A special “tuong” or classical drama programme has been designedrecently to serve foreign tourists as part of efforts by the VietnamTheatre of Classical Drama to promote the traditional art form.
Tuong or classical drama is a combination of dialogue, dance, song andmusic that are highly stylised and imbued with symbolism.
In the “Royal Night” programme, the stage was designed as stunning as areal palace. From this “palace”, audiences were treated to a string ofplays.
It can be renowned ones such as “Old manbringing young wife to festival” and the art of using a riding-whip todemonstrate horse dancing, a typical dance in tuong.
Additionally, the combination of tuong a n d chau van, a highlyrhythmic and trance-oriented form of singing that often takes placeduring rituals , formed a new attraction to audiences.
What is the most attractive thing in the Royal Night programme is thedisplay and interactive activities with the audience, right in the lobbyof the theatre.
Spectators can dress up and put onmake-up to look like typical characters in Tuong or learn how to use ariding-whip. For them, this is such an interesting experience to learnmore about Vietnam ’s traditional art form.
Nguyen Gia Khoan, Vice Director of the Vietnam Theatre of ClassicalDrama said that in the art of tuong, make-up is the most excellent sinceit depicts clearly the personality of each character. Black and whitecolours go to malicious characters, while red goes to righteous ones.
“We are now working to publicise the art of tuong ingeneral, and the make-up art in particular to foreign tourists. Theycan learn about the characters by painting colours on the masksthemselves”, he said.
However, to some of theforeign audiences, it is quite difficult to understand the plays,because the very nature of tuong theatre is a combination of dialogue,dance, song and music. Screening subtitles is not enough.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism argued that Tuong art is one of thesignificant factors to lure more foreign visitors. However, over thepast time, there has not been close coordination between the artists andtravel agencies.
It will be perfect if travelagencies can learn about the demand of visitors then work with theartists to design suitable programmes to best serve the audiences, heexplained.-VNA
Tuong or classical drama is a combination of dialogue, dance, song andmusic that are highly stylised and imbued with symbolism.
In the “Royal Night” programme, the stage was designed as stunning as areal palace. From this “palace”, audiences were treated to a string ofplays.
It can be renowned ones such as “Old manbringing young wife to festival” and the art of using a riding-whip todemonstrate horse dancing, a typical dance in tuong.
Additionally, the combination of tuong a n d chau van, a highlyrhythmic and trance-oriented form of singing that often takes placeduring rituals , formed a new attraction to audiences.
What is the most attractive thing in the Royal Night programme is thedisplay and interactive activities with the audience, right in the lobbyof the theatre.
Spectators can dress up and put onmake-up to look like typical characters in Tuong or learn how to use ariding-whip. For them, this is such an interesting experience to learnmore about Vietnam ’s traditional art form.
Nguyen Gia Khoan, Vice Director of the Vietnam Theatre of ClassicalDrama said that in the art of tuong, make-up is the most excellent sinceit depicts clearly the personality of each character. Black and whitecolours go to malicious characters, while red goes to righteous ones.
“We are now working to publicise the art of tuong ingeneral, and the make-up art in particular to foreign tourists. Theycan learn about the characters by painting colours on the masksthemselves”, he said.
However, to some of theforeign audiences, it is quite difficult to understand the plays,because the very nature of tuong theatre is a combination of dialogue,dance, song and music. Screening subtitles is not enough.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism argued that Tuong art is one of thesignificant factors to lure more foreign visitors. However, over thepast time, there has not been close coordination between the artists andtravel agencies.
It will be perfect if travelagencies can learn about the demand of visitors then work with theartists to design suitable programmes to best serve the audiences, heexplained.-VNA
