In Ho Chi Minh City, members of the “Ganh hat luu dien muon phuong” (touring theatre) have introduced 36 types of performing arts and folk festivals in all parts of Vietnam at the city's Book Street.

Visitors also enjoyed performances by young Cai luong (reformed opera) artist Ha Nang who joined the team, and participated in colouring pictures introducing familiar performance forms in the South, which inspires their curiousity and love for folk arts.

“Ganh hat luu dien muon phuong” is a project launched before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, with the initial idea of publishing a bilingual handbook introducing typical cultural features and folk arts, which has been developed into an art book.

Vu Truong Phi Phung, the project assistant, said that along with publishing the book one year ago, the project has focused on performing programmes to bring traditional arts closer to the public, especially young audiences.

Together with public spaces, Cai luong singer Ha Nang and the project's members have also performed “Don Ca Tai Tu” (southern amateur singing) in a number of schools and coffee shops in HCM City.

The group performed the first three programmes for free, but from the fourth programme, the team will charge a nominal fee to maintain the project’s long-term operations, said Ha Nang, showing his delight that his love and passion for traditional arts are spread to youngsters.

Sharing the same passion for researching and maintaining the beauty of traditional arts, Phan Khac Huy, head of the Community Cultural Dialogue project has organised many programmes to preserve and promote various types of performing arts as well as the culture and history of the southern region.

Entering the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University in 2005, Huy, who was born into a literary family in southern Tien Giang province, dropped out later as he realised he was not suitable for a medical career.

After the success of a series of programme entitled “Dien Xuong Nam Bo” (Folk Singing Genre of the Southern Region), which aimed to popilarise folk arts in the southern region, Huy conducted a project called “Vang Vong Trong Chau” (Echoing Drum show) that focuses on educating and inspiring youngsters’ love for traditional arts. Along with introducing a set of textbooks on traditional arts and organising interesting classes, the project also arranges a library of documents, recordings and videos featuring many types of traditional performing arts.

According to Huy, the textbook set is suitable for students from the sixth grade. Readers can find information from the books and enjoy arts by scanning the QR code included in the books. Huy and his co-workers have also worked on an online education platform called “Lop Hoc 1 to” (One-dollar class) to help youngsters actively acquire popular knowledge on socio-culture, history and the traditional arts of the country./.VNA