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Xòe Thái dance expected to gain UNESCO recognition

HÀ NỘI — The unique folk dance of Viet Nam’s Thai ethnic minority, called Xòe Thai is being considered for UNESCO recognition as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. 

The consideration was taken during the 16th session of UNESCO with the participation of representatives from many countries on Monday.

Representatives of Viet Nam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with authorities of four northern mountainous provinces Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Sơn La and Đien Bien, which are home to the dance, took part in the online meeting.

Xòe Thai is popular among the Thai ethnic groups living in the four northern mountainous provinces. Especially, the communes of Mường Lò in Yen Bai, Mường So in Lai Chau, Thuận Chau in Sơn La, Mường Lay and Đien Bien Phủ City in Đien Bien are considered “centres” of the dance.

Xòe Thái dance expected to gain UNESCO recognition

Xòe is a unique type of traditional dance that is associated with community cultural festivals, ritual ceremonies, or cultural exchanges.

It depicts the daily lives of the Thai in Viet Nam and shows their desire for a peaceful and prosperous life.

Comprising about 30 different dances in total, Xòe Thai is usually performed during community cultural festivals, funerals and cultural exchanges.

The dance has been protected, developed and handed down through generations over hundreds of years in various forms including xòe quạt (dance with a fan), xòe khăn (dance with a scarf), xòe nón (dance with a conical hat) and others, with contents reflecting community activities and expressing the Thai people’s emotions and ancestral spirits.

With gentle rhythms, dancers usually form a circle around a bonefire and move to the sound of melodic traditional music.

The dance not only presents the beauty of Thai ethnic culture, but also the connection between community members.

Today, Xòe Thai is a symbol of hospitality of the Thai in the northwest of Viet Nam.

The lissome, elegant dance was named on the Government’s intangible heritage list in 2013, 

In September 2019, at the opening ceremony of the Mường Lò Culture and Tourism Festival in Yen Bai Province, 5,000 people gathered to perform the dance, setting a Guinness World Record.

The UNESCO title is expected to elevate the status of the dance to national and international levels, thus promoting Vietnamese traditional art and cultural diversity.

UNESCO’s current session is considering 48 profiles for the recognition of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and six profiles for the Intangible Cultural Heritage In Need of Urgent Safeguarding. — VNS

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