National theatre premieres ballet based on legend
Ballet dancers from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) will premier a full ballet that tells a tragic, legendary love story.
The ballet, entitled Ham Le Minh Chau, is the My Chau-Trong Thuy love story from the reign of An Duong Vuong, in the 3rd century BC.
Legend has it that Au Lac, as Vietnam was known more than years ago, was a kingdom where peace reigned. The king built a new citadel and got a magic crossbow to protect his kingdom. Princess My Chau fell in love with Trong Thuy, a son of Trieu Da, the lord of a rival state that bordered Au Lac in the north, and the two wedded.
After the wedding, Trong Thuy asked for the secret of the crossbow but My Chau declined at first. Eventually though, she revealed the secret and her kingdom was promptly attacked.
The king killed My Chau for her betrayal. In the end, the king who lost his country, and the prince who lost his wife, both committed suicide.
The ballet features the tragedy of the king’s daughter My Chau.
“It is difficult to stage this love in a ballet,” said celebrated ballet choreographer Nguyen Hong Phong.
“A big challenge for us is to make an impression on the audience with a combination of western ballet and music and an orient story. We hope that the ballet will enthral the audience in the debut.”
The ballet will use impressionism music written by Claude Debussy. The four-part ballet is an alternation of past and present between the love story of a modern couple and My Chau-Trong Thuy.
The ballet will star leading dancers Phan Luong and Thu Hang who play the two main roles.
Luong is currently the principal dancer at the theatre. He graduated from the Vietnam Dance School and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
He has performed leading roles in Vietnamese and foreign ballets such as Moi Tinh Thanh Co (Love in Citadel); Giselle, and Swan Lake. He participated in the Asian Dance Festival from 2012 to 2015 and was the only Vietnamese member of the Asian Dance Troupe in 2014.
Hang won gold medals at Indochina Art Festival 2014 and the 1st International Dance Festival in Hue city. At the VNOB, she has main roles in Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Giselle.
The ballet will feature artists of the VNOB with videos to be shown on Led and Gauze screens in front and behind the actors.
It will begin at 8pm on June 1 at Hanoi Opera House.
