The Việt Nam College of Circus and Variety Arts took seven prizes at the 2024 National Circus Talent competition held in Hà Nội from August 9 - 13.   

Meritorious artist Ngô Lê Thắng, the principal of the college, won the Best Director prize at the competition. 

The Văn Hóa (Culture) newspaper's reporter Hiền Mai spoke to him about circus training at the college. 

Could you tell the prizes that your college won at the competition? And why they were winning performances?

We won one First, two Second prizes for performances, and I myself gagged the Best Director prize. We are very happy because the competition gathers acrobats from major circus troupes nationwide and our college students are very young. Our talented students spent a lot of time training and tried their best winning the prizes. They deserve the reward.

The prizes were also the fruit from carrying out Project 1341 which aims to train talents in the culture and art sectors in 2016-2025 period with a vision to 2030.

Under the project talented students have chance to study free of charge, and they have their own training programme. The students are motivated to work hard while their teachers are always ready to have extra classes, whether it is day or night. 

The drum performance entitled Tiếng Vọng Miền Sơn Cước (Echoes from the Mountain) was given a First Prize and the Best Director award for you. How did you make it?

As a director, I always create a circus show as a 'work of art'. I have to brainstorm and design the show not only to showcase professional skills and technique, but also with high aesthestics, making a perfect show. 

The drum performance is a collection - a circus act, music, stage effects and costume. I ask a musician to write music for the show with a desire to feature significance of the show.

There are four troupes participating in the competition. What do you think about the small number of contestants?

It is a national professional competition and it requires creative contestants. However, it is not easy to produce a new and creative item for competing. 

Presently, the circus performing market is busy with the appearance of private troupes. However, not all of them are confident or willing to participate in the national competition. Preparing for a new item needs human resources and money as well. 

My college is only one in Việt Nam to train circus and variety arts. It is no exaggeration to say that more than 90 per cent of circus artists are trained at the college.

What are the difficulties in recruiting circus students?

We need sympathy, sharing and understanding from the whole society in circus training. Even for parents, convincing them to let their children become circus performers is very difficult.

The parents are worried about harsh training and the risks of being injured while performing. We also have to advise and convince them and then invite them to visit the college's facilities. 

One of the most important things is to pubicise the State's policy for circus students. 

We have to go to different areas in the country to recruit students. The students are 11 years old so we must have a nanny system day and night. 

This year, we recruited 48 students from 10,000 children. It is seven higher than average quota and what was noteworthy is the number of the students from cities increased, not only those in remote and rural areas like in the past years. 

It is a good sign, showing more open thinking about circus as a profession from the people. 

What are challenges in circus training?

The circus students are trained over five years.

But when they graduate they are 4th-grade artist under Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's regulation. Additionally, circus performers work on short-term or seasonal contracts. 

Normally, there will be 30-40 students in a class. But each class is quite different. Sometimes, one teacher trains one student for all the five years, in just one skill. 

These things have been discussed in seminars and meetings.

We and other art colleges want the ministry of culture and relevant bodies to cooperate researching and paying attention to us to promulgate appropriate regulations, creating favourable conditions for the colleges to ensure an educational quality assessment.

There needs to be an assessment and review to amend and supplement a number of regulations suitable to the specific characteristics of this type of art training. VNS