LookAtVietnam – The Vietnam Circus Federation will stage a combination of dance, circus and installation arts in a program called Lang Toi (my village) in France and other European locations this June, in response to an invitation from France,

The Vietnam Circus Federation will stage a combination of dance, circus and installation arts in a program called Lang Toi in France and other European locations this June. (Photo: Internet)

Lang Toi was created by taking motifs from traditional Vietnamese culture and using illustrations from daily life in northern villages to tell a story. It will be staged at the Hanoi Opera House this May and will tour the world for three years, starting in France in June 2009.

The Vietnamese artists will present 11 performances at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. The museum was founded by former French President Jacques Chirac and features programs focused on indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from around the world.

The program has been developed in cooperation with France’s Art Ensemble.

The creators aimed to maintain national identity, working to develop a spectacle known as a “new circus,” where a story or scenario is linked throughout the different acts. In this new version the number of members is reduced from 80 to 14 actors, four musicians and two technicians, but the main idea of bringing traditional values of Vietnamese culture to a circus program will be kept intact.

The new program will use bamboo as a constant throughout. The audience will see traditional folk games, such as stilt-walking on bamboo sticks and hacky-sack. The stage music is played on ancient folk instruments in tunes arranged for a solid circus performance.

VietNamNet/SGT