Gen Z girl loves Xam singing

"Xam Girl" Gen Z, Huyen Xam is the name people often give to Nguyen Thi Huyen (born in 2001). Introducing herself, Huyen admits that she is a marketing girl who loves Xam singing.

Nguyen Thi Huyen has been involved with Xam since she was 13 years old.

Nguyen Thi Huyen currently lives and works in Ha Long City as a marketing staff for an international hotel. Huyen was born in Ninh Binh , the hometown of the late Xam singer Ha Thi Cau, so her love for folk culture has been "rooted" in her since childhood.

The first time Huyen performed Xam singing was in 2014, at a school festival, when she was just 13 years old. In 2016, Huyen had the opportunity to meet teacher Dao Bach Linh - a student of Ha Thi Cau and was fortunate to be taught by him not only the techniques of Xam singing but also the love for this traditional folk art. The more she learned and accompanied Xam, the more that love grew in her.

Huyen confided: To pursue Xam singing, besides talent, you also need perseverance, diligence, and practice over and over again so that the melodies are deeply ingrained in your memory. Every week, I still spend time practicing Xam singing. I follow Xam because of my passion and love for it, and also with the desire to preserve the folk melodies of my homeland.

Loving Xam in a young person’s own way, Huyen joined the Xam 48h Club and together with other young people in the club carried out projects to bring Xam more into contemporary life. The Xam 48h Club was established in 2016, and has been operating for 8 years, operating with an experiential class model, attracting more and more young people interested in learning about this folk art form.

As an active member of the 48h Xam Club and participating in many Xam singing performance events, Huyen and the other members of the Club were honored to win the Third Prize at the 2019 National Xam Festival and the Second Prize at the 2021 National Xam Festival. She also participated in more than 100 Xam singing programs and events for domestic audiences as well as foreign tourists.

For two consecutive years 2022 and 2023, Huyen participated as an artist in the program "Vietnam Creativity and Design Festival", an annual event jointly organized by RMIT University Vietnam, the United NationsEducational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS).

With the journey she is taking with Xam singing, Huyen and other young people who love traditional culture are trying to find different ways to "revive" Xam singing and bring the breath of the times. Besides combining traditional Xam melodies into modern music ; choosing Xam songs with easy-to-understand lyrics and meanings closely related to today's life so that young people can easily learn and accept them; integrating Xam singing into music lessons and extracurricular activities at school, she also actively promotes Xam singing through digital platforms such as Facebook, Tiktok..., performing Xam singing in tourism promotion programs so that Xam singing can be spread more widely.

Huyen guides children to learn to sing Xam.

Huyen shared: In Hanoi, we are organizing many community activities such as the program "Xam in the street", introducing Xam singing in festivals, and implementing the program "Xam on the bus" - experiencing Xam singing on a double-decker bus to serve tourists.

As for Quang Ninh, at the end of November, our group will perform Xam singing to serve tourists in Ha Long and coordinate with the Center for Promotion and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam to build a cultural space in Ha Long City, promoting the arts and folk culture of the ethnic groups in Quang Ninh province in particular and Vietnamese folk culture in general to friends and tourists at home and abroad.

With her creativity and youthful enthusiasm, this Gen Z girl is spreading the beauty of Xam singing with her friends, silently lighting the flame of love for this traditional folk art.

Source