Circle of Vietnamese identity...

Male actors perform a dance with drums in a segment of the play “Rom”. Photo: DaiNgo Studio

A field appears in the distance

The contemporary dance “Rom” has just officially debuted in Hoi An with a fullness of emotion and art, marking the name Tan Loc and Duc Tri. From “Rom”, the Vietnamese public has known the connection between contemporary dance art and nature, with the stage being the vast horizon amidst the rustling sound of rice waves.

“Straw” - the name itself simply evokes in the depths of life a thought about human destiny. The haystack in the yard has never been separated from the perception of the Vietnamese village. Perhaps in the middle of a wandering sky, a wisp of smoke from the distant fields is enough to evoke vague losses. Smoke and straw, like two pairs of mutually supportive categories, create an interaction that touches emotions.

Throughout the contemporary dances by choreographer Nguyen Tan Loc, there is a flow of Vietnamese culture. Or rather, it is the “quest for identity” that never stops for those who are always concerned with the national spirit. Visual art not only moves people with images and sounds but also with the layers of thought in each line and style.

Choreographer Tran Van Thinh and his role in “Rom”. Photo: DaiNgo Studio

In the middle of the field with the afternoon sun gradually fading, the straw strands are wrapped into blocks, sometimes fragile, sometimes tight. Duc Tri's music always has the color of folk, sometimes strange, sometimes familiar but never boring. In "Rom", he freely brings the Vietnamese countryside in his memory with the melodies of the Central and Southern regions or the Northern Delta with the sounds of drums, flutes, and storks...

Watching "Straw", each person is reminded of a distant village field...

The return

In 2020, a group of wicker workers over 70 years old from the Thu Bon source, made a trip to Saigon. For the first time, the old farmers - forest workers in elegant clothes attended the exhibition. They were not awarded the title of artisans, but for 3 consecutive years, they and artist Trung Nghia focused on creating to complete 10 works of art from bamboo strips and otter oil, in a collection called "The broken basket still has the bamboo bank". Trung Nghia used bamboo to talk about nature, used old workers to talk about people. All of this is like opening up national memories, a reflection on contemporary life.

Identity is the opening idea and will never end with the artistic concerns of each person who loves their homeland. Through the artistic method, each artist participates in social life, raising the voice of national pride from his own strong language. Trung Nghia, Nguyen Tan Loc and many other contemporary artists, they are doing what is most natural in their hearts.

In the circle of identity, the search for national values ​​also has the steadfastness of those who practice traditional professions. If artists read life through the losses of the past and try to hold on to them, then those who live by the breath of traditional professions, from the unconscious, have kept their profession through the misfortunes of fate. Of course, despite being crushed many times, the descendants who follow their ancestors continue to follow the profession. It is the invisible bond from the eternal rhythm of life that makes them do the profession as a natural thing.

People decipher the cultural spirit of the traditional craft villages of Quang Nam, precisely in their natural logic. Using natural materials, and being “proper” to nature. Moreover, people in the craft villages respect their ancestors and family. In the midst of “cultural exchanges”, fortunately, the ego of the craftsmen is strong enough to not be encroached too much.

The purity of Thanh Ha red pottery or the sophistication of the new glaze from the young craftsmen, in the end, all serve to preserve the name of Thu Bon as an ancient pottery village. The delicately carved reliefs from the Kim Bong carpentry guild, the only connection, also originate from the principle of touching the gables, the secret... in sacred works.

I sat listening to the stories of old and young artisans for hours. There was always a sign of a return, strangely enough!

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/vong-tron-ban-sac-viet-3141112.html