A huge thank you to the Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement for supporting my new research into Cải lương and allowing me to travel to Vietnam to connect with artists. This was a first crucial step towards engaging with the art form within Vietnam and I cannot wait to continue this dialogue in the coming years.
Thank you also to the MANY creatives in Vietnam for welcoming me with open arms and giving me their time. I would like to make a special mention to all the artists at Gánh Cải Lương THIÊN LÝ for their trust and allowing me to experiment with them.
Cải lương is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music and modern spoken drama. The original 20 melodies of music form is on the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List. Despite this, Cải lương is disappearing within the Vietnamese culture because there has been little support to explore new avenues to view and engage with the form. My current research is aimed at developing a work through the lens of contemporary dance practices as a way to revisit the art form.