Come to Hoi An, join the Bai Choi art exchange night

VHO - On the evening of December 7, the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center will organize an art exchange night "Bai Choi - The rhythm of a thousand years still resonates" at An Hoi roundabout, Hoi An ward, Da Nang city.

The Bai Choi art exchange night will take place at 7:00 p.m. on December 7 at An Hoi roundabout.

The program aims to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the Central Vietnamese art of Bài Chòi being recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a thank you from Hoi An to tourists and the community who have loved the ancient town of Hoi An and the folk art of Bài Chòi in Hoi An.

This is an opportunity to look back on the journey of practicing, preserving and promoting local heritage; contributing to evoking appreciation for long-standing cultural values; and continuing to nurture the enduring vitality of a unique folk art form in Hoi An - a global creative heritage city.

Nightly performance of Bai Choi singing at An Hoi Roundabout, Hoi An Ward, Da Nang City

In order to preserve the long-term and create a solid foundation for the future of the folk art form of Bài Chòi, for many years, Hoi An has focused on organizing the teaching of Bài Chòi in schools.

From 2004 to present, the former Hoi An Center for Culture, Sports, Radio and Television (now Hoi An Center for Preserving World Cultural Heritage) has coordinated with the education sector to teach folk songs and bai choi in schools; opened nightly folk song and bai choi singing classes at the "Night Street" activity in the old town for students who love this subject to participate.

Bai Choi artist Luong Dang performs Bai Choi singing in Hoi An ancient town. PHOTO: TT

Bài chòi artists will come directly to primary and secondary schools to instruct students on basic skills such as: Introduction to the origin, playing method and cultural significance of this type of performance; how to beat the clapper, keep the rhythm, how to chant and pronounce words in the correct Bài chòi style...

From there, students not only naturally acquire heritage knowledge, but are also inspired to love and be proud of their homeland's folk art.

For many years, Hoi An has focused on training and passing on the art of Bai Choi and organizing Bai Choi singing competitions to create a playground for the young generation.

Along with that, Hoi An also organizes training classes for young people who are passionate about Bai Choi, providing intensive training to train a team of successors, continuing and maintaining Bai Choi as a "living heritage" in the heart of the world heritage of Hoi An Ancient Town.

A folk song class organized by Hoi An's Bai Choi artists for tourists coming to Hoi An during the Covid-19 pandemic

These activities, in addition to the purpose of preservation, also contribute to promoting the art of Bai Choi to become a typical cultural tourism product of Hoi An tourism.

The free folk singing classes in the old quarter are now also a stop for many tourists visiting the night market to listen to the artists and children learn to sing and perform together. The audience, the students, the teachers and the students are all engrossed in the singing of the folk songs, xang xe, xuan nu, ho Quang, ho khoan, and immerse themselves in the traditional music space.

The card game Bai Choi is regularly held at local festivals, attracting the participation of locals and tourists to Hoi An.

Continuing the cultural tradition of Hoi An people, since the 1990s, Hoi An has implemented many solutions to restore local cultural identity, focusing on cultural and artistic activities, especially the mass cultural movement. Organizations, education sectors and communes and wards also regularly organize competitions, festivals specializing in folk songs - bai choi, and bai choi singing competitions.

Bai Choi performance at Tra Que vegetable village

In each competition and performance program, Hoi An always encourages folk songs and thanks to that, folk songs of Bai Choi appear more and more, Bai Choi gradually becomes a habit of performing and enjoying. Up to now, every night in the old town, the folk game of singing Bai Choi has become a unique cultural and tourist product in Hoi An ancient town.

In exchange events, festivals, and performances of Bai Choi, the traditional folk song is also included in art programs to promote and introduce the beauty of the Bai Choi heritage.

It can be said that the art of Bài Chòi in Hội An is both a heritage and a spiritual product of the people, and a cultural tourism product. Bài Chòi heritage is rooted and lives persistently in the cultural and spiritual life of the people of Hội An, in the key economic activity of tourism.

The nightly Bai Choi singing program at An Hoi roundabout has become one of the typical cultural and tourism activities and products of Hoi An night market.

At the An Hoi roundabout in the center of Hoi An ancient town, every evening, artists from the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center organize a performance of Bai Choi singing to serve tourists coming to Hoi An night market. The performance space is open and cozy, making it easy for visitors to immerse themselves in the folk rhythm.

In addition, at events, festivals and international exchange programs, associated with the image of "Hoi An - creative city", the art of Bai Choi is skillfully introduced and performed to introduce the heritage of Bai Choi with its intact traditional spirit, spreading and connecting the art of Bai Choi in contemporary life, becoming a unique, vibrant and cohesive cultural feature of the local community.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/den-hoi-an-tham-gia-dem-giao-luu-nghe-thuat-bai-choi-186318.html