A group of traditional artists is working to offer a new art programme to preserve traditional Vietnamese music and theatre in secondary schools in HCM City.
Dozens of young and veteran artists have participated in a new art programme preserving traditional Vietnamese music and theatre. Photo courtesy of the organiser
The programme is called Dong Nhac Mang Am Huong Dan Ca (Vietnamese Folk Music and Theatre) and was launched by private art troupes Bac Son of Long An Province and Lac Long Quan Drama Club of HCM City.
It attracts veteran artists in folk music, cai luong (reformed opera) and tuong or hat boi (classical drama), two traditional genres of Vietnamese theatre that began a hundred years ago.
Highlighted artists include folk singers Ha Chau and Bich Thuy, cai luong stars Le Trung Thao and Binh Tinh.
Australian-Vietnamese cai luong actress Thanh Hang is also featured.
The artists visit and perform Vietnamese folk songs and dances, and one and two-act shows in cai luong and tuong for students from 20 schools around the city this year.
Traditional instruments used in Vietnamese theatre are also introduced.
Cai luong performer Thanh Hang performs and talks about folk music and cai luong, a symbolic form of Vietnamese theatre that originated and expanded in the southern Viet Nam, for students of the Le Trong Tan Secondary School in Tan Phu District in HCM City. Photo courtesy of the organiser
Cai luong actress Hang and young actors of Bac Son Art Troupe opened the programme with performances of Vietnamese folk music for several hundred students from schools in Tan Phu Districts last week.
They also performed cai luong, a symbolic form of Vietnamese theatre that originated and expanded in the southern Viet Nam, particularly in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces.
“We hope to encourage students to love traditional music and theatre after watching our live performances at school,” said cai luong actress Hang, who has worked in the industry for 40 years.
Hang has performed in 30 cai luong plays and dozens of TV shows and has worked to expand cai luong to fans.
She won seven top prizes at national traditional theatre contests and festivals launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Viet Nam Theatre Association.
Hang was invited to join the programme by her friend, theatre actress and singer Binh Thuy, head of Bac Son Art Troupe.
Thuy’s troupe launched its YouTube channel featuring folk and traditional music and songs portraying southern people and their culture last year.
The troupe has worked with Long An Province Radio & Television and An Nong Group to produce and air plays about Vietnamese culture and lifestyle.
“We hope singers, composers, theatre artists and producers can work together to expand Vietnamese music and theatre among young generations,” said Thuy, one of the programme’s founders.