Keeping cheo stages forever

Under the canopy of the fragrant frangipane in the yard of the communal house in Hoang Mai 2 village, Hoang Ninh commune (Viet Yen district), more than 30 actors, actresses and instrument performers of the Hoang Mai Cheo Club are passionate about practising. 

A training session of the Hoang Mai Cheo Club in Hoang Ninh commune (Viet Yen district).

According to Do Thi Khoa (born in 1942), the cheo art has appeared in Hoang Mai for over a hundred years, when the couple of actor Vien (from Thai Binh province) set up their career and taught cheo singing to local people.

Singing this genre is difficult because it requires the singers to have a smooth voice and a long breath. According to Than Thi Nen, deputy head of the club, to improve the level of its members, the club often holds exchanges and performs in many cheo stages in and outside the province such as Thai Binh, Hai Phong and Hai Duong.

Meeting with Meritorious Artist Nguyen Trong Nguyen, 81, and Nguyen Van Can, 93, (the oldest member of the Ha Village Cheo Club in Cao Thuong commune, Tan Yen district), we partly understand the ups and downs of the cheo art here. 

With the efforts of the management board, the club is now a place where its 81 members come to share their passion for cheo. The club is among those with the largest number of members in the district), mostly in the age of 60-70.

On the occasion of village festival, the Ha village cheo stage becomes bustling with the traditional cheo plays such as Quan Am Thi Kinh, Luu Binh Duong Le and Pham Cong Cuc Hoa as well as modern and modified cheo plays.

In addition, the management board of the Ha Village Cheo Club has coordinated with other cultural and art clubs in organizing cheo and folk song singing exchanges; implemented programmes to introduce the cheo art at schools, contributing to spreading the love of cheo to local children.

Continuing to preserve and promote the value of cheo art

According to statistics from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the province has nearly 40 cheo clubs in all 10 districts and city. Like many localities in the northern delta in general, Cheo singing in Bac Giang province is associated with folk cultural and singing activities, especially at festivals.

A scene in the play "Tron nghia ven tinh" (Full of Love) staged by the Yen Dung District Cheo Club.

Performing the task of restoring, conserving and developing this type of art, each year, the provincial Center for Culture and Cinematography opens from 10 to 12 classes teaching cheo singing for grassroots singers in localities. Each class has 30 to hundreds of learners of different ages.

According to Nguyen Quach Hai, Director of the provincial Center for Culture and Cinematography, this year, Bac Giang province continues to organize the Cheo Festival to create an environment for cheo clubs across the province to exchange and learn from each other as well as propose solutions to the cheo art conservation.

In order to contribute to preserving and promoting the value of the cheo art, in the coming time, the provincial Center for Culture and Cinematography will continue to open classes to foster grassroots artists; restore and teach ancient cheo plays; coordinate with the education sector to bring cheo into schools; and restore ancient cheo villages.

At the same time, it will introduce the unique values of the cheo art to young people and the general public, establish new clubs, and regularly organize exchanges and festivals, thereby training and selecting the next generation of actors, actresses and instrument performers.

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Tuyet Mai