Four years later, the 25-yr-old who once had to balance studying with working to cover expenses has graduated as the university's valedictorian.

Ha recently graduated from the Department of Theater Actor at Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema with a GPA of 8.57 out of 10, becoming the university’s overall valedictorian.

For Ha, this outcome not only marks the completion of four years of higher education but also proves that her decision to give up a stable job to pursue a formal artistic education was correct, despite causing her family considerable anxiety at the time.

Born and raised in Bac Ninh province, Ha developed a passion for traditional arts from an early age. Her grandmother and mother taught her very first Cheo melodies. Ha recalls tunes like "Con nhen giang mung", "Dao lieu", or "Su rau - Ba than" from the classic Cheo play Quan Am Thi Kinh, which nurtured her deep love for Cheo traditional opera.

"There were excerpts where, after watching, the melodies kept echoing in my head. The more I listened and learned, the more I fell in love with Cheo and longed to embody those characters on stage," Ha recalled.

After finishing 9th grade, Ha planned to sit the entrance exam for the Cheo acting class at Bac Ninh Vocational College of Culture and Arts. However, due to insufficient enrollment numbers to open a Cheo class, she was redirected to study Quan Ho folk singing instead.

Upon graduating from vocational college, Ha worked at the provincial Cultural Center for two years. Ha acknowledged that the job was stable and kept her close to her family. Nevertheless, her love for Cheo prompted her to seek specialized, in-depth training opportunities. This decision initially lacked support from her family.

As the youngest child in a farming family of three siblings, financing four years of study in Hanoi represented a significant financial burden. Despite this, Ha remained determined to take the university entrance exam.

In 2022, Ha gained admission to the Department of Theater Actor at Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema. During her initial period, Ha was determined to find ways to cover most of her living expenses herself.

During her freshman year, before earning academic scholarships, Ha took advantage of weekends to commute back to her hometown to sing at wedding receptions. This served as her primary source of income to cover educational expenses.

In 2023, Ha participated in the Song Thuong Singing Competition in Bac Giang province and secured third prize in the folk music category. Following the competition, Ha gained opportunities to perform in larger-scale shows across several provinces and cities.

"Cheo, Quan Ho, and folk tunes have seeped into my very being. I want to sing, perform, and contribute my small part to preserving national artistic heritage," Ha shared.

Graduating as valedictorian

Despite having a background in folk music, Ha admitted that her four years studying to become a Cheo actress were far from easy. While several classmates had received Cheo training since vocational school, Ha essentially had to start from scratch across many specialized skills.

To become a professional Cheo actress, Ha needed not only singing proficiency but also mastery in acting, dance, and the highly specific expressive conventions of traditional stagecraft.

"In the beginning, my sense of rhythm was weak, making learning Cheo songs extremely arduous. For difficult melodies, I had no choice but to practice over and over again. Acting was also a challenge because I lacked prior formal training," Ha recalled.

Cheo dance requires stylization in every glance, gesture, posture, and hand position. Every movement, however simple, follows distinct rules that performers must strictly obey.

One of Ha's earliest hurdles was mastering the finger-curling technique required to form proper hand postures in Cheo dance. Because her finger joints lacked the flexibility of performers trained in dance from early childhood, the initial practice sessions left her in pain. To improve, she seized every spare moment to practice.

"I practiced all the time, even while riding on the back of my friend's motor scooter. Only daily practice could make my hands flexible enough," Ha recounted.

It was not until her junior year that Ha began thinking seriously about her career path following graduation. Later, Ha took part in the recruitment audition for the Military Cheo Theatre and was accepted to work there.

Thuy Nga