A troupe of Hanoi breakdancers will represent Vietnam to compete at the International Dance Festival in Indonesia next week.
Their hip-hop dance-theater piece, Nhieu Mat (Faces), is choreographed by Franco-German choreographer duo of Raphael Hillebrand and Sébastien Ramirez and will be performed by nine dancers and two musicians at the June 2-8 event. The team is sponsored by the Goethe Institute in Vietnam.
According to a press release from the institute this month, Nhieu Mat is not just about brilliant technique and daring jumps, but also genuine dance theater piece, it tells stories and reflects experiences.
“The masks that give the piece its name stand for the various authorities and role expectations between which young people need to find their identity.”
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments like the t’rưng, đàn bầu (monochord), and đàn tranh (16-chord zither) will be used to create a unique soundtrack for the dance.
Following performances in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the group went on tour in Europe with the support of the Goethe Institute, which also invited the choreographer duo to work with the Vietnamese dancers in February.
Vietnamese artists will compete with teams from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Japan. They will perform in Jakarta on June 5 and in Surabaya on June 7.