Theater participates in the National Music and Dance Festival in 2024

When the artist becomes the teacher

Right from the early days of its establishment, the Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theatre has identified on-site training as the only way to preserve the quintessence of royal art - a type of performance that bears the mark of the Nguyen Dynasty. Meritorious Artist Hoang Trong Cuong, Director of the Theatre, shared: “Previously, the Theatre invited artists who had lived in a real royal environment to teach and “show us how to do things”. They were the ones who passed on the most standard techniques, spirit, and performance rituals of royal court music, opera, and dance.”

The first royal artisans laid the foundation for a whole generation of successors. And today, that generation is the teacher, continuing to train a new generation of young artists. Although the number is small and conditions are difficult, the source of that art still flows quietly, uninterrupted.

Before 2010, a number of sponsorship projects helped the theater recruit and train about 20 musicians. “But since then, there have been no more sponsorship programs to support the theater, while the old generation of artists has grown old, some have retired, some are no longer around,” said Mr. Cuong.

Not stopping there, the Theater continues to select young people who have graduated from art schools such as Hue Academy of Music, School of Culture and Arts... and retrain them according to the characteristics of each subject. For royal subjects, "learning at school is not enough", 2-3 years of close training are needed to be able to perform properly.

Currently, the Theatre has four art troupes: Hoa Thanh troupe (royal music), Ba Vu troupe (royal dance), Thanh Binh troupe (royal drama) and Thanh Phong troupe (inheriting and developing on royal material). However, the issue of human resources is a difficult one. The reduction of staff and the lack of young successors have made the process of "passing on the torch" of art encounter many obstacles.

“In the past, schools trained in opera, folk music, and royal dance. Now that is no longer the case. We have to “separate the bad from the good”, selecting talented vocal students to switch to opera, or students studying modern folk dance to train royal dance,” Mr. Cuong shared.

In particular, musicians of Nha Nhac - a musical form recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, also need to be carefully selected. Those chosen must practice diligently and master techniques through practical learning.

Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theatre participates in the National Tuong and Folk Opera Festival

Waiting for a long "life"

Not only is the selection strict, the Theater also focuses on conditions to retain talented people. The salary is not high, but thanks to the special policies of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, many young people still stick around because of their passion.

In addition to training, the Theater also restores and archives ancient works. From field trips and meetings with artisans, the Theater has so far restored and established scientific records for about 20 royal music pieces, 6 royal dance works, 11 ancient plays, along with records of royal masks, dances, and musical instruments... These pieces and works are mostly performed at Duyet Thi Duong Theater - a standard venue for performing royal art.

To bring Hue traditional music closer to young people, over the past three years, the Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theatre has coordinated with educational units to implement a heritage education program; including experiencing royal court music and dance. The theatre has also organized training for nearly 200 musicians to improve their performance skills in royal court music, with direct guidance from experienced artisans. The musicians are trained and trained in each technique according to the traditional standards that the artisans are holding.

In the context of the disappearance of original royal artisans, the preservation of Hue traditional arts in general and royal arts in particular faces many challenges. However, with the persistent efforts of those who are living with the profession, especially the initiative in training, preserving and promoting of the Hue Traditional Royal Arts Theater, these heritage values ​​are still being preserved every day.

Article and photos: LIEN MINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/bao-ton-va-phat-trien-nghe-thuat-cung-dinh-153089.html