Dance drama premieres with a bang in City

A contemporary dance drama deconstructing the phases that everyone goes through in their lives has captured the imagination of HCM City audiences since it premiered at Ben Thanh Theatre last weekend.

Con Tao Xoay (The Spinning Top) is written and directed by the country's top choreographer Tuyet Minh, who choreographs the show with colleagues Cao Chi Thanh and Duong Dinh Hai.


The play has six acts – Luan Hoi (Reincarnation), Con Tao Xoay, Lap Trinh (Programming), Thoat Xac (The Soul Leaves the Body), Toi va Sang (Dark and Light), and Cat Bui (Ashes and Dust) – that reflect the stages in a person's life in modern society.

"The show gave me a better understanding of life through beautiful dance moves," Hong Phuong Tuan, a third-year student of the HCM City University of Teachers' Training, said. "I saw part of myself in the story."

He also admired the dancers for their excellent performances, he added.

The play features professional dancers like Minh, Thanh, Toan Trung, and John Huy Tran, some top performers from Thu Thach Cung Buoc Nhay, the Vietnamese version of US reality show So You Think You Can Dance, and dancers from the Kham Pha (Discovery) Ballet Company.

Minh said she uses simple props but a high-tech lights to spotlight the dancers.

The play was rehearsed for more than three months, she said.

Minh shot to fame in 2002 at a dance contest for youngsters, and in 2003 established the Discovery Company.

The company has staged famous Vietnamese and international works like Carmen, Quan Am Thi Kinh (Goddess of Mercy Thi Kinh), and Thoi Gian (Time) to much admiration from local and foreign audiences.

Con Tao Xoay is a co-production by the Cultural Department of the Association of Vietnamese Enterprises and the Discovery Ballet Company. It will be presented in Ha Noi on August 21.

It is the opening work of their project For the Popularity of Contemporary Dance Work.

‘Closer to audiences'

For many years Vietnamese more or less ignored dance. But the advent of reality shows on television like So You Think You Can Dance and Vu Dieu Dam Me (Got to Dance) in recent years has changed that somewhat.

These shows attract thousands of participants each year and help discover dozens of talents like Lam Vinh Hai, Dinh Loc, and Duong Dinh Hai.

The shows have drawn on the skills of famous Vietnamese dancers and choreographers living in the country and outside like John Huy Tran and Viet Max.

Hai, the winner of the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, said he and his friends are making further plans to popularise dance, especially among youth.

"With choreographers and artists of high quality, the work of bringing the art closer to audiences in the country is not too difficult," he said.