The 5th International Puppet Festival officially opened in Hanoi on October 8 night with the participation of puppeteers from eight countries, including the host Vietnam.
Tangled Princess, a new production by Thang Long Puppet Theatre,
will be performed at the 5th International Puppet Festival. (Photo:
thanglongwaterpuppet.org)
About 100 puppeteers from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines,
Thailand, Belgium, France and Brazil traveled to Vietnam for the festival. The
four Vietnamese troupes participating include the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre,
Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, Hai Phong Puppetry Theatre and Ho Chi Minh
Puppetry Theatre.
Tran Huong Duong, Deputy Director of the Performing Arts Department under the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the festival is a chance for
Vietnamese puppeteers to introduce the country’s unique and artistic puppetry
to the international community.
"It also offers Vietnamese puppeteers and art managers a chance to share
their performance and management experience. The international puppetry troupes
will bring new shows to the festival, and local groups will also have a chance
to present new plays,” he said.
There will be various types of shows showcasing the cultural features of the
participating countries including water puppetry, shadow puppetry, rod
puppetry, glove puppetry and mask puppetry.
The Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre will debut its new production
entitled Cong Chua Toc May (Tangled Princess), which combines three
types of manipulation: water puppetry; rod puppetry and string puppetry. The
45-minute show is co-directed by Nguyen Phuong Nhi and Bach Quoc Khanh and
conveys a message about environment protection.
"The story of the show is about pollution, forest fires and climate
change,” said Nhi. "But characters like the princess, prince and wizard will
entertain young audiences.”
Cong Chua Toc May will be performed at 9:00am on October 9 at 57B Dinh
Tien Hoang Street.
From Une Tribu Collectif of Belgium, Michel Villee and Noemie Vincart will
perform Gaspard, which will feature a man and a woman creating the
illusion of life on stage. The two puppeteers explore a number of different
styles and forms.
Founded in 2014, Une Tribu is a collective comprised of eight artists with
different backgrounds. Gaspard will be performed at 8pm on October 11
at Au Co Theatre, 8 Huynh Thuc Khang Street.
In addition to the main performances in Hanoi, puppetry troupes will also
perform in the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Vinh Phuc. Their
performances will entertain local people, enhance understanding of Vietnamese
culture among foreign performers and tighten international relationships
through arts.
A workshop entitled Relationship Between Body and Puppet will be held
on October 13 in Hanoi. The festival will wrap up on October 15.
Source: VNA
With an increasingly vibrant and widespread emulation movement aimed at building cultured residential areas and cultured families, Yen Thuy District has been making steady progress toward improving both the material and spiritual well-being of its people, while fostering a civilized, prosperous, beautiful, and progressive community.
Once lacking recreational spaces and community facilities, Residential Group 2 in Quynh Lam Ward (Hoa Binh City) has recently received attention for the construction of a new, spacious, and fully equipped cultural house. The project followed the model of state support combined with public contributions in both labor and funding.
The "All people unite to build cultural life" movement, which has been effectively integrated with Kim Boi district’s socio-economic development goals, is fostering a lively spirit of emulation across local residential areas, hamlets, villages, public agencies, and enterprises. In addition, through the initiative, traditional cultural values are being preserved and promoted, while community solidarity and mutual support in poverty reduction and economic development are being strengthened.
A working delegation of the Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee led by its Permanent Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Toan on June 11 inspected the progress of a project to build the Mo Muong Cultural Heritage Conservation Space linked to tourism services in Hop Phong commune, Cao Phong district.
Born and growing in the heroic land of Muong Dong, Dinh Thi Kieu Dung, a resident in Bo town of Kim Boi district, in her childhood was nurtured by the sweet lullabies of her grandmother and mother. These melodies deeply imprinted on her soul, becoming an inseparable part of her love for her ethnic group's culture. For over 20 years, this love for her hometown has driven Dung to research, collect, and pass down the cultural values of the Muong people to future generations.
In the final days of May, the Ethnic Art Troupe of Hoa Binh Province organized performances to serve the people in remote, mountainous, and particularly disadvantaged areas within the province. These were not just ordinary artistic shows, but they were the meaningful journeys aimed at spreading cultural values, enhancing the spiritual life of the people and contributing to the preservation of ethnic minority cultural identities.
