Cultural Ambassadors

Hoi An artists participate in cultural exchange in Korea. Photo: Hoi An Cultural Center

The artists of Hoi An Traditional Arts Performance House (part of Hoi An Center for Culture, Sports and Tourism - established in 1996) are still working hard to make connections beyond the country's borders.

Take on many roles

With her strong foreign language skills, Thu Ly joined the Hoi An City Center for Culture, Sports and Tourism as a presenter of festival programs in both Vietnamese and English. At the same time, she taught folk singing to students of high schools in Hoi An. Thu Ly can also participate in singing, folk dancing, and Bai Choi performances. She became a regular collaborator of the Traditional Arts Performance House and was selected to tour abroad.

Thu Ly said: “Due to many different conditions, overseas tours often limit the number of members. To ensure the program’s duration, each actor must take on many roles, from folk singing, bai choi to dancing” - Thu Ly said.

Each actor usually has to wear many costumes at the same time. After each performance, they quickly change their costumes and continue performing. The audience sitting below thought that the Hoi An troupe had a lot of actors participating. "They were also really surprised and admired when they learned that the Vietnamese troupe has very few actors but can perform such a complete program" - Thu Ly shared.

Being from Duy Xuyen, having loved the bamboo flute since childhood, Nguyen Quang Nam often went to watch the elderly play traditional musical instruments, then went home to practice playing the flute himself. After that, he often followed the monochord artist Duong Tan Sanh to Hoi An to perform at festivals.

When Hoi An established the Traditional Arts Performance Hall, Nguyen Quang Nam was chosen to join the band. From then on, he was determined to find a teacher to learn more about music theory and music theory, and how to play the Hmong flute, saranai trumpet, and monochord.

Thanks to his diverse musical instrument skills, Nguyen Quang Nam is a frequent target when the Performing Artist tours abroad with colleagues Minh Nhanh, Thu Ly, Thanh Tuan, Kieu Trang, Dinh Ngoc...

“The first time I was chosen to tour abroad, I was both proud and worried, because I was under a lot of personal psychological pressure. But then, after months of hard training, my confidence gradually increased. Thanks to the foundation I already had, in each program I can switch between different musical instruments to perform in the repertoire,” said Nguyen Quang Nam.

Sing in your language

Mr. Vo Phung - Former Director of the Center for Culture, Sports and Tourism is considered the "manager" of the Hoi An Traditional Arts Performance House's overseas tours. Starting from the admiration of those who love traditional culture, Hoi An artists had their first performance program in the French-speaking Community, held in Hong Kong.

A performance of Bai Choi singing by Hoi An Traditional Arts Performance House. Photo: Hoi An Cultural Center

Not only bringing their own identity to the host country, from Mr. Vo Phung's suggestion, the Hoi An artist group made an effort to practice more folk songs of the host country to perform, creating a better effect on the audience.
Artists have remixed foreign folk songs, recorded them as background beats for performances such as Korea's "Arirang" or Hungary's "A Csitári Hegyek Alatt", as well as many folk songs from other countries.

After the first time going abroad through Hong Kong, Hoi An Traditional Arts Performance House was sponsored and invited to perform in many countries around the world such as: Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Korea, Japan, Thailand...

Mr. Vo Phung said that the luckiest and most memorable thing for him and the artists was the dedicated help of the embassy and overseas Vietnamese in other countries.

“It is from those loving hearts that we are determined to create more elaborate and unique performances to serve. The happiest thing that remains in us until now is that on the opening nights, we received the love and enthusiastic support of the audience who attended the program in the host countries” - Mr. Vo Phung added.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lanh - Vice Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee shared that through the performances abroad, members of the Performance House have approached and learned experiences in program building, performance organization; connected with many international friends. They have brought the image and beauty of Vietnamese culture as well as Quang culture to foreign audiences.

“The traditional art performance house has been present almost everywhere in Vietnam and has been invited to perform in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Korea, Italy, Hungary, Germany, etc. This is a way to express and introduce many typical and unique folk art forms of Hoi An to friends near and far, thereby demonstrating the creativity and outstanding cultural heritage of the Hoi An community,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Lanh.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nhung-su-gia-van-hoa-3145377.html