"Keeping the flame alive" for the mass arts and culture movement.

For a long time, the mass arts and culture movement has become an indispensable cultural activity in the lives of the ethnic people of Son La. In the villages, the arts and culture troupes consistently keep the movement alive, bringing songs and music to every festival and holiday as well as to everyday life, enriching spiritual life and contributing to the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural identity.

The Bon village's performing arts troupe interacted with tourists by performing the Xoe dance.

Chieng Lao is a mountainous commune where life is still difficult, but the ethnic minority people here maintain a vibrant cultural and artistic movement. All 39 villages in the commune maintain amateur performing arts troupes, each with 8-12 members. They are enthusiastic cultural leaders who promote and preserve the traditional culture of the Thai, Mong, and Khang people.

Ms. Quàng Thị Nghiên, a member of the Pá Hợp village's performing arts team, finished her dance practice to cheerful music and shared with us: "Although farming is busy and hard work all year round, hearing the loudspeaker call us to practice makes all the fatigue seem to disappear. Participating in performing arts is not only fun but also helps strengthen community bonds."

Meanwhile, in Muong Chien commune, the mass cultural and artistic movement has taken on a fresh new character, closely linked to the development of community tourism. The commune currently has 21 performing arts groups operating regularly in all villages. Particularly in Bon village, they have skillfully combined cultural and artistic activities with tourism promotion, creating opportunities for interaction and attracting tourists.

Ms. Hoang Thi Dung, team leader of the Bon village's performing arts group, said: "The village's performing arts group has 12 members. The group maintains a weekly practice schedule, staging unique performances of the Thai ethnic group to introduce the beauty of our culture to tourists. The cultural exchange activities are always well-received and supported by tourists who come here."

The performance "The Stream Calls to Ta Cay" by the Chieng Lao commune's amateur arts group.

With the attention of the local Party committee and government, the mass arts movement is increasingly developing, contributing to preserving and promoting the cultural identity of ethnic groups, improving the spiritual life and cultural enjoyment needs of the people. Mr. Bui Dinh Hai, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Chien commune, said: The commune always considers mass arts as a core element in preserving identity and strengthening community bonds. Besides the annual financial support of 2 million VND/year, the commune focuses on improving the quality of the movement through opening training courses and developing skills in staging and performing for key local arts groups, combining this with tourism services in the area.

The province currently has over 2,200 amateur performing arts groups in villages, hamlets, and sub-districts, each with 10 or more members. These groups are formed on a voluntary basis and regularly practice, perform, and participate in local exchanges, attracting large crowds of people to watch and cheer, creating a joyful, enthusiastic, and united atmosphere. To promote and develop the amateur performing arts movement, the province annually organizes training and professional guidance for cultural and artistic workers in communes, wards, and key performing arts groups in villages and residential areas; and periodically organizes amateur performing arts competitions and festivals, thereby discovering and nurturing artistic talents.

Members of the Bon village's performing arts troupe practice traditional dances.

Mr. Pham Hong Thu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: The Department focuses on training and developing the capacity of cultural officials at the commune level, artisans, influential figures, and key cultural figures, enhancing their ability to disseminate, preserve, and promote the value of folk performing arts of ethnic groups and the activities of grassroots performing arts groups. Through this, the quality of performances showcasing ethnic identity will be improved, aiming to develop them into unique and meaningful tourism products, and to build an attractive cultural image of Son La for tourists.

With the attention of the Party committees and government, and the active participation of the people, the mass cultural and artistic movement is being given momentum to continue developing, making positive contributions to building cultural life at the grassroots level, improving spiritual life, and strengthening national community cohesion.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/giu-lua-phong-trao-van-nghe-quan-chung-W57YmXHDg.html