Windy Day 14 “Pondering Life, through the Rhythms of Xẩm”

Fri 27 May 2016, 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Đình Hào Nam, Vu Thanh, Hanoi

From the organizer:

Xẩm is perceived by many as being melancholic, as it is the melody performed by the blind street-artists – this is a huge misconception. In Xẩm, love is a recurring theme, the love for life has the power to drown out sorrow and heal every broken heart. That is the notion of life, as once stated by Luu Quang Vu, a Vietnamese well-known playwright and poet, “The carpenter was wrong / If life is all evil / How could the apple tree bloom? / How could the runnel be so pure?

We do not know how you think about OUR LIVES

It goes without saying, “The stories told in Xẩm are those of life” – that is true, be it love, family, education and examination, or the stories of one’s destiny, there will always be both joy and sorrow. Sadness mixes with happiness, happiness helps to fade the sadness out… In Xẩm they co-exist in the harmony of melody and rhythm, while at the same time being so simple and modest in presentation.

Therefore, Tôi Xê Dịch, in Windy Day 14, chose a topic which at first glance may seem “ordinary”, but is actually so profound: “Pondering life, through the rhythms of Xẩm” in order to help youths enter the world of the most modest genre of traditional music that is so filled with love, appreciation and joy.

To help participants further immerse in the notions of Xẩm, “Pondering life, through the rhythms of Xẩm” is the first time that you’ll get the opportunity to experience such an art form while blindfolded. This unique interaction is our way of helping the participants not only have a natural and genuine beginning, but also experience the features of Xẩm – the notions of lyrics and stories through the perspective of the blind street-performers.

Windy Day 14: “Pondering life, through the rhythms of Xẩm” is a non-profit event. Participants can financially support Tôi Xê Dịch in the process of organizing the event. The money raised during the event will be entirely used for organization expenses and will be explicitly professed on public media and among contributors.

You can help financially support the event to receive tickets and other gifts from Tôi Xê Dịch here.