Meritorious artist Danh Be (69 years old) was born into a family with a tradition of loving Khmer ethnic art in Dinh Hoa commune, Go Quao district (Kien Giang). He is attached to art following the tradition passed down from father to son, his passion for singing has urged him to participate in local movements.
All nine of his children followed in their father’s footsteps and were taught every dance move and singing by him from a young age. In 1978, artist Danh Be wrote the script himself and selected nearly 20 members, his children and grandchildren, who were talented and loved Khmer music, to form a club to perform in the district and province. Initially, due to limited funds, he made his own props for the performances.
He shared: “Traditional Khmer art is not only my passion but also my responsibility, I have to preserve and protect the nation's art. To pass it on to the next generations, we need to find talented young people to join and practice in the club.”
In addition to the knowledge of Khmer folk art passed down from his father, artisan Danh Be also researched and learned to make musical instruments such as the co (co-shaped zither), gao (a kind of zither), tranh (a kind of zither), flute, drum set and masks in ethnic dances.
Despite his age, artist Danh Be still maintains his enthusiasm, always interested in activities, gathering children in the village to teach them movements and dances.
Practice locations are usually home yards or temple yards. Most of the children are students, so practice time is usually on Sundays or weekday evenings.
Danh Huynh Thi, a resident of Dinh Hoa commune, said: "To learn to sing and dance, you must focus on listening to the teacher's instructions. You must not only imitate what they say, but also express the spirit of it. That is a difficult thing that we must study more."
Not only learning from artist Danh Be, the children also watch the older children practice and share inspiration about traditional songs and dances.
For nearly 23 years, artist Danh Be has devoted his time and passion to building the Khmer art club, always researching, learning, and overcoming all difficulties to teach dances to many generations as well as organize many art performances to serve the Khmer people.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Duc, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Go Quao district, said: The club not only performs locally on festival days but is also invited to perform in other localities inside and outside the province. The Khmer art club of artist Danh Be also won 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal at the National Mass Art Festival. In 2019, Mr. Danh Be was also awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan by the President.
“Through the mass performing arts activities of the club led by artisan Danh Be, many talented and promising young generations have been recruited into the Khmer Art Troupe of the province. The young generation will be the ones to continue the passion for traditional Khmer art from Meritorious Artisan Danh Be and develop it further," Mr. Duc shared.
