These days, the artistes of the Da Nang-based Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong (Classic drama) Theater are practicing hard to bring the art programme ‘Vietnamese soul’ back to the public on November 16. In addition, the theater is actively working with travel agencies to attract more audience members to this upcoming much-awaited show, a way to contribute to promoting the art of Quang's tuong to the public at home and abroad.
Artistes of the Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong Theater perform the Tuong excerpt ‘Nguyet Co turn herself into a fox’ in the ‘Vietnamese soul’ art program. Photo: Xuan Dung
The stage lights up again
2019 was considered to be a very effective year of the Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong Theater with the organisation of nearly 300 performances of the ‘Vietnamese soul’ art programme to serve both locals and visitors. In particular, there were days of hard work during which artistes had to stretch themselves to perform 2 - 3 shows. Those initial pressures also passed away when these shows received a great appreciation and applause from the public.
This 60-minute show is deeply imbued with distinctive cultural Vietnamese traditions, especially those of the Quang Nam - Da Nang land, having gradually drawn a great deal of attention of both locals and visitors, hereby preserving and promoting the time-honoured stage performing arts forms.
With all of the above, it can be affirmed that the theater’s staff has succeeded in turning the art of Tuong into a typical local tourism product. Following 2-year closure triggered by COVID-19, the theater decided to resume the ‘Vietnamese soul’ programme - a ‘spiritual child’ in service for the public from November 16.
Currently, the theater is in a rush to prepare all conditions in terms of facilities, human resources, art elements, and connecting with travel agencies as well, to bring the stage back to light regularly.This comeback is not only the joy for the artistes but also the public, especially local residents with warm response to the programme.
Truong Le Phong residing in Son Tra District said that she has been enjoying ‘Vietnamese soul’ shows since 2019 and is looking forward to this show's return.“Two years of COVID-19 disrupted many social activities, including stage performances. Currently, the social situation has returned to normal, tourism is recovering strongly, so it is necessary to bring the ‘Vietnamese soul’ programme back. On the other hand, it is also necessary to promote this programme because the traditional art of Viet Nam is facing a shortage of audience”, said Ms. Phong.
Meanwhile, Ms. Tran My Quyen from Hai Chau District, the Director of a local travel agency said, “Da Nang is a tourist city, beautiful and friendly. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve and further spread more cultural traditions and folk arts such as Tuong, ‘bai choi’ (singing while acting as playing cards) and Cham dance to tourists”.
Bringing ‘Vietnamese soul’ into local cultural product
In the context of Da Nang gradually restoring tourism, the return of the ‘Vietnamese soul’ art programme is being strongly supported by travel agencies. According to Ho Vu Hieu, the Chairman of the English Tour Guide Club of the Da Nang Tourist Guides’ Association, every tourism hub must have a few highly-traditional traditional art shows. For example, visitors can enjoy ‘The Romantic Show of Songcheng’ show in Hangzhou (China), ‘Impressive Siem Reap’ in the namesake Cambodian city and ‘Hoi An Memories’ in the namesake city in Quang Nam Province. However, when coming to Da Nang, tourists rarely have entertainment programmes, so it is very necessary to put the show ‘Vietnamese soul’ into service with a high frequency.
“With the goal of turning this show into a local cultural product, the theater needs to help visitors understand the message of each performance through the active engagement of tour guides in the introduction task. At the same time, it is a good idea to run the subtitles in a language suitable for the group of guests being served, suggested Mr. Hieu.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cao Tri Dung, the Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, said that, when learning about local culture and tourism, tourists have a tendency to see traditional art performances. Meanwhile, at present, Da Nang does not have periodical and regular traditional art performances to serve the needs of tourists. Therefore, it is necessary to develop ‘Vietnamese soul’ into a unique cultural product of Da Nang- the central Vietnamese tourism hub.
“We want the tourism and travel business community to stand side by side with the Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong Theater to maintain and keep the show ‘Vietnamese Soul’ during this the initial period, until the Lunar New Year, and then going through summer 2023 when Da Nang welcomes large tourist numbers”, said the theatre’s leader.
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7 attractive performances of ‘Vietnamese soul’ programme
The show comprises of 7 performances, namely a performance called ‘ Origin’ featuring the melodies of traditional Vietnamese musical instruments, especially ‘dan da’ (lithophone) consisting of pieces of rock which are struck to produce musical notes; a Tuong extract, ‘My hometown festival’, featuring a story in which an old man carries his young wife on his back to the fest; a solo performance of ‘dan bau’ (Vietnamese monochord zither), a unique traditional stringed instrument of Viet Nam, in a tranquil ambience; Cham Apsara dancing performance named ‘The Moon Comes Over the Ancient Tower’; a popular excerpt ‘Nguyet Co turns herself into a fox”; showing their flexible skills in a Cham dance; ‘River wharf of love’ and the instruction of Tuong’s typical make-up methods.
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Reporting by Xuan Dung - Translating by A.Thu