The mass art movement in West Hai Phong is bustling.

Currently, the majority of members of grassroots clubs and art troupes are elderly people. In the photo: A performance by retired people at the walking street and night market in the Bach Dang area.

Close and practical

Recently, at the Vu Lan ceremony held at Vinh Khang Pagoda, An Phu Commune, the performances of the An Doai Village Arts Club received the love of the audience because of their closeness and practicality. The Cheo and folk songs with the theme of sacred motherly love, praising the homeland and country were well received by the people.

Enthusiastic about watching the performances, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh, An Doai village, excitedly said: “Art is like an indispensable spiritual food for our people. Everyone looks forward to cultural exchange programs to go see, immerse themselves in the bustling atmosphere, music, singing, helping to improve spiritual life.”

Since the beginning of the year, the club has organized many cultural exchanges in the commune and neighboring communes, creating a playground, encouraging solidarity, and promoting cultural and artistic movements at the grassroots level. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thom, head of the An Doai village cultural club, said that every time there is an exchange program, the team members prepare to practice, bringing to the audience unique dance and singing performances imbued with national identity. This is also an opportunity for the village's cultural teams to exchange, learn, and create more community cohesion.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there are currently 3,509 clubs and art troupes at the commune and village levels in the West of Hai Phong. At the conference to summarize the work in 2024 and deploy tasks for 2025, leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the former Hai Duong highly appreciated the mass art activities at the grassroots level. The art programs by the clubs and grassroots art troupes are increasingly of high quality, and the skills of staging and performing have been significantly improved. Thanks to the diligence in researching and self-improving skills, and at the same time, through training courses from the authorities, the clubs have approached and performed fluently difficult genres such as Cheo singing, Quan Ho singing, etc., helping the "homegrown" art programs become more diverse and unique.

Clubs and grassroots art troupes in the West regularly perform locally on holidays, Tet, political events... Most notably, recently, the 2024 "Amateur Music and Dance Festival" attracted more than 700 amateur actors and artists from grassroots units to participate, performing more than 60 outstanding performances that left a strong impression on the audience.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc, Deputy Director of the Center for Culture, Cinema and Exhibition, said that many professional performances combining singing and dancing were highly appreciated by the jury. “The groups have built elaborate, high-quality art programs with diverse genres; attractive and rich costumes and props; many performances have high artistic value, skillfully combining traditional national culture with contemporary life,” said Mr. Duc.

Local art clubs and troupes are also the main force participating in performances at the walking street and Bach Dang night market. Since the launch of this street, there have been about 400 local art clubs and troupes with more than 5,000 increasingly high-quality staged performances, contributing to meeting the needs of enjoyment and improving the cultural and spiritual life of the people.

Need attention

Mass art clubs and troupes need more attention to operate well and perform for the people. In the photo: Mass art programs have become familiar spiritual food for people at the walking street and Bach Dang night market.

In the cultural space of Mao Dien Temple of Literature, nearly 20 actors and musicians of Cam Giang Cheo and Folk Song Club are diligently practicing. Mr. Pham Xuan Hach, the club's director, said that to maintain good activities, the club regularly practices twice a month on the 1st and 15th. The club also builds quarterly and yearly practice plans.

Cam Giang Folk Song and Cheo Singing Club was established in August 2019 with more than 20 members who are typical local art troupes. Like other grassroots art clubs and teams, they are all farmers with muddy hands and feet but share a passion for traditional art. In the early days of its establishment, the club encountered many difficulties such as: lack of costumes, musical instruments, most members had never received formal training so their singing and performing skills were limited.

Although the commune and village pay attention and support, the budget is small, the members still have to pay out of their own pocket, partly thanks to socialized funding... to maintain activities. With the spirit of solidarity and overcoming difficulties together, the members strive to study and practice on their own. No salary, no big stage, but being able to perform in front of the people, being loved by the audience is the biggest source of encouragement for them to continue to stick with the club.

In order for the mass arts movement to develop, most clubs and art troupes want the cultural sector and localities to organize more festivals and performances for the public. Localities and cultural sectors also need to increase their investment in developing mass arts and culture, especially non-professional theater.

According to Mr. Nguyen Danh Hoan, An Doai Village Arts Club, An Phu Commune, currently the majority of members of the mass arts clubs and teams are elderly people. All levels need to pay special attention to training and encouraging young people to join mass arts teams. This will be the core force, building a successor team for non-professional theater. Regularly maintain professional training courses to provide knowledge of stage scripts... Train and improve the qualifications of cultural officers at the commune level, select officers with artistic talent, understanding of theater forms and traditional art forms to build the movement.

THU HUONG

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/soi-dong-phong-trao-van-nghe-quan-chung-o-tay-hai-phong-521548.html