Prof. Hoang Chuong, Prof. Nguyen Thuyet Phong, musician Mai Tuyet Hoa, and artist Kieu Oanh went to the US to propagate the Vietnamese traditional culture at some colleges in New York at the invitation of the Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Prof. Hoang Chuong gives more details about the journey.
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Prof. Hoang Chuong (L) presents the art of Tuong at the Hobart & William Smith Colleges.
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1. I departed from Ha Noi to the US while Prof. Nguyen Thuyet Phong started his flight from HCM City. Arriving at the airport, it took many hours for us to see each other. When seeing us, Phong happily cried as he was afraid that we got lost.
Driving by himself from his house which is located in Ohio, Phong picked us up at the JFK airport and took us to Geneva where the Hobart & William Smith Colleges are located. Sitting in the car, I had to use my knowledge of Vietnamese folk stories and funny stories to help Phong not to fall asleep at the wheel.
Arriving at the Hobart & William Smith Colleges, we immediately saw Prof. Jack D. Harris, who is the dean of Faculty of Anthropology and Sociology, and his wife waiting for us in front of the guest house.
After bringing our luggage into the room, Harris said he and many American students had attended my presentation on Tuong (classical drama) and cheo (traditional opera) in 1997 in Ha Noi and they found it very interesting. That was his first impression of Vietnamese culture and he was, thus, determined to invite us to present Vietnamese traditional culture in the US, helping American lectures and students know more about it.
2. Prof. Thomas D’Agostino, director of center for global education at the Hobart & William Smith Colleges, came to pick us up at the guest house in the following morning and took us to the Colleges. We all felt moved when seeing the portrait of late President Ho Chi Minh solemnly put besides the portraits of American celebrities in the library.
It was Prof. Harris who collected the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh and arranged the portrait in the library, according to Prof. Phong. This proves the President Ho Chi Minh’s influence over people all over the world.
During the first seminar, we presented gestures, martial arts performance, and the use of weapons in Tuong art, partly helping the participants understand distinctive features of Vietnamese traditional culture. They were really interested in Tuong art and filled with excitement at Prof. Phong’s presentation on Vietnamese traditional music and folk melodies performed by artists Mai Tuyet Hoa and Kieu Oanh.
Many teachers and students attended our show performed at the Hobart & William Smith Colleges’ club. This was the first time Vietnamese artists have performed here; therefore, we were determined to win their hearts.
Opening the performance, Prof. Phong introduced us to the audience. Kieu Oanh and Mai Tuyet Hoa then sang the quan ho (love duet) song “Khach den choi nha” (Guests visit our home). Following the show, Prof. Phong played the Vietnamese two chord guitar and dan bau (monochord) solo, Kieu Oanh sang a lullaby originated in the southern region of Vietnam, and Mai Tuyet Hoa performed Hat Xam (blind buskers music), a type of folk music dating from the Tran Dynasty in the 14th century. The audience listened to the strange melodies for the first time.
The show also highlighted Tuong. I briefed the participants on the art of Tuong and illustrated some gestures used in Tuong art, such as drinking alcohol, riding a horse, and fishing. The audience was really interested in my performance.
Kieu Oanh and I then acted an extract of the Tuong play “Ho Nguyet Co hoa cao” (A Fox Incarnated into Ho Nguyet Co), helping them know more about artistic features of Tuong.
Our programme was successful at the Hobart & William Smith Colleges. We then continued the journey at Suny New Paltz University.
3. Before we returned to Vietnam, Prof. Harris had expressed his appreciation of our work which helped propagate Vietnamese culture in the US and strengthen the ties between two countries.
I presented him three small lacquer paintings “Phuc, Loc, Tho” (happiness, wealth, longevity). Harris and his wife happily received my present and said they would put the paintings at the most solemn position in their house.
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