ANN/VNS – To honour the peaceful and idyllic beauty of Hoi An countryside during the harvest season, Hoi An City collaborated with Arabesque Vietnam to organise a dance performance Rom (Straw).
Under the direction of artistic director Nguyen Tan Loc and music director Duc Tri, the dance features folk music combined with international modern movement, all set amidst the lush rice fields of Hoi An.
Through Rom, performed outdoors, is hoped that visitors will be captivated with the rural landscape and lush rice fields.
They can fully immerse themselves in the flavours, colours and atmosphere of harvest season on the expansive fields of Hoi An, where the setting sun bathes the terrain in a warm golden hue.
Rom tells the story of the simple and authentic life of Vietnamese farmers. The straw pile is an important witness next to the house – from the day the grandparents get married until the children are born and spend their childhood playing under the straw pile. Over time, the children grow up and the grandparents again sit by the pile of straw talking about their children’s marriage.
And so, as each generation leaves, the straw pile is the constant, standing still as a witness to the family’s bond.
Arabesque also introduces ambience dance, a contemporary dance form, to Hoi An for the first time with the performance.
Ambience dance is a popular form of performance art that blends live music and dance language in an outdoor setting.
Rom is also an effort of Hoi An City People’s Committee to develop the city in the direction of an ecological-cultural-tourist destination.
The city is focused on promoting existing potentials and advantages in the fields of culture and arts, as well as innovation and creativity, sustainable development, and ecological and humanistic values.
Hoi An also fosters opportunities and new creative ideals while upholding and advancing the values of cultural heritage, thereby affirming the title of Hoi An as UNESCO’s creative city.
Deputy Chairman of Hoi An City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Lanh said: “Through the dance performance, I hope that visitors will enjoy the rustic beauty of rural villages, harvest fields and handicrafts made from straw. This is also the first time Hoi An City has brought international-class cultural and artistic work to the city.”
“The story of Rom is not just a dance performance, it also honours the ingenuity and persistent spirit of the Vietnamese people,” said artistic director Nguyen Tan Loc.
“When the dance performance takes place, at the gentle moment of sunset, we hope the audience, especially international tourists, will feel what has shaped this distinctive culture.”
