The encounter between heritage and contemporary rhythms

In the flickering lights, the monochord resounds; a young audience, amidst the pounding electronic music , is moved to tears by an excerpt from an old play... It seems that the two worlds of traditional and modern art cannot touch each other, however, "Ai Long Dia" by the group Entropy has combined these two opposite things into one.

Entropy Group is a group of creative young people who want to build a nighttime cultural ecosystem where traditional art, electronic music and contemporary visual forms coexist, collide and transform into new experiences. From that desire, the project “Ai Long Dia” was born. “Ai Long Dia” can be understood as “love the dragon land”, the name expresses the love for the country with the cultural heritage that has nurtured the Vietnamese soul.

The idea of the project “Ai Long Dia” is the result of a process of observation, contemplation and even torment of young people living in the heart of Hanoi . The project raises an urgent question: how can traditional values not only be preserved in museums or theaters, but can they truly revive, flourish, and touch the hearts of young people even in spaces that are considered non-traditional?

Ms. Tran Khanh Linh, the project initiator, said: “The reason we want to bring tradition into spaces such as bars, clubs, seemingly “opposite” places - is because we believe that culture is not just for preservation, but for living. And tradition, if it really has vitality, must be placed between real experiences and collisions. We do not organize “Ai Long Dia” as a series of entertainment shows with “strange” colors to attract attention. On the contrary, each performance, each combination is carefully prepared as a serious art project, where modern electronic music is the conductor, and traditional elements are the core.”

Launched in 2024, “Ai Long Dia” has organized three performances, each one exploring a different traditional cultural element. The first one honored the monochord, a symbol of Vietnamese music.

As someone who has been attached to the monochord for nearly 14 years, monochord artist Au Thi Ha Anh has tried her hand at many different stages, but when she received the invitation to perform for the project "Ai Long Dia", she felt very surprised: "This brings many challenges to me, but also makes me want to conquer. The combination of monochord and electronic music brings a unique new color, not only does not lose the value of traditional music but also helps traditional music to develop more strongly, getting closer to young people".

After the monochord, “Ai Long Dia” continues to surprise the audience by opening up the space of the Central Highlands gongs, a heritage recognized by UNESCO, recreating ritual sounds in the world of light and electronic sound. And most recently, a bold experiment with Tuong - an ancient theatrical form.

Under the direction of Meritorious Artist Tran Van Long from the Vietnam Tuong Theater, two classic scenes from the play On Dinh chop Ta have been recreated in a new theatrical form. Where the Tuong performance techniques of artists Trong Van, Dinh Thuan, Meritorious Artist Hai Van... blend with electronic music, contemporary choreography and lighting design inspired by traditional fine arts.

Meritorious Artist Tran Van Long shared: Performing in a dance hall space is a challenge. But strangely, when we step onto the stage, we do not see the opera being “distorted” - on the contrary, it is listened to in a very new way. What young people are doing is not only to experiment with art but also to challenge the way society perceives traditional art. For many years, opera has often been confined to the theater stage, associated with a specific generation of audiences. But when a project like “Ai Long Dia” appeared, we saw that traditional art is not outdated, it is just waiting for a new way to connect with young people.

Many foreign visitors stood attentively watching the tuong artists perform to electronic music. They did not understand every word of the song, but they were drawn to every growl, every step, every look. Jame, a British tourist, said: “I had read books about tuong and knew that it was a very unique form of traditional Vietnamese theater. But the actual experience was beyond my imagination. Although I did not understand all the lyrics, I felt the power in every movement and every facial expression of the artists. I think this is a very effective way to bring Vietnamese culture closer to the international audience.”

As for Ms. Le Vu Thuy Linh (Hanoi), after watching the impressive performance, she wanted to learn more about Tuong: "I went back to watch the play On Dinh chop Ta on YouTube, read articles about Tuong art, and asked myself: why am I only now touching on this? Maybe because Tuong has always been set in spaces that young people do not enter."

“Ai Long Dia” does not consider itself a heritage preservation project, but rather a space for dialogue with heritage. Through each performance, Entropy wants to explore how far traditional art can go in new contexts. This is a serious experimental journey where heritage is put into motion – not to lose its identity, but to become more alive than ever.

With many years of passion for traditional art forms, composer and journalist Mai Van Lang highly welcomes this project: “They have found a way to bring traditional art closer to the public. Looking at the names of the artists, I believe that this is a project of relatively high artistic value. I hope that in addition to renewing and finding new approaches to tradition, you will always preserve the beauty and Vietnamese soul of each art form in each program.”

The project of the young people Entropy is continuing to expand, with plans to exploit more genres such as: cheo, xam, cai luong or mountain folk art... "Ai Long Dia" hopes to reach more international tourists, to tell another story about Vietnam.

It can be seen that, if given space, respected, and approached with the right “language of the generation”, young people will not turn their backs on tradition. They will revive culture in a civilized, creative and responsible way.

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