Artist couple Nguyen Co-Hong Mai: Harmonizing with the love of dance art

Nguyen Van Co studied at the Vietnam Dance College (now the Vietnam Dance Academy) and then continued to study at the Military University of Culture and Arts, majoring in dance training. Hong Mai also started at the Gia Lai Art College (now the Gia Lai College) before studying choreography at the same university as Co.

Shine in the mountain town

Nguyen Co and Hong Mai met when they worked together at the Traditional Song and Dance Troupe of Binh Duong Province (formerly known as Binh Duong). Working together and practicing hard during rehearsals and performances, the two young artists became increasingly attached. In 2010, they got married. After that, Nguyen Co "followed his wife home", going to his wife's hometown, Gia Lai, to start a career.

Couple Nguyen Co - Hong Mai in a peacock dance on the wedding stage. Photo: NVCC

In January 2012, both were recruited into the Dam San Music and Dance Theater. On the first day, Meritorious Artist Quang Tam, then the Theater Director, joked: “Come here and dedicate yourself for at least 3 years before having children, your dancing career is not long…”. Both of them “followed orders” and exactly 3 years later, they gave birth to their first child. And it was this period of serious artistic work that gave them their first sweet fruits.

With a solid training background, rare harmony and the same passion, Nguyen Co - Hong Mai quickly became a promising dance duo on professional stages. Their names are often chosen for main roles, solo performances, and sololists. In 2012, they were given the main roles in the dance poem The Legend of Chu HDrong choreographed by Meritorious Artist Quang Tam - a work imbued with the epic of the Central Highlands.

Hong Mai said: “I was under a lot of pressure and worried to the point of losing sleep because this was a major production participating in a national professional performance. I practiced too hard with difficult movements and fractured my leg. Even though I had to wear a cast twice, my husband and I still lived fully with our roles.”

Nguyen Co also has an unforgettable memory with that "lifetime" performance: "Usually each performance is only 4 - 6 minutes long, but for that particular play, I had to dance continuously for 24 minutes without stopping. There was a scene where I fell down, I took the opportunity to lie down and catch my breath, but the choreographer forbade it because he was afraid it would affect the character's image."

In the dance poem The Legend of Chu HDrong, Hong Mai - Nguyen Co transformed into a couple of lovers separated by etiquette and class, in the end the girl died instead of the one she loved. The choreography was captivating, the emotions overflowed - they received a long round of applause after the performance, contributing significantly to this work winning the gold medal at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 2012.

After that, the couple from the highland dance village also won a silver medal for the performance Forest Night (choreographed by Meritorious Artist Xuan Hung) at the 2015 National Professional Music and Dance Competition. They left their mark with other couple dance performances such as: Green Forest Aspiration (choreographed by Meritorious Artist Minh Tam), Military-Civilian Love, Gong Soul (choreographed by Thuy Loan)...

Hong Mai also won several awards at national professional music and dance competitions such as: Silver Medal for the dance "Aspiration of the Green Forest" (2015), Silver Medal for the dance "Tieng Dan Buon Em" (2016). In addition, the dance "Aspiration of Revival" choreographed by Hong Mai won a gold medal at the 2022 National Amateur Dance Competition in An Giang.

Away from the professional stage, but never away from dance

Nguyen Co and Hong Mai had a period of time when they both went on business trips and took their children with them because both parents lived far away. “During the first 2-3 years, when performing, the children slept under the wings when their parents went on stage,” Nguyen Co recalled. Along with other difficulties in life, after 10 years of working at the Theater, in 2022, Hong Mai decided to leave the professional stage lights and become a supporter for her husband.

Nguyen Co and Hong Mai work together both on stage and in real life. Photo: NVCC

Co spoke for his wife: “Mai is very passionate about dancing. So this was a very difficult decision for Mai, it took a long time for the sadness to really subside. But luckily Mai can still live with her career, in a different space. And I can still accompany this wonderful co-star on stage.”

Currently, Nguyen Co still works at the Dam San Music and Dance Theater - performing, choreographing, and training young actors. Hong Mai manages a large wedding restaurant in Pleiku, and also teaches zumba and modern dance. But most notably, they often stand together on stage as the opening dance couple at weddings.

Hong Mai - Nguyen Co couple and their son. Photo: Minh Chau

Even though it was just the opening act, each dance at the wedding party was still carefully and seriously choreographed by them. Hong Mai said: Sometimes the guests changed the dance just an hour before the performance, but the couple just needed to sit down, one person brought out their choreographic skills, the other the trainer, and they could quickly complete a beautiful, emotional performance. “The years of dancing together gave us great understanding and understanding of each other. Just by looking at each other's eyes, we understood what the other performer needed. And thanks to dancing, many conflicts and anger in our married life were resolved,” Hong Mai shared.

For Nguyen Co - Hong Mai, being able to devote themselves to dance is a privilege. Therefore, whether in a grand theater or on a regular stage, they always maintain their professionalism and meticulousness. Their dances continue to be told through the language of the body, through pure love and passion for dance.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/cap-doi-nghe-si-nguyen-co-hong-mai-hoa-dieu-cung-tinh-yeu-nghe-thuat-mua-post561587.html