took many years of training…you had to be flexible or agile enough,” said Chia. “It also involves a lot of chemistry and trust.”

The 37-year-old was speaking to TODAY because her father had recently agreed to lend some of his old photographs of the troupe with the National Heritage Board (NHB) for educational purposes. The 74-year-old was unable to speak to TODAY because he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and has problem speaking.

Citing the example of the “Pile-Up Arts”, which was the troupe’s trademark stunt then, Chia said it required nine members stacking themselves onto each other while balancing on one bicycle. This means the people balancing at the lower levels have to be able to support those at the top. “They needed to commit to (the stunt) and build trust among the members,” she said.

Another stunt, A Single Dragon, required a string of nine to 10 members riding uni-cycles while hanging on to each other. “As long as one person falls from the bicycle, all of them will fall too. Which means they have to perform the stunt all over again,” she recounted.

To prevent mishaps, the cycling troupe’s members are taught how to fall off their bicycles as part of their training. “Learning how to fall is an important skill set for performers, so they will not hurt themselves when they fall off from performing their stunts while they are high up,” noted Chia.

The Kong Chow Clan Acrobatic Cycling Troupe was formed in 1957 by two masters, Lim Hiang Ghee and Chan Yew Ham.

Both of them were veteran professional acrobatic cycling performers during the 1930s and 1940s. Chia’s father, who joined the clan when he was 15, was one of their youngest members.

Because of his youth and fitness, Chia’s father was always selected to climb to the top for the “Pile-Up Arts” routine.

“He enjoyed it. He loved being part of this association and having a skill that he can be proud of,” shared Chia.

For the next three decades, the troupe went on to train more than a hundred acrobatic cyclists, performing an average of eight to 10 performances every year. They had a repertoire of some 20 acrobatic cycling stunts.

In its heyday in the 1980s, it was invited to perform in events such as the National Day Parade, Chingay procession and charity shows. However in the 1990s, the troupe disbanded after interest among the youths waned.

NHB’s Assistant Chief Executive (Policy & Community) Alvin Tan felt that the old photographs shared by the elder Chia is important to Singapore heritage. “We were intrigued by the little known story of the troupe and are grateful to the Chia family for entrusting us with their old photographs. They provide us with rare visual insights into an early form of entertainment offered by the clan,” Tan said.

On why her father decided to offer his photographs, Chia said they were inspired after watching a Mediacorp Channel 8 programme Hello Singapore. A segment of the programme talked about clans in Singapore, and the Kong Chow Clan Acrobatic Cycling Troupe was mentioned. This made them more aware of the need to preserve Singapore’s heritage, so Chia approached NHB last year to share with them her father’s role as a pioneer member in the troupe.

“He’s very proud he was able to perform in Chingay and NDP. Whenever he looked through the albums that depicts his past performances, he would show me the pictures. You can really see the pride on his face,” she said.

NHB will be sharing selected photographs of the Kong Chow Clan Acrobatic Cycling Troupe on its roots.sg portal on Monday (June 20).