Dear bowl dance

Local art troupes perform bowl dances for tourists staying at Ba Be Lake.

Local art troupe performs bowl dance for guests staying at Ba Be Lake.

Bowl dance in fun

We went to the simple house of Artisan Ha Sy Hoan in Cho Don commune to listen to him talk about bowl dance. Artisan Ha Sy Hoan was awarded the title of Folk Artist and the Medal for the Cause of Vietnamese Folk Arts in the field of Practicing and Teaching Tay Ethnic Bowl Dance in 2024.

It is said that since ancient times, the Tay people have created many ways to entertain themselves after tiring working hours. During parties, after full glasses of wine, people try to knock bowls and chopsticks together to create sounds.

The movement simulates the process of reeling silk and turning threads with bowls and chopsticks in the traditional weaving craft. Everyone dances in a long line around the house, the atmosphere becomes joyful, filled with laughter and chatter.

Bowl dance is often performed in parties, the more bustling and joyful the space, the more attractive the bowl dance. The posture of bowl dance is very diverse, including standing straight, sitting down, bending, bending forward and leaning back. The dance costume is simple with traditional Tay ethnic clothes. The musical instruments are bowls and chopsticks, each dancer will hold two bowls and a pair of chopsticks.

The bowl dance is performed in a group of 6 to 12 people, or as a community performance. To perform the bowl dance, the dancers walk to the rhythmic beats while using a bowl and chopsticks to create a unique musical sound.

The sound of the bowls will resonate, sometimes low, sometimes high, like a woman's confidences and sharing about the hardships of silkworm rearing and weaving, at the same time expressing the people's wishes and aspirations for a prosperous and fulfilling life.

Multiplying Circles of Solidarity

Artist Ha Sy Hoan is passionate about the bowl dance.

Having a spiritual meaning and long-term association with the Tay ethnic people, but for a long time, the bowl dance was gradually forgotten, no one mentioned it. Remembering his childhood with the bowl dance over the years, Artist Sy Hoan went to learn and record documents from the elderly in the Tay ethnic villages to teach them to local art troupes.

Since 2016, Artisan Ha Sy Hoan has organized and guided nearly 30 local art troupes with more than 250 members. From those first teams and groups, over time, bowl dancing has become a unique feature of the Tay ethnic group.

In 2022, the Tay people's folk performance art of bowl dance was included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In recent years, the bowl dance has received attention and has gradually been restored and developed in many localities in the province.

To suit today's performing arts, bowl dance movements have been developed in a variety of ways. With chopsticks and bowls, dancers will perform many movements simulating familiar activities in daily life such as: cutting rice, flying fairies, rowing boats, turning water wheels, grinding corn, pounding rice, scooping water, etc.

Dancers can move gently, forming cones, circles and letters. From there, they create unique characteristics, attracting viewers of all ages.

The Tay people’s bowl dance in the village space has become a cultural highlight in many programs and festivals in Thai Nguyen province. This heritage is restored in grassroots art troupes, schools, and is included in performing activities serving community tourism .

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