Teh Dar Show

 

 

 

Bamboo cirque

Acrobatics

Live tribal music

 

Performed live from authentic Tây Nguyên tribal instruments, including massive set of percussions, certified cultural heritage by UNESCO, Goong, buffalo horn, Tơ Rưng, elephant drums, etc.

 

Approximately 60 minutes

 

07 Cong Truong Lam Son, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Standing magnificently at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City is Saigon Opera House.

Also known as the Municipal Theater, the opera house was built in 1898 by Eugene Ferret, following the “flamboyant” style of the French Third Republic. Located on the city’s center axis, connecting metro station and the roundabout in front of Ben Thanh Market, the building stands as one of the most impressive sight in Saigon – both night and day.

 

The idea behind ‘Teh Dar’ goes back to the early days of this country when Viet people were collective ethnic tribes living on different parts of this peninsula. Once tribal men and women came around the fire, hunted, danced, harvested…together, they formed the circles within which, cultural stories that inspired ‘Teh Dar’ began. 54 of those tribes remain today, mostly scattered over the highlands of Vietnam. In K’Ho, one tribal tongue from the South Western highland called Tây Nguyên, the world ‘Teh Dar’ means ‘going in circle’. It is what Teh Dar artists do: keeping the symbolic circles of tribal cultures going, giving them new life on stage, preserving beautiful aspects of their traditions from fading under the merciless wipe of modernization. As the people keep going, the circle remains, so will their culture.

 

The creators and artists of Teh Dar traveled to Tây Nguyên. They lived and breathed highland life. Essence of Tây Nguyên was then absorbed to craft bold stage visuals from minimal props such as masks and bamboos. Breathtaking cirque moves were created out of tribal dances. Even the carpet performers step on was dyed in red highland soil. In Teh Dar, it is Tây Nguyên coming to life on a contemporary stage, so real and vigorous. Teh Dar became the first ever performance that paid tribute to Tây Nguyên and tribal cultures in Vietnam and in the world, too.

 

Teh Dar invites audience to enter a realm of mythical mountains and jungles, of ancient life, primitively wild and beautiful. Minimal mise-en-scène work with storytelling lighting and music let viewers immerge into stage atmospheres that are almost magical and haunting. Wild animal hunts. Bold prehistoric highland conquerors. Moonlit romance by the streams and love that moved mountains. Vigorous tribal youths and joyful highland community games. Ancient lullabies echoed in the jungles. Tales of death and reincarnation whispered by creatures of the wild night.