Seeing the soldiers disguised as women dancing gracefully amidst the joyful cheers of the insurgents and villagers, King Phung Hung jokingly called them "whores" (the word "whore" at that time was used to refer to men disguised as women and did not have a negative connotation).
The special feature of this dance is that the dancers are young, unmarried men with good looks, coming from well-educated families in the village. The boys are painted with lipstick and powder, with red lips and rosy cheeks, wearing skirts or black silk pants, and a peach silk scarf embroidered with a phoenix motif with a fringed border hanging down over their shoulders, and a crow's beak scarf on their heads.
In front of each person's belly is a small red drum, secured with a red silk strip skillfully tied behind the back.
Although it is just a simple dance of spinning, stretching arms, bending legs, leaning back, and putting faces on each other's chests, thanks to the juggling orchestra, the hearty drum beats, the rhythmic, flirtatious dance, and the expressive eyes... the surrounding spectators are all delighted and cheer enthusiastically.
The image of colorful dresses fluttering in the air with each skillful dance move to the beat of the drums created a high visual impression. When the boys turned around, the colorful silk ribbons rotated, creating beautiful magical circles.
Although they dress up as women with soft, skillful dance movements, they still exude the open demeanor of a man and the martial spirit of a soldier.
According to Trieu Khuc villagers, the people who have made great contributions to maintaining this dance are the late artisan Bui Van Tot, artisan Bui Van Luc, artisan Trieu Dinh Van and artisan Trieu Dinh Hong.
Passionate about ancient dance, over the years, Mr. Trieu Dinh Hong has persuaded many young people in the village to learn and perform dances to preserve the dances of their ancestors. In 2010, he was awarded the title of “Folk Artist”, and in 2015, the Bong Dance Club, which he is the head of, was officially recognized and sponsored by the Hanoi Folk Arts Association.
And that dance now not only takes place in the village but is present in many regions, many festival spaces across the country as well as participating in the cultural festival of Vietnamese ethnic groups. Over the years, people as well as tourists from all over the world still love and eagerly look forward to watching this fascinating ancient dance.
It can be said that the Trieu Khuc village festival and the “con dy danh bong” dance are the soul, the pride and the sacred spiritual support of the Trieu Khuc people. Every time spring comes, everyone feels more excited because they can join in the excitement of the traditional festival. Therefore, the profound meaning of the festival is not only to review the tradition of a village or create a joyful and united atmosphere, but more deeply, it refreshes the precious, sparkling, and very unique memories in each person.
Heritage Magazine
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