Harmonized with landscape, the Quintessence of Tonkin, a real live performance stage is located at the foot of the Thay mountain (Sai Son, Quoc Oai, Hanoi) on the lake surface of 4300m2. Based on the story of the Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh, director Hoang Nhat Nam guide the visitors to immerse in nature and rich spiritual life of the Vietnamese people … through the modern sound and lighting and nearly 200 performers – most of them are farmers talking about their own lives.
“Quintessence of Tonkin” idea is formed and developed by Director Hoang Nhat Nam and divided into 6 the interconnected parts: “Poetry”, “Land of Buddha”, “Nostalgia”, “Musical art”, “Happines” and “Festival”. Thanks to modern sound and lighting technology and the seriousness in practicing and performing by more than 200 performers including indigenous people and students of the Vietnam Dance College, the audiences are immersed in both art, sculpture, architecture, entertainment and recreation activities, and beliefs and spirit of the Vietnamese people in working, production and dressing; and even in education and knowledge which are indispensable factors.
Under the shimmering and magical moonlight, the visitors are surprised to enter part 1 “Poetry.” In the sounds of insects, water and paddling in the village, an old fishermen wearing a palm-leaf hat is angling peacefully. The scene, covering local people who are fishing, village girls who are wearing camisoles and bailing at a temple, scooping water with buckets and having bath in lotus pond, repartee songs, fishing songs with sounds of throwing fishing nets, tapping boat sides and satirical verses in the exciting working atmosphere, is opened and closed, showing the community cultural space in Red River Delta region, in which people work hard to acquire the modest dream of happiness and prosperity.
In addition, the scene of candidates who are on the way for their examination is only within 5 minutes, but their traditional tunic and turbans and wood clogs make the visitors fascinated with the solemn atmosphere of the exam school in which there are candidates’ huts located on the brick yard and the examiners sitting on the huts at heigh shielded by the parasols. …; combined with the rustic sounds such as poetry reading, chorus of verses, flipping pages, grinding ink …Definitely, all visitors will laugh at a fat and clumsy candiate who is eating on the sly during doing his exam and confiscated by the examiners, then, cry out loud due to his failure. At the same time, the visitors will applaud when seeing a handsome candidate with imperturbable manner who is passed and granted the degree of First Doctoral Candidate.
“Tứ bình tố nữ – Four paintings of beautiful girls” – Four beautiful girls coming out from paintings, making audiences surprised.
However, it is indispensable to talk about the scene of apperance of Zen master Tu Dao Hanh with bloomed golden lotus flowers on the water surface and artisans with puppets on their shoulders who are move rhythmically … The scene tells the story of the art of water puppetry by movements, lighting and installation art. At the beginning scene of part 4 “Musical art” with four beautiful girls coming out from paintings, technology and reality are arranged and interwoven, making audiences surprised.
According to Director Hoang Nhat Nam, for the professional performance of simple-minded and rustic Sai Son farmers, he talked and confided with the farmers so that they hear their voices, understand his feelings and what he wants to form and orient.
So, in the limelight, costumes and props … the farmers become different. They forget their timidity, they are the real performers who are telling their own lives: in ancient time, and now. Thus, the performers move on the lake surface skillfully with the underground movement system. An underwater model of scenes with the combination of sound and lighting leads the completion and success of “Quintessence of Tonkin”.
Enjoying the “Quintessence of Tonkin” performance, the visitors also enjoy Quan ho Bac Ninh folk songs.
The “Quintessence of Tonkin” not only proves the efforts of art workers in Vietnam, but also promotes the potentials for tourism development in the locality in particular and in Vietnam in general.
Firstly, “Quintessence of Tonkin” meets the refreshing needs of people living and working in urban areas with the high-speed development, pollution and mountain of work. They desire to find peace and “reminisce the things they themselves forget for a long time.” Enjoying the peformance, at the entry, the visitors are astonished with the banana trees, cottages, small and lovely booths which sell the traditional cakes and candies such as gio cake, sticky rice cake, peanut candies, sticky rice wrapped in aromatic lotus or banana leaves … The visitors can check-in by taking pictures with Quan Ho Bac Ninh ladies and gentlemen or first doctoral candidate, or playing interesting folk games with their children such as Mandarin Square Capturing, catching a goat while blindfolded … Thanks to the performance, they reminisce the tradition of “drinking water remembering the source”, “parents’ kindness”, atmosphere of crop days and festivals…
Then, the performance also creates the “bridge” for international tourists who are not knowledgeable about Vietnamese culture but need to experience nature, food and art of Vietnam. Understanding this, director Hoang Nhat Nam “removes barriers” of spoken and written language via the languages of music and body during the performance. Specifically, the contents of the “Quintessence of Tonkin” are summarized in few words in the screen at the opening of the performance, as the key for the easy understanding of the visitors.
The live real performance contributes to the more effective exploitation of tourism resources by the locality and investors, and diversify the tourism products of the tour operators. It is the new destination for the visitors to choose when they come back to visit Vietnam. Instead of the trips with only food, short-stay, sightseeing and travel services, instead of watching the art program in the narrow space of the theaters, thanks to “Quintessence of Tonkin”, the visitors can enjoy the more liberal and larger space and the special art performance, explore their own emotions and thoughts about the culture of the country and exchange with performers to express their own feelings and thoughts..
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha (37 years old), a farmer in Sai Son commune as a performer, in addition to the local visitors, the number of foreign ones coming to enjoy the performance is also increasing. Their non-stop applause and friendly smiles has become the encourgement and motivation for her and others to become increasingly confident, overcome the difficulties in life and come to the performance with the passion and joy of spreading the community culture.
“The selection of the visitors to enjoy the “Quintessence of Tonkin” when visiting the Hanoi Capital is our honor, We also consider performing as our “left-handed” job, so hopefully the number of visitors coming to watch the performer will be increasing.” – said Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha.
Thanh Van
Photo: Tuan Dao