Kien Xuong: Good practices in preserving traditional Cheo art

“My hometown is so beautiful, the vast waves of rice are fragrant with flowers/My hometown Binh Dinh is deeply imbued with flavor…” are the opening lyrics for the Cheo dance performed by nearly 100 students and teachers at the Cheo Club of Binh Dinh Primary School. Currently, in Kien Xuong district, all communes and towns have Cheo Clubs with many exciting activities.

Teachers and students of Binh Dinh Primary School practice singing Cheo.

Replicating the bright spots

As one of the regularly operating rowing clubs in Kien Xuong district, Vu Binh commune rowing club has more than 90 members, the youngest of whom is over 20 years old, the oldest over 70 years old. Both men and women participate in the activities, and the members are from many professions, but every club meeting is very crowded.

Ms. Phan Thi Tuoi, the club's chairwoman, said: Along with the love and desire to contribute to preserving traditional arts, one of the reasons that encourages the spirit of the brothers and sisters in the club is that they always receive close attention from the district's Cultural and Sports Center. Club members have participated in a number of training courses organized by the district, have the skills to sing and dance cheo, and are also provided with costumes and some equipment for performance, so during anniversaries or local festivals, the club enthusiastically contributes cheo performances.

Currently, in Vu Binh commune, not only the commune cultural house but also the villages have spacious cultural houses, which are the regular meeting places of cultural and artistic clubs. Therefore, if in the past, the grassroots Cheo clubs often had difficulties in terms of practice locations, loudspeakers, and performance costumes, now the village and commune cultural houses are gradually meeting the needs of the people.

Vu Binh commune Cheo club with a Cheo performance praising the homeland and country.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ca, a member of the Cheo Club of Vu Binh commune, said: If you don't love Cheo, you can't sing or dance. I've been passionate about Cheo for a long time, but I never thought I could sing Cheo or perform Cheo. Since attending some training courses at the District Culture and Sports Center, we have understood Cheo, grasped the basic skills, and the club practices every week, so it's working very well now. The current problem is that there are no musicians, most of them sing and dance to pre-recorded music, so we really hope to be trained in percussion in Cheo, so that the club can stage and perform it itself.

Vu Binh Commune Cheo Club is one of the new clubs to participate in the Cheo art training course organized by the District Culture and Sports Center. From the legitimate needs of Cheo lovers, in the coming time, Kien Xuong District will continue to organize more training courses, practically supporting the maintenance of regular activities at the grassroots level. From the vibrant movement at key clubs such as Vu Binh Commune Cheo Club, it will gradually contribute to spreading the love of Cheo art, forming and developing clubs in other villages and communes.

Caring for the next generation of traditional art

In July 2023, the Kien Xuong District Culture and Sports Center coordinated with the People's Committee of Binh Dinh Commune to organize a Cheo singing and dancing class at Binh Dinh Primary School. Excitedly participating in the class, nearly 100 students and teachers practiced Cheo songs about school and hometown. With simple, easy-to-understand and easy-to-remember lyrics, the art of Cheo becomes closer to students.

Tran Tue Linh, class 5A, Binh Dinh Primary School shared: I am very happy and proud to be taught Cheo singing and dancing by my teachers. In the coming school year, I hope to learn more Cheo to preserve the traditional culture of my homeland.

From the excitement of the school's rowing club activities, parents and students all hope that the teaching and activities of the school's rowing club will take place regularly not only during the summer but throughout the upcoming school year.

Teacher Bui Thi Phuong, Binh Dinh Primary School, added: With members being teachers and core students of 18 classes, the club is currently practicing hard to prepare the performance for the new school year, especially on the opening day of the school, there will be a Cheo singing and dancing performance for 700 students and teachers of the whole school. In this new school year, the school's team will also maintain at least 2-3 extracurricular activities and group singing and dancing per week to preserve and promote traditional arts.

Cheo is for everyone, of all ages, from students still wearing red scarves like at Binh Dinh Primary School, to the elderly at Vu Binh Commune Cheo Club. Love and passion for traditional art is like an invisible but strong thread that creates a bond between generations. Along with countless children of rice fields across the S-shaped strip of land, they hope that the art of Cheo will soon be recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.