A contemporary dance entitled Suong Som (The Mist) was recently staged in Ha Noi. Directed by HCM City-based choreographer Nguyen Tan Loc, the production vividly depicted the daily activities of Southern farmers. The show received publicity and acclaim from audiences and local media. Loc, who is a graduate of the Fujisato Ballet School in Tokyo, talks with Culture Vulture about his show.

Where did the idea for The Mist come from?

One of the by-products of a developing society is that people are much busier and it is easy for them to ignore the many simple but important things surrounding them. Although they eat rice everyday they seem forget how hardworking the farmers must be to produce the rice. People have started to take what they have for granted.

Although I have for a long time nurtured the idea of creating a show to honour the farmers and their lives, I waited until now to do so because in the past I was worried that audiences would not embrace a show that covers familiar topics. The country's agriculture has been celebrated culturally before, but I really wanted to express my great respect for them in my work and do my best to depict their lives on the dancing stage. Finally, the time seemed right and The Mist was born.

A 20-minute first version of the show was produced in 2011 and performed by the Arabesque Dance Group at the Daegu Modern Dance Festival in South Korea. After the festival, I decided to develop the production into the 75-minute show that we finished with, which consists of seven acts.

The show starts with a scene depicting the farmers kicking off their working day on the field in the morning mist, which is where the title comes from.

How did you portray the southern countryside in The Mist?

Alongside dancing, which is the key element of the production, we tried to replicate the region authentically in our set design. We used water coconut leaves transported from the southwestern area of the Mekong River Delta to decorate the stage.

To offer audiences first hand experience of the southern rural culture, we set up some art installations comprising of farming tools and layers of rice in the theatre lobby. The audiences were also invited to sample some local traditional candy and cakes.

To enhance the sound impact, composers Duc Tri and Nhat Ly travelled to different areas in the Mekong River region to record the sound of many insect species. An iconic image of the region – the trunk bridge – was also replicated on the stage during some acts.

Each act in The Mist tells a different story and shows a different farming activity, creating a panorama of the region. The acts include Ra Dong (On the Field), Huong Chua (Fragrance from Pagoda), Mua (Season), Dem (Night), Duoc Mua (Bumper Harvest), Lua (Silk) and Gao (Rice).

Before starting the show, I took all of the dancers from the Arabesque group to visit the rural region and witness the life of local people. I hoped that once they understood the hard life of a farmer, they could bring their feelings and emotion into their performances. As most of the dancers were born in urban areas, giving them practical experience was very important.

The Mist gathers some big names from the worlds of Vietnamese dancing and music. Did you plan to use so many big names from the very beginning?

Like with my previous productions, I just wanted to create a perfect show. It is my pleasure to have the chance of co-operating with talented big names, including composers Duc Tri and Ton That An, dan tranh (16-chord zither) player Hai Phuong, dancers Ngoc Khai and Hoai Phuong and choreographer Ngoc Anh, who is currently building his dancing career in the UK.

It is true that their contributions to The Mist have brought success to the show.

What difficulties did you face staging the show in Ha Noi?

The cold weather had the potential of causing the dancers some cramp. In the end we decided to set up four high-capacity heaters backstage. Luckily, there were not any big problems during the show's run. — VNS