About Thieu Quang, hear stories about preserving the lantern dance and ancient Cheo singing.

The lantern dance and ancient Cheo Chai singing of Thieu Quang commune are recognized as national intangible cultural heritage.

According to the sharing of artist Nguyen Thi Thuy - a person passionate about the lantern dance and the ancient Cheo singing in Nhan Cao village, Thieu Quang commune, said: "The lantern dance and the ancient Cheo singing in Nhan Cao village, Thieu Quang commune do not know when they started. We only know that this performance is associated with the Ngu Vong Phuong festival. This festival is held from the 8th to the 12th of the first lunar month every year. In addition to the ceremony, there is also a festival with folk games and performances such as: boat procession, swinging, cockfighting, human chess, lion dance... The most special performance is the lantern dance and the ancient Cheo singing.

Thieu Quang commune's lantern dance has a dance team of 12 girls who sing well, dance flexibly, wear long black skirts, brown four-panel shirts, red scarves wrapped around their heads, and hold pink silk strips about 2 meters long. The dance team lines up horizontally, with discs of lanterns on their heads, each disc has 7 lanterns. The girls perform the dance movements gracefully, skillfully, and attract the audience. The unique and special feature of the lantern dance is the smooth combination of singing and each dance movement. When the music starts, the 12 girls carry a disc of lanterns on their heads, sing and dance, and form the letters Nhat, Nhi, Tam, Tu and Ngu, and finally roll the lanterns into flower petals to offer to the gods.

Along with the lantern dance is the ancient Cheo singing. To perform the ancient Cheo singing, 12 people who know how to sing Cheo are needed, including 2 men (the boatmen) wearing brown clothes, holding an oar and 10 girls wearing the same outfit, brown shirts, long black skirts reaching to the heels, round hair and holding an oar. When lining up in 2 rows, the team members sing 4 songs: singing the spear-chay, singing the fan dance, singing the boat, and singing the spear-chan sao.

With the unique values of the folk performing arts of running lantern dance and ancient Cheo Chai singing in Thieu Quang commune, it was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage (March 2023). This is an honor for the Party Committee, government and people of Thieu Quang commune. Mr. Ngo Xuan Dung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thieu Quang commune, said: "To be recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage is difficult, preserving and promoting the value of the heritage of running lantern dance and ancient Cheo Chai singing is even more difficult. Therefore, Thieu Quang commune has directed organizations and unions to step up propaganda and education so that people can recognize the value, role and meaning of the heritage in life. From there, there are practical actions in preserving and promoting the heritage of running lantern dance and ancient Cheo Chai singing. At the same time, directing schools to focus on heritage education in general and the performing arts of running lantern dance and ancient Cheo Chai singing in particular...".

Recognizing the responsibility of preserving heritage, Thieu Giang Secondary School (Thieu Quang Commune) has directed teachers of social sciences to integrate the content of heritage value education into their lessons. At the same time, they have invited artisans to teach the traditional lantern dance and Cheo Chai singing to students who are passionate about traditional arts. Thanks to good propaganda and education work, many students of the school are always aware of preserving traditional cultural values; actively participating in learning Cheo Chai singing and lantern dance.

Han Le Tram Anh, a 7A student at Thieu Giang Secondary School, shared: "For me, learning to sing traditional Cheo Chai and dancing with running lights is an honor, because this not only contributes to preserving the cultural identity of my homeland but also spreads the love of heritage to my friends and the young generation of the locality. Therefore, I will actively learn from the artists to know how to dance, sing and guide students in the school to participate."

Believe that with the attention of the Party Committee, the Government and the local people, the national intangible cultural heritage of lantern dancing and ancient Cheo singing will have a strong vitality in the spiritual life of the people in the area. It will forever be a priceless cultural asset and the pride of generations of Thieu Quang people, so that culture is the spiritual foundation, endogenous strength and great driving force for Thieu Quang commune to develop quickly and sustainably.

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