Lee Pei Fen steals the show at Getai Awards in centaur costume

She had two left feet in her centaur costume, that of a mythological creature, half-horse and half-human.

But that did not stop getai artiste Lee Pei Fen, 27, from perfectly executing her song and dance item in the opening act of the annual Shin Min/Wanbao Getai Awards last night.

The ceremony, in its sixth year, honours the best local getai talents. It was held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Speaking to The New Paper before the show, Lee, who later won the award for Best Female Emcee, said that although she was extremely nervous about her performance, she was confident that the audience would enjoy this year's Chinese martial arts and swordplay theme for the ceremony.

And boy, was she right.

Close to 6,000 people, mostly in their 50s and 60s, packed the hall and were cheering loudly and popping confetti every time their favourite getai artistes appeared on stage.

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The evening also saw vibrant performances, colourful costumes and elaborate stage designs that incorporated traditional and modern elements, like Chinese traditional drums and pyrotechnic displays.

Raised 3m above the stage on a platform and donning the elaborate centaur get-up, Lee captured the attention of the audience with her heartfelt rendition of popular Mandarin song Riding On A White Horse.

LOUD APPLAUSE

Her performance with famed getai artiste Hao Hao was also met with loud applause and whistles from the crowd.

The guest of honour for the event was President Tony Tan Keng Yam. The special guest was Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan Jin.

Award-winning local film-maker Royston Tan, 38, was the show's artistic director for the second year running. And aptly so, as he is the man who, eight years ago, gave getai a new lease of life with his hit movie 881.

Said Tan: "When the organisers approached me to help out, I immediately said yes. Getai is very important to me, so participating in this ceremony is my way of giving back and preserving getai.

"This year, because of the Jubilee celebrations, we wanted to bring in a little getai history and we went with a Chinese fairy tale kind of theme."

Tan was so committed to his role that he even pushed back the premiere of his latest movie 3688 at the Busan International Film Festival to oversee the awards ceremony.

He added: "It also helps that the organisers give me free play to do whatever I want, and I like to be 'out of this world' and provide my audience with a visual feast."