In the five years since HCM City began to back the idea ofdeveloping traditional arts as a tourist attraction, some private arttroupes have hit pay dirt.
The Rong Vang (Golden Dragon)Water Puppet Theatre, which opened in 2007, has become a favouritetourist site in the downtown area.
Located within theWorkers Cultural Palace in District 3, the theatre puts on twoshows every night, attracting around 120 people.
Its ownerHuynh Anh Tuan and his staff work very hard to ensure qualityperformances of the unique Vietnamese art of water puppetry.
In a recent interview with Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)newspaper, Tuan said: "The country's rich and diverse traditionaltheatre, puppetry in particular, should be made more accessible totourists, so that it attains value and develops."
He isbuilding a new theatre at a cost of 2 billion VND (nearly 100,000 USD),also in the Cultural Palace , expected to be completed later thisyear.
The Non La (Conical Hat) Theatre's troupe of morethan 50 singers, dancers, and musicians will offer audiences traditionalVietnamese music and dance.
Vuong Tuan Hung, a theatredirector with 20 years' experience in the entertainment industry, saidshows meant for tourists should have professional producers and stagemanagers and quality stagecraft.
He got the idea ofopening a traditional performance company one day in 2006 while workingfor a tourist company in Hanoi , he revealed.
"Many foreign visitors wanted to see a traditional music performance, but we could not satisfy their need," he recalled.
"Everything available at that time was inauthentic or simplistic."
He felt compelled "to do something," and decided to explore opportunities in HCM City .
Hung and some of his close friends made something of a name forthemselves with Minh Khang, the city's first company to organise andproduce traditional music shows for foreign tourists.
Thetroupe's highlights were Cham, Co Tu, and E De ethnic minority dances,and performances on traditional instruments like dan bau (monochord) andtam thap luc (a zither with 36 brass strings).
Unfortunately, Minh Khang had to close in 2008 after losing more than400 million VND (200,000 USD). Since it failed to attract enoughaudiences, it could not earn enough to remain in business.
Hung has understood why this happened, saying "We went about ourbusiness without support from tourist companies. Therefore, we found ithard to attract customers."
Linh Huyen, owner of the MeKong Artists Company, agreed with Hung, saying that while traditionalVietnamese theatre has always held foreign tourists' interest, few tourprogrammes offered by local agencies included such performances.
"Unbelievably, very few of the 600 art troupes and performancecompanies in the city have been able to find a way to carry onbusiness."
She also agreed that foreign visitors loved traditional Vietnamese art and wanted to know more about it.
Tourism could revive traditional arts by helping them succeed commercially, she added.
She set up a company last month to offer a traditional arts show totourists in cooperation with the Organising Centre for Art Performancesand Saigontourist.
The show, Hon Viet (The Soul ofVietnam), featuring a mix of musical and dance styles from the northern,southern, and central regions is being staged twice a month at thecity's Opera House.
Their audiences so far, besidesforeign tourists, have mostly been music students, teachers, artists,and researchers who pay a nominal 80,000 VND. Foreigners pay around 10USD.
"Private companies like Rong Vang and Me Kong haveinvested a lot in both money and human resources to develop their art aswell as diversify the city's tourism products," Vo Trong Nam, deputydirector of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.
"Their efforts have finally paid off."./.
The Rong Vang (Golden Dragon)Water Puppet Theatre, which opened in 2007, has become a favouritetourist site in the downtown area.
Located within theWorkers Cultural Palace in District 3, the theatre puts on twoshows every night, attracting around 120 people.
Its ownerHuynh Anh Tuan and his staff work very hard to ensure qualityperformances of the unique Vietnamese art of water puppetry.
In a recent interview with Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)newspaper, Tuan said: "The country's rich and diverse traditionaltheatre, puppetry in particular, should be made more accessible totourists, so that it attains value and develops."
He isbuilding a new theatre at a cost of 2 billion VND (nearly 100,000 USD),also in the Cultural Palace , expected to be completed later thisyear.
The Non La (Conical Hat) Theatre's troupe of morethan 50 singers, dancers, and musicians will offer audiences traditionalVietnamese music and dance.
Vuong Tuan Hung, a theatredirector with 20 years' experience in the entertainment industry, saidshows meant for tourists should have professional producers and stagemanagers and quality stagecraft.
He got the idea ofopening a traditional performance company one day in 2006 while workingfor a tourist company in Hanoi , he revealed.
"Many foreign visitors wanted to see a traditional music performance, but we could not satisfy their need," he recalled.
"Everything available at that time was inauthentic or simplistic."
He felt compelled "to do something," and decided to explore opportunities in HCM City .
Hung and some of his close friends made something of a name forthemselves with Minh Khang, the city's first company to organise andproduce traditional music shows for foreign tourists.
Thetroupe's highlights were Cham, Co Tu, and E De ethnic minority dances,and performances on traditional instruments like dan bau (monochord) andtam thap luc (a zither with 36 brass strings).
Unfortunately, Minh Khang had to close in 2008 after losing more than400 million VND (200,000 USD). Since it failed to attract enoughaudiences, it could not earn enough to remain in business.
Hung has understood why this happened, saying "We went about ourbusiness without support from tourist companies. Therefore, we found ithard to attract customers."
Linh Huyen, owner of the MeKong Artists Company, agreed with Hung, saying that while traditionalVietnamese theatre has always held foreign tourists' interest, few tourprogrammes offered by local agencies included such performances.
"Unbelievably, very few of the 600 art troupes and performancecompanies in the city have been able to find a way to carry onbusiness."
She also agreed that foreign visitors loved traditional Vietnamese art and wanted to know more about it.
Tourism could revive traditional arts by helping them succeed commercially, she added.
She set up a company last month to offer a traditional arts show totourists in cooperation with the Organising Centre for Art Performancesand Saigontourist.
The show, Hon Viet (The Soul ofVietnam), featuring a mix of musical and dance styles from the northern,southern, and central regions is being staged twice a month at thecity's Opera House.
Their audiences so far, besidesforeign tourists, have mostly been music students, teachers, artists,and researchers who pay a nominal 80,000 VND. Foreigners pay around 10USD.
"Private companies like Rong Vang and Me Kong haveinvested a lot in both money and human resources to develop their art aswell as diversify the city's tourism products," Vo Trong Nam, deputydirector of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.
"Their efforts have finally paid off."./.
