Dance in Vietnam comprises several different forms including dance as performed in Vietnamese theatre and opera, dances performed at festivals, and royal dances of the imperial court. Dance is thought to have been an integral part of

Vietnamese culture The culture of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Văn hoá Việt Nam) is highly multicultural. The early culture in Vietnam started with the Bronze Age Đông Sơn culture considered to be one of its most important progenitors for its Ancient history. Vie ...

since ancient times, as depicted by engravings found on

Dong Son drum A Đông Sơn drum (; also called Heger Type I drum) is a type of ancient bronze drum created by the Đông Sơn culture that existed in the Red River Delta. The drums were produced from about 600 BCE or earlier until the third century CE; they a ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

is a diverse country with 54 different ethnic groups, with the ethnic Vietnamese (known as

Kinh The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lang ...

) making up the majority of the population. This article mainly focuses on the traditional dances of the ethnic Vietnamese, although each of the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam have their own rich culture and dance styles.

Dancing in Vietnamese theatres

Much of

Vietnamese theatre Theatre of Vietnam comprises many traditional forms of drama which survive and retain their popularity to varying degrees. It formed during the Đinh dynasty, when the Đại Cồ Việt state was born. Water puppetry is a distinctively Vie ...

and

Vietnamese music Traditional Vietnamese music encompasses a large umbrella of Vietnamese music from antiquity to present times, and can also encompass multiple groups, such as those from Vietnam's ethnic minority tribes. History Traditional Vietnamese music has ...

are intertwined with each other, as well as with Vietnamese dance. Popular theatre forms such as Hát tuồng, Hát chèo, and

Cải lương ''Tuồng cải lương'' (, Hán-Nôm: 從改良) often referred to as cải lương ( Chữ Hán: 改良), roughly "reformed theater") is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, '' há ...

all often feature dance, however these dances are performed in a liberal manner without set rules, unlike other more specific dance styles.

Dances performed at festivals and important occasions

The

lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Y ...

was imported from China into Vietnamese culture where it developed its own distinct style. It is performed primarily at traditional festivals such as

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán ( Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of ...

(Lunar new year) and Tết trung thu ( Mid-Autumn Festival), but also during other occasions such as the opening of a new business. The lion dance is highly symbolic, supposedly used to ward off evil spirits. There are an abundance of styles and the lion dances are typically accompanied by

martial artists Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

and acrobatics.

Imperial court dances

Accompanied with

Nhã nhạc ''Nhã nhạc'' (, , "elegant music") is a traditional music of Vietnam. Vietnamese court music is very diverse, but the term ''nhã nhạc'' refers specifically to the Vietnamese court music performed from the Trần dynasty of the 13th century ...

(court music of the

Trần dynasty The Trần dynasty, ( Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳）also known as the House of Trần, was a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thá ...

to the Nguyễn dynasty) were the intricate dances of the Vietnamese Imperial court. Nhã Nhạc means "elegant music" when translated. While assuredly court dances existed before nhã nhạc in particular emerged, it is the Nguyễn dynasty form that is still highly preserved today, and has been declared along with the whole of nhã nhạc as an Intangible cultural heritage. These dances require great skill and the dancers are often dressed in extravagant costumes. Currently, they are performed at festivals in Huế (''múa cung đình Huế'' - court dance) or other special (often

televised Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

) occasions, in order to promote the traditional arts. Some of the most popular dances include (among others): *Fan dance - vũ phiến *Lantern dance - lục cúng hoa đăng *Lotus dance - múa sen, múa bài bông *Flag dance *Platter dance - múa mâm * Candle dance *Incense dance *Hat dance - múa nón *Scarf dance *Lion dance - múa lân *Ribbon dance The meaning of "múa" extends to Múa rối nước -

water puppetry Water puppetry ( vi, Múa rối nước) is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the a ...

External links

{{Vietnam topics Dance in Vietnam

Dancing in Vietnamese theatres

Dances performed at festivals and important occasions

Imperial court dances

See also

External links