Traditional Vietnamese water puppetry conquers Russian audiences

The 18-member Thang Long Water Puppetry Theater troupe performed traditional folk music and water puppetry in Moscow and Voronezh.

A group of Vietnamese artists will perform in Russia at the invitation of the Organizing Committee of the 16th Chekhov International Theatre Festival from June 2 to June 18.

The performances of Thang Long Puppetry Theatre are mainly taken from legends and folk tales in the history of the Vietnamese people such as Cu Teu , Dragon Dance , Buffalo Herder Playing the Flute, Legend of Le Loi Returning the Magic Sword , Phoenix Dance , Lion Dance ...

A performance in the show. (Source: VNA)

Russian audiences did not miss the opportunity to witness unique performances of Vietnamese culture after a period of interruption of exchange activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Every performance was packed with spectators. Each performance received a standing ovation, forcing the artists, instead of greeting the audience once, to appear again and again to wave to the audience.

In Voronezh, the performances of the artists of Thang Long Puppetry Theater left a deep impression, not only in the hearts of Russian audiences, but also in the Vietnamese community here, including the second and third generation children of Vietnamese people in Voronezh.

Lyudmila, a Moscow resident, said this was the first time she had seen such an impressive performance. “It was really interesting, the colors were very bright. I really liked the musicians and the water puppets. Of course, this was a very special show,” she said.

Meritorious Artist Bach Quoc Khanh confided: "The audience's reaction was very enthusiastic and they felt that traditional Vietnamese art, especially water puppetry, is very magical and very unique."

According to the artists, the most impressive thing is that the Russian audience is very enthusiastic and loves traditional art. He recalled that during the first performances of traditional Vietnamese music, the outdoor stage was as cold as 6 degrees Celsius, but the audience still stood in the rain and held umbrellas to watch.

The artist shared: "After the performance, they shared a lot with the artists. They gave flowers, gifts and asked a lot about the weather, about life, about Vietnamese people."

For his part, the head of the troupe, Meritorious Artist Tran Thanh Hien, Director of Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, said this was the third time the theater's artists performed in the Russian Federation.

Due to the limited number of crew members, the artists had to work 200% more than in Vietnam. However, this was motivated by the enthusiastic response of the audience in the beautiful country of Russia.

This is the greatest motivation, encouraging the artists to perform their best to serve the Russian audience.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/mua-roi-nuoc-truyen-thong-viet-nam-chinh-phuc-khan-gia-nga-231405.html