Múa dân gian đương đại vấn đề bản sắc trong xã hội việt nam thời kỳ hội nhập tt tieng anh

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES NGUYEN THU HANG CONTEMPORARY FOLK DANCE: IDENTITY ISSUE IN THE VIETNAMESE SOCIETY IN INTEGRATION PERIOD Major: Cultural Studies Code: 22 90 40 ABSTRACT OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN CULTURAL STUDIES Hanoi, 2019 The work has been implemented at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Supervisors: Ph.D Hoang Cam Ph.D Doan Thi Tuyen Review 1: Assoc Prof Dr Tran Duc Ngon Review 2: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Cuong Review 3: Dr Vu Duong Dung The dissertation has been defended at the Academy-level Doctoral Dissertation Assessment Council, held at Graduate Academy Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences At: ………: …… of (dd/mm/yyyy) ………… 2019 Reference materials available at: - National Library of Vietnam - Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences - Library of Military University of Culture and Arts INTRODUCTION Rationale In 1986, Vietnam officially opened to integration with all countries worldwide in terms of various aspects The rapid and powerful integration occurred not only in the economic sector but also in other aspects of culture and society, creating several worries and concerns in many social strata, which focused on the problem how Vietnam could both integrate and preserve her cultural identity in order not to be culturally mixed with other nations’ one in the current integration trend It is indicated in guidelines and policies of the Party, the reality of cultural and art management and practice, media talks, scientific workshops, etc The Vietnamese context in the integration period indicates the entire society’s special concern on recognizing what is Vietnamese cultural identity and how to preserve it The candidate chooses her study object as contemporary folk dance in an effort to review how, in the context of integration, dancers and choreographers performed/established cultural identity to meet demands of the state and the society… The dissertation topic is “Contemporary folk dance: Identity issue in the Vietnamese society in integration period” Objectives and tasks of study - Objectives of study After studying the identity issue in contemporary folk dance in general and typical folk dance works in particular, the national and ethnic culture creation in the present context of integration in Vietnam has been further clarified in the dissertation - Tasks of study In order to achieve such aforementioned objectives, there are three tasks of study in the dissertation: 1) Presenting and analyzing the content, form of expression, etc in typical contemporary dance works which are evaluated to that have combined "ethnicity", " imbued identity" and modern elements 2) Learning and indicating artists’ and critics’ viewpoints, evaluation and comments towards some contemporary folk dances, especially viewpoints related to “cultural identity” presented in such works 3) Reviewing and describing cultural and technical components used to present the “national identity” and the “modernity” in contemporary folk dance works Objects and scope of study Objects of study Objects of study in the Dissertation are Vietnamese contemporary folk dance works and their related issues such as the context of birth, the perspective of creation, expression technique and the discourse on cultural identity in general and cultural identity in art works in Vietnam after innovation in particular Scope of study Studies in the dissertation are some typical contemporary folk dance works Some works that were born in the context of integration are chosen, including Thân phận (Condition); Sương sớm (Morning Dew); Sóng lụa ven (Silk waves on the outskirts); Nhinh (Star welcome); Nhịp điệu tang sành (Tang Sanh Rhythm); Sắc màu non cao (Highland color); Séc bùa hồn Chiêng (Gong soul Sec Bua); Huyền ảo vĩnh (Eternal fancifulness); Tiếng trống Paranul (Paranul drumming); Múa quạt (Tape fan dance); 11 Keo moni Mekhala Methodology and method of study - Methodology Cultural identity In the academic circles, there are still two opposing viewpoints about cultural identity, ontological and constructivist viewpoints However, to learn about how Vietnamese cultural identity is manifested through folk dance works selected in this dissertation, the author adopts constructivist viewpoint while reviewing and learning the identity issue in contemporary folk dance works Identity in constructivist viewpoint is interpreted as follows: On contrary to ontological viewpoint, constructivists think that all identities always vary under effects of a context Each context will act as basis for constructing a new identity in service of new purposes National identity or cultural identity includes not only traditional, old things but also new, ongoing things, not unattainable things but the very things in daily and real life Choice of dance works To learn how cultural identity has been created by choreographers, 12 contemporary folk dance works of 10 different regions and ethnic groups such as Kinh, Thai, Muong, Cao Lan, Dao, Cham, Khmer, etc have been chosen by the candidate The candidate met and talked with each choreographer of the aforementioned works, hosted talks and discussion in teamwork, organized in-depth interviews… There are three factors identifying the selected works in the dissertation as typical works: (1) chosen by a choreographer; (2) these works are recognized by local community; (3) most of these works won awards… - Method of study To implement the topic, the candidate adopted qualitative research method, synthesis method and materials analysis method New scientific findings of the dissertation - It provides a new approach in art studies, especially contemporary folk dance, focusing on cultural, social and political aspects of art works Contemporary folk dance, both in terms of content and artistic aspect (material, language, music, etc.), according to this research approach, is closely related to the context and the socio-cultural foundation where it was born and existed - The topic is the first case-study of contemporary folk dance under the constructivist perspective on identity, Theoretical and practical meanings of the dissertation - Theoretical meaning: By learning about constructive process of cultural “identity” of the nation, shown by developing/manifesting contemporary folk dance works, professional knowledge on cultural identity of a nation or ethnic group in the contemporary context of Vietnam are provided in the dissertation - Practical meaning: The dissertation’s study outcome will be a useful reference material for later studies on identity through artistic language Structure of the dissertation In addition to the Introduction, the Conclusion, the dissertation is comprised of 04 chapters: Chapter 1: Overview on related studies and theoretical basis Chapter 2: Vietnamese post-innovation society and national cultural identities Chapter 3: National cultural identities in some typical contemporary folk dance works Chapter 4: Contemporary folk dance: Creating national identities in the context of integration Chapter OVERVIEW ON RELATED STUDIES AND THEORETICAL BASIS 1.1 Overview on related studies Studies related to the following issues are overviewed: 1.1.1 Studies on dance and contemporary folk dance of Vietnam In the history of dance art, Le Ngoc Canh (2009), History of Vietnamese dance art, Dance art of Ma ethnic group (2005); Chau Ro’s dance art (2005) and Vietnamese folk belief dance (1998) In addition to Le Ngoc Canh’s published studies, the works of Learning about Vietnamese dance art (2001) and Vietnamese dance art (1979) by Lam To Loc or Folk dance in Vietnamese professional dance works by Ung Duy Thinh (2006) are also ones that have make an important contribution to further improve the practical research on folk dance treasure of the nation Dance and the ethnicity and modernity in dance works The ethnicity and modernity are two terms used popularly in all articles, showing artists’ exploration and perspective towards the issue of determining ethnicity and national identity in dancing Some outstanding articles are: Discussing the tradition and development of Vietnamese dance art by Le Ngoc Canh; The modern nationality in dancing by Lam To Loc; Modern ethnicity, an orientation for the conservation and development of Vietnamese dance art by Vu Duc Thoan; Some thoughts about preserving dance art by Ngoc Cuong; Position of the national dance heritage in modern ethnic dance art by Hoang Ha; and Directing toward the origin building a national identity- imbued dance art by Truong Le Giap Folk dance development in the contemporary society Since 2000 onwards, the Vietnamese folk dance development towards the integration trend has been mentioned in such articles/reports represented at conferences, workshops and professional magazines as Dance Criticism Conference in December 2007; Workshop on Dance Composition in the Market and Integration Mechanism in December 2008; and Rhythm Magazine Thai Phien (2016), "Something about the national identity in dance composition by ethnic minorities in Vietnam" (Rhythm Magazine No 192); The above-mentioned articles and books reflect an approach to dance in the direction of historical research, characterizing the language of dance movements of specific ethnic groups as well as the development of contemporary folk dance Artists and choreographers have initially expressed their concerns about the development of Vietnamese folk dance in the integration trend and initially raised the view on the so-called identity that has been and is being shown in new dance works In her dissertation, there is not any study on art or language features of Vietnamese contemporary folk dance, but discussion about how the national “cultural identity” has been created/manifested in some typical contemporary folk dances… 1.1.2 Studies on identity and national cultural identity In the article "Vietnamese Cultural Identity" (2005, P: 239); The article of "National identity in the Vietnamese cultural value system and some related issues in the period of innovation and integration, (2014, P: 140), the author Nguyen Thuy Loan’s viewpoint was that "national identity and a sense of perseveringly preserving national identity - a sustainable value in the Vietnamese cultural value system” In a different perspective, Ngo Duc Thinh said that "a cultural identity of the Vietnamese people is openness, receiving ability and sociability, from which foreign factors are localized"… Identity in the viewpoints at the Party’s Resolution is Vietnamese cultural identity, sustainable values, quintessence of the community of Vietnamese ethnic minorities which have been cultivated over thousands of years of struggle for national construction and defense (Excerpt from Resolution No 33-NQ/TW dated June 2014, the 9th Party Central Committee, session XI) 1.1.3 Studies on globalization, globalization, nationalism and cultural identity Nguyen Chi Ben (2010), "Vietnamese culture in the context of international economic integration"; Truong Luu (2003) "Globalization and the issue of national cultural preservation"; and Le Nhu Hoa (1996) "Promoting Vietnamese cultural identity in the context of industrialization and modernization"; the authors Nguyen Trong Chuan, Nguyen Van Huyen (2002) in the book of “Traditional values in the face of globalization challenges ” Some viewpoints are that globalization is cause of the loss of cultural identity, especially developing countries other than Europe and America… On contrary, some researchers said that globalization wasnot in relation with destruction of cultural identity They even believed that globalization could be seen as a motivation to create and reproduce identities (see John Tomlinso 1999) 1.2 Theoretical basis 1.2.1 Concept on identity and cultural identity Concept on identity The term identity was firstly mentioned in the academic circles in 1950 by a famous American psychologist Erik Erikson (1902-1994) who reviewed psychological situations affecting the adjustment of "personality of self” Identity, therefore, refers to a stable psychological state that comes from similar or identical identification about self/character of self and others (Erikson 1950) 1.2.2 Concept on Vietnamese folk dance According to viewpoints of Lam To Loc, Le Ngoc Canh, Ung Duy Thinh: folk dance is a form of ethnic dances which were mostly created by farmers… and passed from one generation to others to meet cultural demand of a community… 1.2.3 Concept on contemporary folk dance On the basis of viewpoints collected by the candidate, contemporary folk dance will be introduced in her dissertation as follows: Contemporary folk dance is the folk dance works or dance works composed in contemporary dance movement language with the content topic reflecting the Vietnamese tradition and folk These works are composed in the contemporary society – opening and integration period Contemporary folk dance indicates not only dance movement language but also time, context of birth of a work 1.2.4 Approach theory In this dissertation, the candidate applies multi-disciplinary dance approach of Thomas Helen to analyze significance and content of Vietnamese contemporary folk dances Helen Thomas developed a new interdisciplinary approach to contemporary dance Based on anthropological and social studies on dance, which emphasizes the social and dance interrelations, the author thinks that artists and choreographers are strongly influenced and affected individuals great influence of socioeconomic and social conditions In the process of composing works, they often consciously or unconsciously convey their views on society into works Art works in general and dance in particular, therefore, "not only reflect the reality of life but also transform real life into its own context" (1986: 66-67) Sub-conclusion The aforesaid studies indicate advantage, disadvantage and also development of Vietnamese contemporary folk dance in the face of demands of the new society However, it is seemed that neither study mentions in depth about the involvement of dance in general and contemporary folk dance in 2.2 Vietnamese cultural identity after the innovation Since 1986, the milestone of Vietnam’s opening to the world integration, cultural identity has become a discussion topic of both cultural managers and practisers The phrases of “cultural identity” “integrate but not dissolve” have become political discourses; the guidelines and policies of developing Vietnamese culture to be “advanced” and “imbued identity” have turned into specific actions in different fields including art … Creating national identity during Vietnam’s integration has also been shown at proactive status and encouraging to restore cultural practice, traditional festivals which were inherent forgotten, etc 2.3 Changes in cultural development policies of Vietnam after innovation The 6th National Congress in 1986: The slogan of "integrate, not dissolve" become a central orientation for the development of national culture The 7th National Congress in 1991: … it highlighted culture was “spiritual foundation of the society, target and motivation of the development process” The Resolution of the 5th Conference of the Central Committee (July 1998): "Building and developing the Vietnamese culture to be advanced and imbued with national identity" The Resolution of the 5th Central Committee (session VIII) of the Party provided a strategic significance in culture After the Resolution of the 5th Central Committee (session VIII), at the IX, X, XI and XII National Congresses, the national cultural identity continued being concerned Sub-conclusion Globalization with policies of deep development and integration into the world economy and culture has generated problems in the development of national culture, especially the identity preservation ; 11 The above analysis of Chapter indicates ranges of challenges of national cultural identity preservation: integration and cultural exchanges; determining what is identity and how to preserve it Chapter NATIONAL CULTURAL IDENTITY IN SOME TYPICAL CONTEMPORARY FOLK DANCE WORKS 3.1 Contemporary folk dance: the history of establishment and development Contemporary dance started in the 50s worldwide was a form of dancing in combination with modern dancing factors and classic ballet In Vietnam, contemporary dance appeared in the end of 1998 through the Vietnam-Australia cooperation Based on the contemporary dance concept and the peculiar characteristics of this genre, contemporary folk dance is also understood as a kind of dancing developed on basis of materials of Western contemporary dance combined with folk dance Accordingly, it can be said that the birth of contemporary folk dance was in the context of the society’s demand for modernity in the dance works to match well with new spirit of the integration period, as well as guideline demand and policies of the Party 3.2 Identity and modernity in typical dance works 3.2.1 Via idea, topic and content of works Artistic image is always the most important issue for choreographers A complete work of art must have a specific topic, i.e what the work is about in society; it must have an artistic image through which the choreographer can convey the content of the work, achieve the purpose of creation in the work In the “Thân phận” (Condition) of choreographer Tuyet Minh, Vietnamese women in the past suffered from extreme resignations under 12 the feudalism Strict rules in love made women never live in their love, express themselves before others pent-up love became torn and painful Also exploring the topic with image of Vietnamese women, in the “Sóng lụa ven đô” (Silk waves on the outskirts), audiences see the image of women at different aspects and beauties, which are beauty in labor and production, in soul of excitement and harmony with the integration period about Vietnamese women in the new era In addition to the images of Vietnamese women, the image of the hometown with brown costumes, barefoot, straw and rice loads, truths, shabbiness and happiness in love or good season of the people who daily "look down on land " has also become the preferred choice of choreographers And “Sương sớm” (Morning Dew) is a work with contemporary dance language, but the topic and content of the work are completely a picture of the life of the Southern farmers, it is a typical work “Sương sớm” (Morning Dew) is a dance following the stories about Shoes, Furniture … of choreographer Tan Loc It is very successful and leaves behind powerful impression in audiences who love dance nationwide Besides the manner of exploring artistic images as mentioned in the above works, the images about life and customs of mountainous ethnic minorities are also powerful attractive for choreographers The work of “Nhịp điệu Tang Sành” (Tang Sanh Rhythm) of choreographer Le Cuong describes typical festival culture of Cao Lan ethnic group in Tuyen Quang in springs It is also a picture of daily life, a daily culture in the community of mountainous ethnic groups It is not about a spring festival such as in “Nhịp điệu Tang Sành”, but a wedding of Dao ethnic minority in Dien Bien with innocent descriptions of choreography through dance language The work of “Sắc màu non cao” (Highland color) is a dance work reflecting a very specific cultural feature of Dao ethnic people in Dien Bien province 13 The dance work "Nhinh sao"(Star welcome) expresses the concept of the soul beauty of Thai girls visualized through the image of a Pieu scarf The work of “Séc bùa hồn Chiêng” (Gong soul Sec Bua) by choreographer Dinh Xuan Thuong reflects the concept of attaching importance to women in the society of Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh people through the symbol of Gong Following the length of our country, we arrived to some Southern provinces to learn about how the picture of Southern homeland was reflected in a dance work Some works chosen by us are mostly of choreographer Dang Hung, who detected Cham royal dance material and developed Cham folk dance an extremely immense dance system in Vietnam's folk dance treasure The works such as “Tiếng trống paranul” (Paranul drumming) and “Múa quạt” and (Tape fan dance) are derived from open-air treasures, collected and created into professional dance works by choreographers Dang Hung Also for the work of "Huyền ảo vĩnh hằng" ((Eternal fancifulness); this is the result of uncovered treasure mining of People's Artist Dang Hung The work of “11 Rô Băm Keo Moni Mekhala” of choreographer Son Cao Thang is a dance work based on the story of Mekhala Goddess, also known as "rain god, thunder god" who helps Khmer people’s agriculture to be in favourable condition and good harvest of crops 3.2.2 Via costumes and props of works Costumes and props are the most remarkable typical expression about distinctive features among regions because it directly contacts to intuition of audiences Therefore, when exploiting the topic of identity characteristics of ethnic groups, choreographers seem to pay close attention to how to effectively use the costumes and props to serve well the work of highlighting the ideological topic of each work and distinguish dance works of this region with one of other region 14 In the work of “Thân phận” (Condition): The dancer’s costume is chosen by choreographer with a pink blouse, wide-tube pants (it has been improved as compared to the traditional Vietnamese women's dress) The actor's costume is a white long dress, designed in the style of old men's dresses, blouses and wide-tube pants In the work of “Sóng lụa ven đơ” (Silk waves on the outskirts): Costumes of the work evokes a joyful atmosphere of a new day, a new page opened up for the fates of people who were suppressed and suffered from despair in the past The actor's costume is shown by the traditional costume, blouse and skirt of Northern Delta girls, with a mixture of different colors creating an extremely vivid and beautiful picture In the work of "Sương sớm” (Morning Dew): An indispensable feature of Vietnamese farmers is the brown loose clothes of the Southern people and when they work, they "heighten their pant tubes" for compact convenience In the "Sương sớm” (Morning Dew) the color of the farmer's clothes has been changed to be fresher and colorful with all the different colors, blue, brown, yellow But the classic high round neck design remain and saw the flaps on both sides, with wide tube pants In the work of “Nhịp điệu tang sành” (Tang Sanh Rhythm): The actor's costume basically retains the same patterns, designs and colors as the traditional costumes of Cao Lan people The props used in the dance work of “Nhịp điệu tang sành” are Tang Sanh drum The work of “Sắc màu non cao”(Highland color): The costume is typical clothes of Dao ethnic people Drum and bell are two props creating the work’s soul For the work of “Nhinh sao” (Star welcome): Costumes used in the work are traditional clothes of Thai ethnic people, a white high neck shirt, a black velvet skirt with a green belt and a chatelaine The dance props of the work is Pieu scarf 15 In the work of “Séc bùa hồn Chiêng” (Gong soul Sec Bua), the choreographer used traditional costumes of Muong girls "White shirt, green belt, back with chatelaine" The Muong girl’s dress is specially designed, the pattern of the skirt hem is not exposed but inside the skirt, it shows the discreet and delicate beauty of Muong girls The props of the work are Gong The Gong is also the artistic image of the work In the three works “Tiếng trống Paranul” (Paranul drumming); Múa quạt (Tape fan dance);” Huyền ảo vĩnh (Eternal fancifulness), costumes and props are derived from traditional clothes of Cham ethnic people In the work of “11 Robăm Keo Moni Mekhala”: Khmer women’s costumes are attractive with Costumes of Khmer women are always noticed by the picky, vibrant colors, sophisticated decorative patterns and decorated with sparkling beads 3.2.3 Via sound, light and stage scene In the work of "Thân phận" (Condition), from the beginning of the work, the actor appeared with lethargic, indeterminate, lonely and tired steps The light was flickered as if there was only light of a small kerosene lamp in the dark room and music was not present By 01'30, audience seemed to hold their breaths and concentrated all their senses to listen and penetrate every sentence in the poem "Floating cake" by poet Ho Xuan Huong In the work of “Sóng lụa ven (Silk waves on the outskirts)”, music of the work was composed by musician Ho Hoai Anh It is a work of folk nature, extremely close and familiar to Vietnamese farmers The sound of the monochord is the main sound, keeping the soul of the work In the work of “Sương sớm” (Morning Dew), the light is finely and deeply arranged, especially the image of sun rising high through the leaves or the dim light of the early morning 16 Music of the play is mostly of Vietnamese folk melodies such as sound of the 16-chord zither, the monochord, the traditional tune, the typical Southern chanty or the melodies that create a happy atmosphere The work of “Nhịp điệu tang sành” (Tang Sanh Rhythm) The typical rhythm of Tang Sanh drum has odd rhythm The work of “Sắc màu non cao” (Highland color): The choreographer adopts music with three typical music instruments of Dao ethnic minority, namely: Drum, Bell and Trumpet The work "Nhinh sao” (Star welcome): The music used in the work is the typical melody of the Thai ethnic people, which cannot be mixed with tones of other ethnic groups These are the sounds of the Ma Hinh fruit, the gong drum, and the Thai people’s two-string, music instrument rather than the Tay people's three-string music instrument (according to the assessment of Artist Cam Vui) The work of “Séc bùa hồn Chiêng” (Gong soul Sec Bua): the main music is the sound of sec bua, a familiar melody of Muong ethnic people The work of “11 Robăm Keo Moni Mekhala” mentions Khmer people’s traditional music while telling about five tone orchestra which is comprised of seven music instruments and can create five sound while performing In detail: copper, iron, wood, leather and steam, shown on different types of music instruments About lighting when performing works, there are differences depending on which stage the work is performed on Sub-conclusion At the content of Chapter 3, the candidate has focused on analyzing 12 typical contemporary folk dance works of various regions nationwide Different ethnic groups have been chosen to assure diversity and enrichment in analyzing the dance works with the topic reflecting the national identity 17 By analyzing the dance works, the candidate has indicated that identity components chosen by choreographers are close to life of local people, where the works reflect, through daily activities, festivals or folk stories or legends, which can be distinguished and recognized without confusing with others Chapter CONTEMPORARY FOLK DANCE: CREATING NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF INTEGRATION 4.1 Selective identity in the works In the works analyzed at Chapter 3, it is clearly indicated that when choreographers choose artistic images to reflect the national cultural identity, most of them have exploited thoroughly stories, artistic images that are considered as characteristics of national or ethnic culture The characteristics of regional, ethnic or national identity are constructive, passed down from generation to generation in the process that ethnic groups themselves build their own cultural identity in comparison with other ethnic groups or it is created by outsiders Choreographers, especially those belonging to a certain ethnic group, experienced in imbued manner these "characteristics" by their process of living and long-term experience in the cultural tradition they wanted to transfer in their works while doing their career This is evident in the process of creating dance works about Muong cultural identity by choreographer Dinh Xuan Thuong, a native of Hoa Binh, whose childhood was raised by the Da river water, living in his grandmother’s and mother’s stories about the achievements of Muong people, , in the "Nhinh sao" (Star welcome) by choreographer Lo Van Dai, who is also of Thai ethnic minority, so he was close and easy when exploiting traditional beauty and stories of the homeland as artistic images in his works In the work of “Nhịp điệu Tang Sành” (Tang Sanh rhythm) reflecting the identity of Cao Lan ethnic people in Tuyen Quang, choreographer Le Cuong possessed a long history of studying and learning about Cao Lan ethnic culture 18 It is same as interpretation by Clifford Geerts: to understand significance of local factors in the works (music, light, costumes, props, artistic images…), it is necessary to consider it in the context of culture, society and politics of such works Accordingly, through the artistic images and materials to reflect topics of ethnic identity, choreographers have proactively explored and chosen the existing factors that have been existed for long in the life of ethnic community, been familiar, close and identified and recognized as identity Another reason that should be considered is the context of the works’ birth…The manners the choreographers choose components indicated in each work are closely related to social and political factors There are different objective and subjective reasons What a dance work tells about and how it is composed are powerfully governed by its choreographer’s viewpoints on environment, people and community’s ones Therefore, it is not automatically that the dance work tells about a thing or this factor but not the other one is chosen Like Thomas Hellen in her doctoral dissertation titled “Movement, modernism and contemporary culture: the problems of a cultural sociology of dance” In this work, Hellen argues that, in the process of composing works, choreographers are strongly influenced individuals and greatly influenced by economic, cultural and social conditions Artworks in general and dances in particular "not only reflect the reality of life but also transform the reality of life into its own context." (1986: 69) Therefore, in order to reflect identity characteristics of each region, or nation, each choreographer proactively found different methods of exploring and selection Of many factors deemed to be identities of this region or others, choreographer’s selection is absolutely depended on thinking and individual perceptions of each choreographer on those elements It is also impossible to ignore the influence of ethnic communities, meaning that the selected elements must be recognized and identified by the community 19 4.2 Modern factors selected to use in the work by choreographer To assure contemporary folk dance works that have not only cultural identity but modernity and advance as demanded by the society, choreographers adopt different methods in their works and pay attention to such factors… Adoption and use of modern factors to reflect in each work also indicate relations among choosing methods, selected factors with appropriation and connection with selected factors as identity and external characteristics, which are the economic, political, social context and views, discourses of contemporary society as the sociological interpretation of Hellen Thomas The viewpoints of “deep description” of Geetz also indicate that internal characteristics of each work are in close relations with external characteristics Analyzing a work aims at finding its significance and internal causes other than scientific values 4.3 Contemporary folk dance and constructing/creating national cultural identity in the context of integration In the context of Vietnamese society in the period of opening and integration, the rapid and powerful economic development and the world cultural integration into Vietnam result in concerns about the decrease or loss of national identities Many actions have been performed in Vietnamese society, which reflects not only in policies but also in academic discussion The birth of contemporary folk dance shows efforts of the dance sector in building the dance art that meets development demands of the era, which are to ensure two features, “modern” and “imbued identity” in the same work Accordingly, choreographers’ choices in this period aim at finding out materials that are considered as the most identifiable characteristics of each specific ethnic group of Vietnam All objective causes of the social context have governed the viewpoints and creative thinking of artists and choreographers 20 Accordingly, choreographers’ choices and writing style are powerfully influenced by the political needs of the society where it reflects Vietnamese contemporary folk dances have been composed by choreographers in an effort to construct/create Vietnamese national identities against the risks of its loss as result of the context of integration Sub-conclusion Contemporary folk dances are born to build an “advanced and identityimbued” culture of Vietnam in the context of integration; The national factors are chosen by choreographers basing on cultural practice, behavior and festivals that have been existing in the community; Concepts of so-called national identity vary among different generations of choreographers The birth of contemporary folk dance is an expression of the political needs of a society CONCLUSIONS In this dissertation, we apply multi-disciplinary approach to dance to learn about the relation between contemporary folk dance and cultural identity in the context of Vietnamese integration in the innovation 1986 As indicated in anthropological and sociological studies of dance (Thomas Helen), in the process of creating their works, artists and choreographers are often strongly governed and influenced by the socio-economic and cultural events as well as policy orientation They often consciously or unconsciously transfer their viewpoints on society into the works The works, therefore, not only reflect the life reality but also committing to memory the society's understanding and viewpoints on a certain issue of artists into their work By learning the typical contemporary folk dance works, it is clearly shown that in Vietnam choreographers are remarkably influenced by the culture and political/social viewpoints while creating their dance works 21 When creating a work, discussions on the necessity of an “advanced” but “identity-imbued” culture in the context of integration and globalization govern significantly content, artistic images, etc of each dance work Representations and analysis at Chapter and Chapter show that in order to create identity in dance works, cultural factors that are considered as characteristics and cultural identities of specific ethnic groups are chosen by choreographers It is a result of observation, experience in real life of individuals These specific cultural elements are often close to the life of the people where the work reflects, through daily activities, festivals or through stories in folk, legends, etc Identity elements are exploited on the basis of cultural practices that have existed from generation to generation, a characteristic that ethnic groups and outsiders consider as unique cultural characteristics of each specific nation, from which national identity can be distinguished / identified but not mixed with others’ When reflecting national identity, a choreographer often pay attention to meaning of movement, performance language of each movement in each dance; and regardless of how the choreographers create and combine modern dancing movement and language, demand of retaining the “soul” and “core” of the story and characters must be met At that time the identity is like/must be built on the facts and information already available (that is the long tradition of the people) Types of costumes, props used in contemporary folk dance works (i.e identity creation tools) must be changed in such manner to ensure consistency with specific language and political and social environment of the work; Types of costumes, props or elements that express identity through the language of movement, content or artistic images of a nation must be identified by such ethnic community when viewing the work Another important element is that in order to understand identity elements and modernity in a work, as well as content and form of 22 expression, such work must be placed in a specific political and social context Accordingly, the very changes in the Party’s viewpoints, direction ideas in career of developing culture in the context of integration are great revolution helping the entire nation to review, reassess values of national culture and cultural identities, specially cultural practice, tangible and intangible cultural heritages which were thrown away in a period in the past From the 4th Central Party Committee’s Resolution to the 5th Central Party Committee’s Resolution, 8th session (1998), the issue of national identity and how to preserve it to integrate but not dissolve have become a key task in the cultural development strategy of Vietnam in the new context The 5th Central Party Committee’s Resolution, 8th session had a broader, more comprehensive viewpoints about culture and development, cultural heritage, identities and characteristics of Vietnamese culture, building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity It is determined in the Resolution that Vietnamese culture is achievement of thousands year of creative labor, struggling for country construction and defense of the Vietnamese ethnic minorities, is the result of exchanging and absorbing the quintessence of many world civilizations to constantly improve themselves Vietnamese culture has built up the soul, stuff, and spirit of Vietnam, highlighted the glorious history of the nation Vietnamese culture is unified and diverse within the Vietnamese ethnic community Over 50 ethnic minorities in our country have specific cultural values and characteristics, which supplement each other, enrich Vietnamese culture and strengthen national unity as basis for maintaining equality and improving cultural diversity of ethnic minorities Accordingly, actions such as restoring folk cultural practices, traditional festivals, building and restoring religious works that were demolished are done synchronously nationwide And all of these actions derive from the political perspective of the ruling circles and the demands 23 of contemporary society It is a period in which the sustainable development of a society is determined as not only a career of economic and foreign relation development but also a career of culture and preserving the national cultural identity Till now, the discourse of “advance and imbued identity” remains orientation for all cultural development, creation or practice and in cultural policies of the Party and State For the dance art, creating dance works satisfactory with the development policies and social demands is continuously prioritized in Vietnamese dance sector In addition to the selected works analyzed in the dissertation, in the reality of the dance sector there are many works in different regions, which have successfully exploited the topic of farmers, rural areas, festivals, customs and practices of the regions to reflect, introduce and create cultural identity in the contemporary society The increase in the quantity and quality of contemporary folk dance works during the period of Vietnam integration is also a testament for a responsible involvement of the dance circles in the common development of the country in the face of demands of the globalization integration Finally, creating cultural identity in the context of integration is an objective demand of the society and policies of the Party and ruling State in order to construct and affirm that Vietnam is always an independent, separate nation, unable to be defeated, assimilated, unable to be mixed into another nation in the world a nation with a long history of heroic proudness and rich identity, "integrated" but unable to be "dissolved" The above mentioned conclusion may not be sufficient for the casestudy about the Vietnamese identity construction through contemporary folk dance works, a genre that professional circles even have not defined most accurately The author looks forward to receiving further contribution and discussion about this study, especially the study object as contemporary folk dances in next studies./ 24 LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF THE AUTHOR 1) “Identity" and "modernity" in Vietnamese contemporary folk dance works, Magazine of Social Science Manpower, edition 11 (2017), P:101-109 2) “Vietnamese agricultural identity through the language of contemporary folk dance”, Magazine of Culture and Art, edition 410 August – 2018, P:71-74 25 ... folk dance of Vietnam In the history of dance art, Le Ngoc Canh (2009), History of Vietnamese dance art, Dance art of Ma ethnic group (2005); Chau Ro’s dance art (2005) and Vietnamese folk belief... addition to Le Ngoc Canh’s published studies, the works of Learning about Vietnamese dance art (2001) and Vietnamese dance art (1979) by Lam To Loc or Folk dance in Vietnamese professional dance... VIETNAMESE POST-INNOVATION SOCIETY AND NATIONAL CULTURAL IDENTITY 2.1 Economic, foreign, cultural and social contexts of Vietnam after innovation It marked an important milestone in Vietnam's strong