In recent years, many activities of cultural exchanges have been held and many Vietnamese traditional art troupes have been invited to take pat in international art festivals. But water puppetry, an art form imbued with traditional cultural identity of Vietnam handed down for thousands of years has probably left deepest impressions on friends from all continents.
More than 10 centuries ago, being nurtured and created in an atmosphere of festivities, water puppetry with lively items reflecting the labour and daily life of Vietnamese farmers have gradually become a unique art form of Vietnam’s folk stage arts, closely associated with waterways. Old historical book recorded that since moving the capital to Thang Long, King Ly Thai To ordered annual swimming competition on the Cai River. And every year, he himself, in his Royal Palanquin, watched the swimming competition. Up to now, the Sùng Thiện diên linh stone stele in Long Son Pagoda (Doi Mountain, Duy Tien District, Nam Ha Province) built in 1121 under the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong is a reliable evidence showing the performance of water puppets under the Ly Dynasty. It inscribes different water puppet shows of fairy dance, phoenix dance, and golden dragons spitting water etc. very familiar to us today.
Twenty years have passed since the first foreign performance tour of the traditional water puppetry art troupe in 1984, through hundreds of foreign performance trips to more than 40 countries worldwide, attending many international stage art festivals, Vietnamese water puppet artists have always surprised international audiences and friends who greatly admired the uniqueness and the delicacy and talent of artists in maneuvering puppets on the water surface. Most of the audiences, who have once enjoyed Vietnam’s traditional water puppet shows, consider this art form a cultural envoy bringing love, happiness and peace to their country. In May 2004, water puppet shows staged by artists from the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre were resounded at the International Art Festivals in Morocco and Croatia. The Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre was also very successful at the International Festival in Barcelona, Spain in 2004 and in the Hanoi Culture Week in Geneva – Switzerland. It also took part in the performance for children in Spain.
At the ceremony to admit Vietnam into the World Theatrical Association at the 30th ITI Congress in Tampico - Mexico in early June, 2004, Sir Manfred Beiharz – President of the World Theatrical Association, in his congratulation to People’s Artist Trong Khoi, head of the Vietnamese Theatrical Delegation at the Congress, confirmed: "With its long-standing history of development of stage arts from tradition to modernity, the diversity of stage art forms, particularly the contribution to the world stage art treasure of traditional water puppetry, very unique and as an envoy, Vietnam is really worthy of entering the world theatrical house".
Nguồn: Nghệ sĩ: Trương Nhuận
