Vietnamese puppeteers to perform in Japan

      Ho Chi Minh City’s Rong Vang Water Pupetry Troupe will take part in the 2009 Kijimuna Festa in Japan from July 20 to August 6. Kijimuna Festa, an annual festival held in Okinawa, features the theatrical arts of Japan and other countries around the world. It is Japan’s most prestigious and popular theatre festival for young audiences.
Rong Vang’s troupe, comprised of seven puppeteers and six traditional musicians, will give seven shows in Tokyo and Okinawa.
According to their manager, Huynh Anh Tuan, the shows will portray the daily lives of Vietnamese farmers, as they fish, harvest their crops, pick coconuts, or participate in boat racing and several popular traditional games.
In preparation for the show, Rong Vang sent two tones of equipment including wooden puppets and traditional musical instruments to Japan last week by sea.
Founded two years ago, Rong Vang has attracted a lot of viewers, including foreign tourists since its first performance at the HCM City’s Worker’s Cultural House.
Tuan said the festival organisers’s decision to invite the troupe to the festival came after they visited Vietnam last year and three months ago.
This year’s Kijimuna Festa will draw troupes from 13 countries and territories including France, Australia, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.