"Keeping the fire" of Nghe An culture

(Baonghean) - On December 31, 2011, the Provincial People's Committee decided to establish the Nghe An Ethnic Dance and Song Troupe on the basis of the Nghe An Drama Dance and Song Troupe. This is a correct decision to contribute to the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural values ​​of the mountainous region in the face of the risk of gradual disappearance.

Mr. Trinh Quang Thuan - Head of the Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe said: Folk music and dance is one of the diverse and rich intangible cultural values ​​of the ethnic groups in our province, it is closely associated with customs and beliefs in community activities and traditional festivals. To contribute to preserving and promoting precious cultural values, when it was the Nghe An Song and Dance Troupe, the Troupe sought a suitable direction: How to both complete the assigned tasks well and ensure the lives of the artists, staff and actors of the troupe. And the exploitation and promotion of regional ethnic identity, bringing folk songs and dances to the stage have been focused on by the Troupe. It is this innovation that has helped the Troupe achieve certain successes: Building many music and dance programs imbued with the cultural identity of Nghe An, many plays exploiting modern themes through the new type of drama have been recognized and highly appreciated by the public.

Performance by Nghe An Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe.

Every year, in addition to developing programs to serve the political tasks of the province, the Union has proactively planned and organized tours to serve the ethnic minorities in remote mountainous areas in and outside the province with programs imbued with the cultural identity of ethnic groups such as: "The girl burning the lime kiln", "Khac Luong and the Tung Loong dance", "Xang Khan Festival", "Spring flute sound" ... with the material of Thai ethnic folk songs; "Catching a wife", "Le le le tu le", "The village welcomes the new bride" (Mong ethnic group) ... However, due to the impact of many factors, some cultural identities of ethnic groups are facing great challenges and are at risk of gradually fading away. In that situation, the need to establish the Nghe An Ethnic Song and Dance Union has been submitted by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. Thus, from November 31, 2011, Nghe An Drama and Dance Troupe officially transformed into the Mountainous Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe with the following functions and tasks: Preserving and promoting the cultural identity of Nghe An; researching, collecting and developing the culture of Nghe An ethnic minorities; building professional art programs imbued with Nghe An cultural identity; organizing performances to serve people inside and outside the province, especially prioritizing serving ethnic minorities in remote, isolated and border areas. In addition, it also cooperates with organizations in the fields of: researching, composing, performing, collecting and preserving to promote the cultural identity of Nghe An, especially the folk music and dances of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas of Nghe An.

Singer Minh Tam - Captain of the troupe's Choir said: Although there are still many difficulties such as the budget for a performance in the mountainous area is too low (2 million VND/show), specialized equipment such as vehicles and speakers are not synchronized, but the spirit of the brothers in the troupe is always ready to bring their songs and voices to the people. We hope that the province will have more suitable mechanisms and policies to encourage and motivate the team of artists and actors.

To meet the new requirements and tasks, since the beginning of the year, in addition to serving 30 sessions in Tan Ky, Anh Son, Do Luong districts, the Group has also established a new research and collection department, gradually surveyed, compiled a list of artisans and conducted research, collected, preserved and developed traditional folk music and dance melodies of the 5 ethnic groups Thai, Mong, Tho, Kho Mu and O Du. Established groups and teams of shock actors (from 7 to 15 people) specializing in performing for ethnic minorities in remote, isolated and particularly difficult areas of the province to increase the enjoyment of professional art programs for the people. At the same time, there is a mechanism to encourage and prioritize the selection of cadres who are children of ethnic minorities or people who have a deep understanding of the intangible culture of the 5 ethnic groups.

Organize regular field trips to mountainous areas combined with opening camps to compose songs, dances and music on mountainous themes. In addition, coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to bring folk songs of mountainous ethnic groups into schools, organize classes to teach music and how to use traditional musical instruments for young people in general, and children of ethnic minorities in particular. In particular, strengthen propaganda, promotion and introduction of the cultural identity of Nghe An ethnic groups to a large number of people at home and abroad, helping them understand and join hands to preserve and promote the precious cultural heritage of the nation.

Thanh Thuy