Mr. Nguyen Van Tuat was born in 1958 in a land rich in Cheo cultural traditions. His childhood was associated with the smooth lyrics resounding from the communal house yard, village festivals, and even radio broadcasts with the sound of Chau drums and familiar Cheo songs. The ancient Cheo melodies penetrated the soul of the young Nguyen Van Tuat as a natural thing, like the unceasing flow of his homeland's traditions.
When the war broke out, Mr. Tuat followed the call of the Fatherland and joined the army. He fought and served in the cultural work of Military Region 5, bringing his singing voice to serve the soldiers on the battlefield. After 1975, Mr. Tuat transferred to the Quang Ninh mining area and in 1985, he transferred to Mong Duong Coal.
"I thought that being far from my homeland meant being far from rowing, but it was the fate of this new land that revived it, becoming a place to continue to sow the seeds of passion and dedication to traditional art," Mr. Tuat recalled.
At first, it was just performances in the activities of Mong Duong Coal Company, and from those simple performances, the sound of Cheo singing gradually spread throughout the residential areas. Workers from many rural areas such as Nghe An , Thanh Hoa... gathered here, found harmony in the Cheo melodies of their homeland. They sang together, learned together, and then the Cheo movement gradually grew.
Not only a performer, Mr. Tuat also opened Cheo singing instruction classes in Mong Duong, Cua Ong, then spread to Quang Hanh, Cam Thach (now Quang Hanh ward), Cam Binh, Cam Trung (now Cam Pha ward)... Thanks to that, dozens of Cheo classes were established, taught, and movements were launched by him. The elderly, the young, from workers to retired officials, all found joy and passion in Cheo singing under his dedicated guidance.
He believes that to successfully teach Cheo, first of all, one must make people love Cheo and be passionate about Cheo. Therefore, he not only teaches singing but also directly performs, instructs each gesture, how to play a role, and emphasizes the lyrics to make them soulful. The nights of singing resounding late into the night in the neighborhoods, the classes lasting from day to day, etc. become beautiful memories in the journey of preserving the Cheo art in the mining land.
In particular, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuat is also a multi-talented artist, active in both music and theater. He became a member of the Quang Ninh Literature and Arts Association in 1992, and is the author of songs imbued with the character of the mining region such as "Our Miners", "Miners Entering the Shift" and many stage plays that have been staged and performed widely at art festivals and performances.
With his talent and lasting dedication, he was awarded the title of Mining Artist (1996), received the Medal for the Cause of Mass Theater (1992), and was awarded the title of Excellent Director at the National Amateur Arts Festival (2007)...
Although times have changed and the Cheo melodies in modern life are sometimes forgotten, for Mr. Nguyen Van Tuat, Cheo has never belonged to the past. "The sound of Cheo drums and Cheo songs must continue to resound in the land and sky of the Mining Region, to fuel the next generation's understanding of tradition. Traditional art is not just a memory, but a rhythm of life, a culture, and their own soul" - Mr. Tuat confided.
Amidst the coal dust, the sound of excavators and trucks going back and forth, the old artist's cheo singing voice still rings out passionately and deeply, as proof that the beauty of traditional culture is still strong and alive in the mining land.
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/nguoi-giu-hon-lan-toa-nghe-thuat-cheo-tren-dat-mo-3364734.html
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