Xuan Non commune in Dong Anh district is known as the “Land of Classical Drama,” as it has retained the cultural capital of old classical drama for hundreds of years. So it is not unusual to find three classical drama teams in a commune, one adult classical drama team and two children classical drama teams. Xuan Non classical drama has assigned representatives to compete many times and has always been famous in the world while repeatedly winning, with high rewards in contests and theater festivals, so much so that Xuan Non people do not remember how many medals and awards you have to this day.
The location for classical drama preservation.
It is rare to find a place like Xuan Non where all people intentionally conserve and keep their love and enthusiasm for traditional theatrical art, regardless of the ups and downs of time. As a result, it is not unexpected that, even in the midst of bombings and explosions, the Xuan Non classical drama team persisted to bring plays to perform not only in the local area, but also in many areas around the country. In order to develop a fighting spirit in the North Vietnamese army and people, Hanoi and a number of other provinces and cities were visited. Viewers adore and recall bits from classical drama shortcuts and plays about Co Loa citadel, Ba Trung, and Ba Trieu for the rest of their lives. In particular, the Xuan Non classical drama team performed admirably at the Northern Amateur Classical Drama Theater Festival in 1994 with the piece “Nhat Gia sinh luong trang.” The performance and aesthetic qualities of the play were highly praised by the judges, the festival’s steering committee, and friends. Many scholars and theater critics are taken aback by Xuan Non’s amateur classical drama, which keeps the core of ancient classical drama..
A practice session of the Xuan Non classical drama team
People often rumor the sentence: “Phi tuong bat thanh hoi” (without Tuong, it’s not a festival). The passion of classical drama has been passed down through generations of Xuan Non people, and children as young as kindergarten have been taught and fostered by their grandparents and parents to value their homeland’s traditional art. Xuan Non commune concludes Duong Yen Village and Luong Quy Village. Both villages have a legacy of embracing and conserving traditional classical theatrical ideals, and they have founded three classical play clubs, each with around 100 actors.
Young Classical Drama enthusiast
Classical drama is taught to the younger generations and well welcomed by them. As a result, Xuan Non commune has established two young classical drama teams to ensure that traditional cultural inheritance is passed forward indefinitely. There have been numerous adult generations of Classical drama children teams since 1990.
Many children from the Classical drama children teams have pursued professional art and studied at the School of Theater and Cinema, such as Do Thanh Nga and Nguyen Ngoc Cuong. The kids were cast as actors in the Central Classical Drama Theater.
Children’s Classical Drama Team
Xuan Non’s Classical drama children teams have gathered a large number of children who are enthusiastic about Classical drama. Because the actor sings and executes choreography such as “lan, le, be, xien,” classical drama is a tough art to acquire. Furthermore, the actor’s face must convey a wide range of emotional nuance. It takes time and effort to train a classical drama actor. To be effective, one must begin training at a young age. Fortunately, every child in Xuan Non grows up seeing their grandparents, parents, siblings, or friends perform classical drama and is encouraged to continue doing so, so they are intrigued.
Visiting to Dong Anh District, over the years, the district has made a lot of material and spiritual investment in classical drama. The district also promulgates projects and programs to preserve and promote the value of local traditional arts, including classical drama art. This is a great motivation for Dong Anh classical drama in general and Xuan Non classical drama in particular to always be promoted and preserved.
Quynh Quy