In Asian culture, dragons are considered sacred animals, which have extraordinary powers and are the symbols of luck and good omens. Dragon also represents national power and is the racial origin of people in some Asian countries. For example, the Vietnamese have a legend “Dragon and Fairy Descendant”. Therefore, the dragon dance has been a cultural feature of Asian countries in general, and Vietnam in particular. At present, the dragon dance is a unique type of art that interests many people.
To promote the art, the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism held “Hanoi Dragon Dance Festival 2012” at My Dinh National Stadium that drew the participation of 28 troupes with 50 dragons from districts and towns in Hanoi.
At the festival, the troupes entertained the audiences with impressive and beautiful performances. Some of the acts were meticulously choreographed with four sacred animals, including the dragon, unicorn, turtle and phoenix that showed the artist’s talent and devotion to preserving traditional culture.
Besides dragon dances with traditional themes, the troupes spent much time and effort researching, collecting and creating many spectacular dragon performances with the themes related to historical and legendary stories. They included “King An Duong Vuong Orders the Construction of Co Loa Citadel ” performed by Dong Anh District’s troupe, “Phu Dong, Flying Dragon” by Gia Lam District’s troupe, “Two Dragons with Pearl” by Hoan Kiem District’s troupe and “Changing the Direction of the flying Dragon” by Chuong My’s troupe. However, the most outstanding performance belonged to Thanh Oai District’s troupe. Its dragon was 100m long and controlled by 100 people whose movements had to be harmoniously combined to create a powerful and lissome dragon.
Dragon Dance Festival 2012 attracts thousands of audiences. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
An impressive performance of Me Linh' District's female dragon dance troupe. Photo: Cong Dat
Me Linh District’s female dragon dance troupe. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
Movements of dragons are powerful and flexible. Photo: Cong Dat
Fans encourage dragon teams. Photo: Cong Dat
A dragon dance. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
A spectacular dragon dance. Photo: Cong Dat
"Two dragons fight over a ball" performance. Photo: Cong Dat
Thanh Tri District's dragon dance troupe wins the 1st prize of Hanoi Dragon Dance Festival 2012. Photo: Cong Dat
The 100m dragon of Thanh Oai District's trouple is controlled by 100 people. Photo: Cong Dat
Hanoi Dragon Dance Festival 2012 draws the participation of 28 dragon dance troupes in the Capital. Photo: Cong Dat
Each performance is 5-7 minutes. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
Dragon Dance combines with Lion Dance of Cau Giay District. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
A lion dance. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang
The festival was a community cultural event of great significance that not only provided people an opportunity to enjoy the traditional and folk art, but also contributed to preserving national cultural values and promoting the pride of Hanoians.
By Tran Thanh Giang, Cong Dat