Part 1: From schoolyard to art conservation

Originating from folk music and dance, Cheo was born in the 10th century, reaching its peak in the late 19th century. With the pride of being one of the cradles of Cheo art, for many decades Thai Binh has nurtured talent, trained, and provided actors and musicians for professional Cheo art troupes throughout the country. Today, in the rice fields, in parallel with the vibrant activities of the Cheo Theater, the ancient Cheo of our ancestors is being actively preserved, promoted, and closely associated with contemporary social life.

Cheo art performance program for tourism at Khuoc Cheo village (Phong Chau commune, Dong Hung district).

In the province today, 100% of schools include traditional Cheo art in their curriculum. Many good, creative and suitable methods have been implemented at all levels, encouraging young children to get acquainted, practice singing, dancing and performing Cheo in the most natural and exciting way, thereby creating favorable conditions for young talents to be "incubated" and develop. Not only boldly expressing their passion on the school stage, many children are gradually becoming typical "nuclei" contributing to preserving the traditional art of their homeland.

Cheo singing and dancing at Dong Hoang Primary School (Tien Hai).

Nurturing talent

Enthusiastic and confident in their roles as hosts and connecting performances at the festival "Children get acquainted with traditional Cheo tunes of the homeland" organized by the Department of Education and Training, Nguyen Duy Phong and Hoang Do Thu Ha, 5-year-old class, Hong Tien Kindergarten (Kien Xuong) enthusiastically demonstrated their artistic talents on stage, attracting a large audience of attention and cheers. What is special is that this is the first time Duy Phong and Thu Ha have stood on a big stage, but thanks to the support and enthusiastic guidance of their teacher, they have mastered introducing many Cheo tunes such as: dao lieu, chuc cam hoi van, luyen nam cung, tu quy... At Hong Tien Kindergarten, through a variety of learning and experiential activities, especially acting and performing familiar stories, folk songs, and folk songs, children are increasingly attached to the art of Cheo.

Ms. Dang Thi Van, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Kien Xuong district, said: At the preschool level, schools have paid attention to raising awareness and understanding of the team of managers, teachers and staff about the art of Cheo; integrating traditional cultural education into the program of caring for, nurturing and educating children in accordance with the local cultural identity. Up to now, parents and people have strongly supported and effectively coordinated with schools to bring traditional Cheo art into schools. Many teachers with a talent for singing Cheo have composed Cheo songs themselves, adapted literary works, folk songs and folk songs suitable for the age of preschool children into attractive Cheo scripts. These activities contribute to "nurturing" and sowing in children's hearts from an early age feelings of love and passion for learning about the art of Cheo. In addition, getting acquainted with the art of Cheo also contributes to creating a friendly educational environment, implementing the school year theme "Building a happy kindergarten, taking children as the center".

Exciting movement of practicing and performing Cheo in kindergartens.

Forming the next generation

Not only in preschool age, the development of artistic talent has created favorable conditions for many young talents to "shine", nurturing their passion for the art of Cheo. Thanks to that, all 4 times the young artistic talent competition of Thai Binh province was held, there were contestants who won high prizes in the Cheo art form. In particular, the second competition in 2018 with Le Quang Vinh (Thai Binh city) won first prize after an excellent performance of the Cheo singing performance "Quan Nghinh Huong". With the support of his family and teachers, and the efforts to support the development of his passion and talent for the art of Cheo, after the competition, Le Quang Vinh continued to try his hand at many national competitions and festivals. In 2020, he won the "Best Children's Voice" award with the Cheo song "Nho lam truong oi" at the folk music competition to promote the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic. In 2022, he and the dance group of Tran Phu Secondary School won the gold medal at the national youth melody competition with the medley of Xam - Cheo - Chau Van. This success contributed to the second prize of the entire delegation of the Thai Binh provincial education sector at the national youth melody competition. In parallel with studying at school, Le Quang Vinh also actively participated with local Cheo clubs to develop the mass art movement. In 2023, he was one of the outstanding members of the art troupe of residential group No. 9, Tran Hung Dao ward (Thai Binh city) participating and winning the first prize of the entire delegation at the mass art festival of typical cultural villages and residential groups in the province.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hien, Director of the Department of Education and Training, shared: In 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2489/QD-UBND approving the project on developing Cheo art in preschools, general education institutions, vocational education centers - continuing education in Thai Binh province for the period 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030. The Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to direct, organize and guide educational institutions to implement the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the use of cultural heritage in teaching at schools. Regarding the model of teaching Cheo art in schools, up to now, 100% of units have brought Cheo art into schools in a creative and flexible way, suitable to the educational program, with the characteristics of each level of education and the practical conditions of the unit. Many diverse and rich forms are implemented such as schoolyard singing and dancing, extracurricular activities, thematic activities, cultural exchanges on major holidays... In addition, the establishment and maintenance of Cheo clubs for students is effectively implemented by many educational institutions.

Performance of the folk song "Ke hanh ru ke" by Quach Ha Linh, Phong Chau commune (Dong Hung) at the contest "I love folk songs" organized by the Provincial Youth Center.

A positive sign from the art of Cheo getting closer to the younger generation is that in the 2023-2024 school year, after a period of many difficulties in enrollment, the Cheo college class of the Provincial College of Culture and Arts has received many registrations. In addition, the traditional musical instrument class exceeded the enrollment target by 30% compared to the previous year. Also at this school, hundreds of teachers from kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools in the province have participated in training courses on Cheo teaching methods in schools. The close attention of authorities at all levels and functional sectors is gradually forming the next generation of Cheo art in the rice fields of Thai Binh.