PREMIERE OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAGE PERFORMANCE | THE ROAD BACK TO THE VOID
This intimate sharing session will offer new ways of thinking about and perceiving Vietnamese history and culture. Through multidimensional dialogues with each audience member, the session will explore specific themes in order to interpret the philosophical reflections embedded in the wisdom of our ancestors through the lens of ritual propriety.
At the same time, we will revisit the landscape of Vietnamese family rituals in the face of the increasingly powerful influence of Western culture – as a way of looking inward, and of reflecting once again on the broader history, culture, people, and society of Vietnam, of which each of us is a small part.
Giới thiệu
Lên Ngàn is pleased to present MÃ: THE ROAD BACK TO THE VOID, a multidisciplinary stage performance inspired by different myths surrounding the transmigration of the soul, as well as the ancestral worship practices of the ancient Vietnamese.
Traditional materials are interwoven with popular social elements, serving as a frame - a subtle metaphor for customs and conflict - through which the work unpacks scenes, rituals, habits, and rules not only related to history and heritage, but also to the very structure of each person’s existence.
Throughout the performance, folk elements and traditional beliefs intertwine with contemporary modes of expression, acting as a mirror - a metaphor for memory, the sacred, return, and dissolution. The work does not merely examine rituals, behaviors, and ancestral connections within Vietnamese life; it also reflects each individual’s journey of confronting their own identity and existence in the modern world.
Diễn giả
CHOREOGRAPHER NGUYỄN DUY THÀNH
Nguyễn Duy Thành (b. 1989) is one of Vietnam’s prominent contemporary dancers and choreographers. Beginning his artistic journey in 2002, he has developed a distinctive voice through a unique fusion of hip hop, contemporary dance, and traditional cultural materials.
Khách mời
ARTIST NGUYỄN QUỐC HOÀNG ANH
Hoàng Anh is a multimedia artist and art curator whose work spans multiple fields, including cultural heritage, contemporary art, and advertising communications. He studied classical music at the Military University of Culture and Arts, communications at FPT Arena, documentary filmmaking at DocLab, and sound art curation through Sounds Now by Onassis Stegi, Greece. His works across mixed media reflect diverse lived experiences in an ever-changing world.
Alongside his individual artistic practice, Hoàng Anh is also actively involved in building and expanding local arts and cultural communities. He founded and has directed Lên Ngàn since 2019 - a multilingual arts and culture platform dedicated to connecting the interdisciplinary arts and cultural ecosystem with the cultural industries.
“MÃ: The Road Back to the Void” is not merely a performance, but an open artistic journey - a space where audience and artists move alongside one another, sensing, feeling, and discovering together. The work draws inspiration from the Vietnamese practice of ancestral worship, as well as from personal and collective memory. Within a space of “the void,” contemporary choreography enters into dialogue with folk performance; the stage merges with the language of cinema and visual art. All of these elements are interwoven within a non-linear performance space, where sound, image, and emotion guide the audience through deep reflections on existence, the sacred, memory, and the return to personal identity.
MÃ: THE ROAD BACK TO THE VOID is not only a multidisciplinary stage performance, but also a creative practice environment for young artists from diverse cultural spaces - a place where they experiment with new forms and new ways of thinking, while remaining grounded in the ever-renewing foundation of traditional artistic heritage.
PREMIERE OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAGE PERFORMANCE | THE ROAD BACK TO THE VOID
