Spouses of Vietnamese, German Presidents captivated by water puppetry
Phan Thi Thanh Tam, the spouse of President Vo Van Thuong and Elke Büdenbender, the spouse of the German President enjoyed a traditional water puppetry performance at Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district on January 23 afternoon.
The spouses of the Vietnamese and German Presidents pose for a photo with artists at the theatre (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)꧅ – Phan Thi Thanh Tam, thespouse of President Vo Van Thuong and Elke Büdenbender, the spouse of the German President enjoyed atraditional water puppetry performance at Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi’sHoan Kiem district on January 23 afternoon.
The two ladies immersed themselves in a diverse array ofperformances featuring iconic characters, dynamic dragon dances, and serenedepictions of rural life. Water puppetry, originating in the Red River Delta of northernVietnam, finds its inspiration in the region's hot and humid climate andabundant water bodies. The natural aquatic stages, such as ponds and lakes innearly every village, serve as platforms for water puppet performances,predominantly featuring scenes reflecting rural landscapes, bamboo trees, andtraditional activities like fishing and rice cultivation.
Expressing their admiration for the performance and the talentof the artists who immersed themselves in water to manipulate the puppets, both ladiesextended heartfelt wishes to the artists, encouraging them to sustain theirpassion for the art and preserve the distinctive essence of Vietnamese waterpuppetry.
🥃 To gain a deeperunderstanding of the art and the work of the artists, the two ladies visited behind-the-scenes area andtalked with the artists, officials and staff of the theatre./.
Water puppetry from the 300-year-old Dao Thuc village in Hanoi’s outlying district of Dong Anh is among the 13 latest national intangible heritages compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
A troupe from the Thang Long Puppet Theater performed folk music and traditional water puppet shows in Moscow and Voronezh from June 2-18 at the invitation of the organisation committee of the 16th Chekhov International Theater Festival.
The spouse of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Le Thi Bich Tran, and the spouse of Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah binti Dr. Wan Ismail, enjoyed a water puppetry programme at the Vietnam Contemporary Art Theatre in Hanoi on July 20.
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The strategic product, managed and operated by the Vietnam News Agency Digital Media Centre (VNA Media), is an official channel for popularising the Party and State’s information and documents as well as delivering mainstream and trustworthy news to both domestic and international audiences through various kinds of multimedia formats.
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The spouses of the Vietnamese and German Presidents pose for a photo with artists at the theatre (Photo: VNA) 
