Colonel, People's Artist Le Thi Quynh Nhu: A lifetime devoted to dance

Passion and commitment

Colonel People's Artist Quynh Nhu (born in 1964) was born into an artistic family. Her parents were also famous singers and dancers of the Military Region 4 Art Troupe, so since childhood she was immersed in the artistic atmosphere of her family. Every song, every dance, every musical note and the spirit of "eating and sleeping with art" seemed to have seeped into her blood and flesh since her childhood. Even in those days, she loved and was fascinated by the art of storytelling through body language.

At the age of 14, she took part in the entrance exam to the Military University of Culture and Arts and was admitted to the dance major amid the joy and expectations of her family. Everyone knows that being admitted to this art form is not an easy task. Because dance students must have a truly suitable body proportion, and especially must be extremely passionate and dedicated. From that moment on, she determined that coming to dance was coming to a profession with many dangers and hardships, only passion could pursue the profession. However, the young girl Le Thi Quynh Nhu soon equipped herself with a "spirit of steel" to be ready to endure high training intensity.

The days of training in a disciplined environment helped her realize that, in order to reach the profession, in addition to talent, diligence and perseverance, a dancer must have the ability to be creative. Therefore, a good dancer assigned to the position of soloist (main dancer) is someone who is not only good at technique but also sublimated and creative based on the ideas of the choreographer. And after 4 years of studying, she was able to join the Military Region 4 Art Troupe and received the position of soloist with the trust and admiration of everyone.

The days as a dancer for Quynh Nhu were an artistic journey with many unforgettable impressions. She lived in many roles, traveled to many places, many environments and met many people working in the military. There were years when she toured many places for long periods of time, but actors like her never felt tired or exhausted because wherever they went, they received a lot of affection from the soldiers.

She said: Once, her troupe came to perform for the soldiers stationed in the border area. The soldiers here lacked everything from material to spiritual, but when they heard that the actors from the Military Region were coming, many days before, everyone had stocked up on necessities, even picked wild tamarinds for the female actors. "They saw us as gems to cherish, just by talking and sitting next to us, they could see their families, return to their homeland. So, performing for the soldiers was only one part, the other part was that we came to talk, to help them feel very close to their relatives and families" - Colonel Le Thi Quynh Nhu said.

Once, the actors of the Military Region 4 Art Troupe went to perform for the soldiers on Truong Sa island. Many of the actors were in poor health, and reaching the island was a miracle, but they could not always get to the island. On the floating islands, the troupe could dock to get to the island, but on the submerged islands, when the waves were big, the troupe could only use loudspeakers to sing. The soldiers on the island could only hear some sentences, and the two sides, the people on the island and the people on the deck, just looked at each other with tears streaming down their faces. “Those are sacred memories that are not easy to come by during our entire career. That is why we cherish them very much and always consider them as provisions, as assets to help us overcome all the hardships on the path of art” - People's Artist Quynh Nhu said.

Dance is a special art form, with many dangers, second only to the circus industry, the performer can suffer injuries while performing. Once, she performed in a remote area, where there was no stage or cultural house large enough to meet the artistic needs of the people and soldiers, the troupe had to set up a temporary outdoor stage with wooden planks as a stage. That night, she performed the character Xuy Van in a folk dance. When it came to the scene where Xuy Van pretends to be crazy, with her body movements, she tripped over a seesaw and fell unconscious on the stage floor, but the audience still thought it was a scene in the performance. "That is the memory that I remember the most because when the troupe members panicked and carried me inside for first aid, the people and soldiers still thought it was the director's intention" - People's Artist Quynh Nhu said.

Many dance works in which she played the soloist role won Gold and Silver Medals at national military festivals from 1992 to 1996. When talking about this journey, she only thinks that she has fulfilled her mission as a dancer by bringing her ability and heart to serve soldiers across the country. And few people know that even when performing in remote areas, border areas or islands, even when working with the intensity and strength of a young person, she is suffering from heart disease, with poor health and a thin body.

Sweet fruit for life

Passionate about dance and not wanting to stop at being an actress, she asked the troupe leader to study choreography so that she could freely move around and contribute more. After graduating from the choreography major, she returned to work at the troupe as both an actress and a choreographer, and the first dance performances were born from the enthusiastic "conception" of the talented young choreographer. Those were "Love in the Raincoat" which won the Gold Medal at the National Festival in 1999; or "Two Mothers", "Tunnels", "Laughing Forest", "Bringing Fire to the New Home", "Love of Mountains and Rivers" which all won Gold Medals at the National and Military Festivals in the following years.

Quynh Nhu’s life experiences in nearly 20 years as a dancer have helped her become an excellent choreographer. According to her, to be able to create an excellent dance work, the choreographer must first be an actor who can summarize reality and generalize it into body language. To make her work have vitality and breath, it requires research and creativity from each artist.

Therefore, with the same topic, each person has a different approach. For her, if it is a folk topic, she has to go on field trips to collect information, sometimes for a whole month, forgetting to eat and lose sleep if she has not found the idea. And the dance materials are often just a few movements drawn on woodblocks, but they make up the soul of a folk dance work. From those tireless creations, Quynh Nhu has had sweet fruits for herself.

From 2002 to 2010, together with the troupe's actors, choreographer Quynh Nhu won 7 Gold Medals, 3 Silver Medals, 2 awards from the Ministry of National Defense on the theme of armed forces, revolutionary war and national defense; 1 A prize, 2 B prizes, 1 C prize from the Vietnam Dance Artists Association. Notably, in 2001, with her contributions and achievements, Le Thi Quynh Nhu was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist by the State, holding the position of Deputy Head of the Art Troupe of Military Region 4; in 2012, she was People's Artist, Head of the Art Troupe of Military Region 4... She also received the Medal for the Cause of Vietnamese Dance Art, the Second Class Medal of Military Exploit, and a Certificate of Merit from the Commander of the Military Region...