Over a dozen elderly women, including octogenarians, in a Mekong Deltaprovince have incorporated their wartime toughness into their lion danceperformances over the past three decades.
The dancers, who arejust as agile and supple as those in their prime, turned out to beelderly women, including those in their 70s and 80s, who already havegrandchildren and even great-grandchildren, reported Tuoi Tre (Youth)newspaper.
The women regularly rehearse in the yard of one of the members’ homes in Giong Trom district in Ben Tre province.
They are members of the well-known Luong Hoa female lion dance troupe, which was formed thirty-four years ago.
Thelion dance is a form of traditional dance in Vietnamese culture andother Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in acostume representing the animal.
Lion dances are usuallyperformed during Tet (Lunar New Year) and other traditional, culturaland religious festivals, and important occasions such as businessopenings or special celebrations.
Luong Hoa troupe hasbeen invited to perform throughout the country, and has taken homespecial prizes at all provincial lion dancing contests and festivals.
“Oneshouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I feel restless at the drum beats,the lion heads weigh five or six kilograms each but are really no bigdeal,” the newspaper quoted Tran Thi Sanh, 88, as saying.
Sanh is one of the troupe’s two eldest performers. The troupe is usually made up of 13 members.
Mostof its members joined a female guerilla team led by Nguyen Thi Dinh,the Vietnam People’s Army’s first female general, during the war in theSoutheast Asian country, which ended in 1975.
“The troupe’shistory dates back to the momentous Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954. Inthe heated, pervasive revolutionary atmosphere, several local womenimprovised makeshift lion dancing kits and began performing basic liondancing maneuvers to add weight to our political propaganda campaignsand boost locals’ morale,” Sanh recalled.
The troupe disbanded in 1975.
In early 1981, Nguyen Thi Dinh visited the district – her hometown – and urged the women to resume their performances.
Dinhthen provided the women with financial assistance for performingcostumes and kits, and the Luong Hoa troupe was once called Ba Dinh’slion dance troupe.
The women sought help and training from their professional male counterparts, and also made several of their performing kits.
“Wewere initially faced with social stigma for being female performers, asthe lion dance is mostly exclusive to males. We are lucky to have ourhusbands’ and children’s wholehearted support,” Nguyen Thi Thoi said.
In 1984, a high-ranking Cuban delegation paid a visit to Ben Tre and forged a relationship with the Vietnamese province.
LuongHoa commune, where the lion dancing troupe’s members come from, hassince adopted the name of Moncada, a Cuban village which saw thebeginning of an uprising against the Batista dictator regime.
Meanwhile, Hinba Bonita breeding cow farm in Cuba is also named “Ben Tre Village.”
The troupe is summoned for performances each time the province welcomes Cuban delegates.
They receive performance invitations all year round, but invites peak around and during Tet.
“Wehaven’t celebrated Tet at home for almost 10 years now. We performed inthe neighborhoods during the days before Tet and were ‘stationed’ at atourism complex in Ben Tre, the province’s municipal city, during theweek-long holiday,” Phuoc said.
Apart from travel expenses, thetroupe is paid a small amount, but its members consider the practice amedium to bring joy to themselves and people around them.
They sometimes buy lion heads, which cost around 2 million VND (93 USD) apiece, with their own money.
Apartfrom octogenarian members, the others are busy doing daytime jobs,including peeling coconuts, splitting betel nuts, harvesting rice,peddling lottery tickets, and working as domestic help to eke out ameager living.
Busy as they are, they are always willing to put aside their work to show up at rehearsals and performances.
Sanhurged her nieces, who are both in their 50s and live dozens ofkilometers away from the rehearsal venue, to join the troupe so thatthey can keep it alive after the woman and her peers pass away.
“Justlet us know when someone needs lion dancing performances. Weparticularly love to perform on Con Dao and Phu Quoc Islands [in thesouthern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Kien Giang respectively] topay visits to the wartime prisons we once stayed in,” Vo Thi Kien, 81, atroupe member, insisted./.
The dancers, who arejust as agile and supple as those in their prime, turned out to beelderly women, including those in their 70s and 80s, who already havegrandchildren and even great-grandchildren, reported Tuoi Tre (Youth)newspaper.
The women regularly rehearse in the yard of one of the members’ homes in Giong Trom district in Ben Tre province.
They are members of the well-known Luong Hoa female lion dance troupe, which was formed thirty-four years ago.
Thelion dance is a form of traditional dance in Vietnamese culture andother Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in acostume representing the animal.
Lion dances are usuallyperformed during Tet (Lunar New Year) and other traditional, culturaland religious festivals, and important occasions such as businessopenings or special celebrations.
Luong Hoa troupe hasbeen invited to perform throughout the country, and has taken homespecial prizes at all provincial lion dancing contests and festivals.
“Oneshouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I feel restless at the drum beats,the lion heads weigh five or six kilograms each but are really no bigdeal,” the newspaper quoted Tran Thi Sanh, 88, as saying.
Sanh is one of the troupe’s two eldest performers. The troupe is usually made up of 13 members.
Mostof its members joined a female guerilla team led by Nguyen Thi Dinh,the Vietnam People’s Army’s first female general, during the war in theSoutheast Asian country, which ended in 1975.
“The troupe’shistory dates back to the momentous Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954. Inthe heated, pervasive revolutionary atmosphere, several local womenimprovised makeshift lion dancing kits and began performing basic liondancing maneuvers to add weight to our political propaganda campaignsand boost locals’ morale,” Sanh recalled.
The troupe disbanded in 1975.
In early 1981, Nguyen Thi Dinh visited the district – her hometown – and urged the women to resume their performances.
Dinhthen provided the women with financial assistance for performingcostumes and kits, and the Luong Hoa troupe was once called Ba Dinh’slion dance troupe.
The women sought help and training from their professional male counterparts, and also made several of their performing kits.
“Wewere initially faced with social stigma for being female performers, asthe lion dance is mostly exclusive to males. We are lucky to have ourhusbands’ and children’s wholehearted support,” Nguyen Thi Thoi said.
In 1984, a high-ranking Cuban delegation paid a visit to Ben Tre and forged a relationship with the Vietnamese province.
LuongHoa commune, where the lion dancing troupe’s members come from, hassince adopted the name of Moncada, a Cuban village which saw thebeginning of an uprising against the Batista dictator regime.
Meanwhile, Hinba Bonita breeding cow farm in Cuba is also named “Ben Tre Village.”
The troupe is summoned for performances each time the province welcomes Cuban delegates.
They receive performance invitations all year round, but invites peak around and during Tet.
“Wehaven’t celebrated Tet at home for almost 10 years now. We performed inthe neighborhoods during the days before Tet and were ‘stationed’ at atourism complex in Ben Tre, the province’s municipal city, during theweek-long holiday,” Phuoc said.
Apart from travel expenses, thetroupe is paid a small amount, but its members consider the practice amedium to bring joy to themselves and people around them.
They sometimes buy lion heads, which cost around 2 million VND (93 USD) apiece, with their own money.
Apartfrom octogenarian members, the others are busy doing daytime jobs,including peeling coconuts, splitting betel nuts, harvesting rice,peddling lottery tickets, and working as domestic help to eke out ameager living.
Busy as they are, they are always willing to put aside their work to show up at rehearsals and performances.
Sanhurged her nieces, who are both in their 50s and live dozens ofkilometers away from the rehearsal venue, to join the troupe so thatthey can keep it alive after the woman and her peers pass away.
“Justlet us know when someone needs lion dancing performances. Weparticularly love to perform on Con Dao and Phu Quoc Islands [in thesouthern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Kien Giang respectively] topay visits to the wartime prisons we once stayed in,” Vo Thi Kien, 81, atroupe member, insisted./.
