Veterans' performing arts group

(Baonghean) - During a visit to attend the Nghe An Dance Artists' Association congress, I was "attracted" by Mr. Pham Hung Thoan, Editor-in-Chief of Nhip Dieu Magazine,'s introduction of the Quang Trung Ward Performing Arts Team in Vinh City. He mentioned that it was the performing arts team with the largest number of elderly members and the most names...

According to Team Leader Phan Ngoc Que, “During a Veterans Association Congress in Quang Trung Ward, the organizing committee invited several professional art troupes, but they were unsuccessful. Therefore, the association selected some members with artistic talent to stage performances and established the Veterans Association's Art Troupe. Starting with only 10 members, the team was very active with many outstanding performances, so the Vinh City Veterans Association frequently invited them to perform. This led to the various names: the Vinh City Veterans Association Art Troupe, the Vinh City Association of Victims of Agent Orange Art Troupe, and the Art Troupe of Veteran Volunteers and Experts working in Laos. All the names are correct and acceptable, but we usually call it the Quang Trung Ward Art Troupe because all the members live in Quang Trung Ward. We are present at every cultural and artistic event in the ward.”

The choir of the Quang Trung Ward Arts and Culture Team (Vinh City).

Nearly 10 years since its founding, the enthusiasm and dedication of the team members seem to remain undiminished. Not a single member has asked to leave, despite their busy family lives, including shopping, children, and extended family. Even those with graying hair still passionately participate in the songs and dances. Regardless of social standing or age, they are all comrades, returning from the bombs and bullets of war, having experienced the full spectrum of life's hardships.

Scenes like rice planting, road leveling, artillery hauling, and ammunition transport were vividly recreated. For a moment, they forgot their age and personal worries, reliving a time when "Singing drowned out the sound of bombs." They were young, romantic female guerrillas and liberation soldiers, though their movements on stage were no longer as graceful as before. For them, beyond their love of culture and arts, it was also a joy to relive a youthful era brimming with determination and willpower to fight against foreign invaders.

Although they are an amateur performing arts group, their performances are meticulously staged. Some of the group's key members are retired artists from professional troupes, such as: dancer Phan Ngọc Quế, formerly of the Nghệ Tĩnh Song and Dance Troupe (before the separation of Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces), now a member of the Nghệ An Dance Artists Association; artist Minh Trí, retired from the Military Region 2 Art Troupe; and artist Hồng Dung, formerly a member of the Nghệ An Folk Song Troupe… The remaining members are also artists from state agencies. Therefore, they learn together very quickly.

Mr. Phan Ngoc Que, the team leader and chief choreographer, shared: “Due to family circumstances, I requested early retirement (in 1992). Despite the burden of making ends meet, the memories of performing under the rain of bombs and bullets, serving comrades and compatriots everywhere, always motivated me. When the Quang Trung Ward Veterans Association's performing arts team was established, I immediately volunteered. Thanks to that, I was able to fulfill my passion…” Phan Ngoc Que was once a prominent performer in the propaganda team of General Team 57 in Ha Tinh. He inherited his artistic talent from his respected father, a talented musician playing the zither and two-stringed fiddle in a famous theater troupe in Huong Son district (Ha Tinh). He played roles in major plays such as “Thang Long Falls” and “The Little Prince”...

In 1977, he was sent to study acting at the Vietnam Dance School and became one of the veteran artists of the Huong Sen Song and Dance Troupe (Ha Tinh). His many years of dedication to the stage, filled with countless memories of joy and sorrow, seem to remain vivid. He recalls the month-long tours, traveling from one district to another, and the performances interrupted by bombs and bullets, as if they happened just yesterday. Perhaps that's why the performances he directs are imbued with the spirit of war. The heroic past of the nation is recreated naturally, profoundly, and vividly. This is because, not only Mr. Que, but all these veterans had once been deeply determined to "fight to the death for the Fatherland." That will, that courage, remains intact within them. Viewers, especially those who experienced the war, praised him profusely, because the "artists" performed so realistically and movingly!

Many localities in mountainous districts such as Tan Ky, Do Luong, Yen Thanh… invite the ward's performing arts troupe to perform whenever there is a holiday or festival. To date, the Quang Trung Ward Performing Arts Troupe has 20 members. Besides veterans, there are also a number of young people participating. Each time they rehearse a new play or perform, the residents of the neighborhood eagerly and enthusiastically come to watch and cheer. The optimism and love of life of these veterans have become a glue that strengthens national unity…

Nguyen Le