Tham khảo Inner Sanctum (08-06-2008) Nationâ?Ts dancers need more professional touch Nguyen Dung is renowned as being the countryâ?Ts first international-level dancer. He talks to Luu Van Dat about what can be done to put more Vietnamese artists like him on the global stage. Nguyen Dung has spent most of his life learning how to move gracefully, becoming the first Vietnamese member of the British-based Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), an organisation that boasts some of the toughest entrance standards in the world. Today the years of one-two-three, one-two-three are finally paying off. Inner Sanctum: How did you end up becoming an international level professional dancer? I fortunately was born into a family with a tra***ion of dancing. My father, sister and brother were amateur dancers, and they encouraged me when I was very young. When I was five, I had an opportunity to listen to dance music from my father. This was the background that ignited my passion of dancing. Before the revolution, my family was quite poor. It really was hard to get my own shoes for practice. My father often shined my shoes for me. In 1960, I learned rudimentary steps of waltz and tango from my father. But the American war then dashed my dream of becoming a dancer. I spent several years as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army. Then I was sent to study medicine and work in a State hospital in Ha Noi. In 1984, I finally got my hands on an Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancingâ?Ts dance manual and my childhood passion resumed. Inner Sanctum: Previously you were a doctor. Why did you quit and become an expert in dancing? Passion! Dancing as a job is very hard and only a person who is passionate can make dancing a full-time job. Itâ?Ts a misconception to think there is no connection between medicine and dancing. I used to be a doctor in the military but medical knowledge of the human body helps me in training myself and teaching my students to avoid accidents or missteps while performing. Knowledge about health is one of the most important criteria of the entrance test to become a member of ISTD. It is rare to find a dancer with knowledge in both dancing and medicine. But dancing is in many ways the best medicine. Dancing improves health and your mood. Inner Sanctum: How did you become the first international dancer in Viet Nam and the first person to bring dance contest rules to Viet Nam? I think dancing can become more competitive here. I knew that dancing would be at a standstill because there were no professional teachers. I registered to study English at Ha Noi Foreign Language University and then contacted ISTD and asked for materials. I was fortunate to train with experts in Great Britain and became the first international professional dancer in Viet Nam, thanks to the guidance of Marion Brown, head of ISTDâ?Ts International Institute and vice chair of the Latin Dancing Department. I am honoured to be the first person to bring dancesport to Viet Nam and popularise it. In December 1998, the first dancing competition in Asia was held and I contacted ISTD and the Thailand Dancesport Association and then wrote a proposal petitioning Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem to develop the sport in Viet Nam. In March 1999, the first dancesport training centre opened in Ha Noi. Many Vietnamese dancers and lecturers have been trained there. Inner Sanctum: Can you comment on the development of dancing in Viet Nam and in HCM City? Dozens of big and small dancing clubs have been created nationwide. Citizens have recognised the useful effects of dancing. However, training in the country doesnâ?Tt meet requirements of students who need to reach international standards. Teachers often train their students with their own experience. It is a pity that dancesport is not very developed in our country compared with neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a non-competitive activity due to the shortage of well-trained teachers. Teachers are not trained adequately. In recent years, many dancing clubs have opened in Ha Noi and HCM City but dancing floors are not high quality. In my opinion, Vietnamese are very skilled at dancing and could become excellent dancers, with their slender bodies and their musical capabilities. If Vietnamese were trained by professional teachers, they would be second to none in the world. Inner Sanctum: And what about your current plan in HCM City? In HCM City there is a private university which offers training. We are co-operating to train more professional teachers in the city and provinces. In the future they will teach many talented dancers to join domestic and regional dancesport competitions. Now I am teaching dancesport at a sport faculty in HCM City at Hong Bang University. I am proud to have trained successful dancers and to be a teacher of well-known dancers and heavyweight competitors in dancesport competitions. Inner Sanctum: The standards of international dancesport were brought to Viet Nam in 1998 and the country set up a dancesport training centre in 1999. So do we have any contests here? In 2003, Viet Namâ?Ts dancesport teams competed in five competitions organised in the region, at the 23rd SEA Games in the Philippines, and at the Indoor Games in December 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. Locally we organised the first open competition in Ha Noi in 2005 and the first national competition was held in 2006. This October we will host a national dancesport competition in HCM City. I hope Viet Namâ?Ts dancesport team will have an opportunity to take part in the next Olympics in 2012. Inner Sanctum: Can you name the criteria that a student needs to become a good dancer? In general, anyone can learn dancing as long as they can walk, because it is based on a set of steps. We use 10 different styles taken from tra***ional dances of people around the world. A good teacher is essential. â?" VNS
