Currently, the dance team of the provincial Ethnic Arts Troupe has 14 tenured performers and 2 on probation, including 4 men and 12 women, with an average age of 30. Although the number is not large, each member carries many responsibilities on their shoulders: creating, performing, and participating in the training of the next generation. Over the past five years, the dance team, along with other members of the troupe, has developed 38 performance programs for political tasks. They have carried out 701 performances, including 262 in remote areas, attracting over 1.3 million viewers, with 270,000 in the highlands alone.

Behind those impressive numbers is the relentless effort of artists who consider the stage to be the breath of life. Meritorious Artist Điêu Thị Thực, Head of the provincial Ethnic Arts Troupe, shared: “Everyone is very passionate about their profession, enthusiastic, and dedicated to contributing. But recruiting new members is truly very difficult. Every year, the Troupe goes to Northwestern College of Culture and Arts to search for new talent, but with little success. Over the past five years, we have only managed to recruit four people, two of whom are on probation and were just recruited this year. The young ones who join need a lot of additional training and refinement, from skills and performance style to stage presence.”

The reality is that the work of rejuvenating the dance workforce, which seems simple, is actually an arduous journey amidst many barriers related to economic conditions, training facilities, compensation policies, and the professional development environment. For dance artists, their professional lifespan is often short. As they get older, the demands for physical strength, flexibility, and agility become harder to meet. Finding and retaining young dance artists in Điện Biên has never been easy. This is because this borderland still faces many economic difficulties and can hardly compete in terms of income or development opportunities compared to large cities.

Meritorious Artist Điêu Thị Thực shared, encapsulating the concerns of the entire collective: “Điện Biên is a poor province, so talented people rarely come to Điện Biên. Performers with good looks and strong professional skills tend to stay in the cities where there are more opportunities for development. Here, the income for a dance performer is very low, based only on a public employee’s salary. There are not many outside performances, and the pay is modest. You really have to love the profession to stay and commit to it.”

Furthermore, other difficulties come from the official staffing mechanism. When there is a recruitment quota, the Troupe finds it hard to find suitable people; when there are suitable people, there is no official staff slot. In particular, the policy of streamlining the state apparatus by 2030 makes recruitment even more “precarious.” These realities cause many young people, despite their passion for the arts, to hesitate before choosing Điện Biên as a place to settle and contribute.

Nevertheless, there are still bright spots that bring faith and hope. Performer Tô Văn Linh, born in 1999, who graduated with a major in dance from the Northwest College of Culture and Arts and has been working at the provincial Ethnic Arts Troupe since 2019, shared: “As a son of Điện Biên, I always feel proud to perform for people in the highlands, for the audience of my homeland. Although the income is not high, what keeps me committed is the happiness of being on stage, seeing the audience applaud, their eyes shining as they watch the Troupe’s performances.”

Along with Linh, two other young faces, Lùng Văn Quý (born in 2004) and Hà Huyền Trâm (born in 2007), have just joined the Troupe this year. Though very young, they already carry within them a fierce love for dance and a pride in contributing to Điện Biên. Quý confided: “I was born and raised in Mường Toong commune. That’s why I chose to come back to Điện Biên to work, to train myself and gain experience. Later, if I have the opportunity, I will continue my studies to improve my professional skills, and then return to contribute to the province.”

Looking squarely at the reality, Meritorious Artist Điêu Thị Thực believes that to rejuvenate the team of dance artists, it is necessary to start from the grassroots: training and discovering young talent locally. “We hope the province will consider opening a training class for dance performers, recruiting gifted children from communes and wards. At the same time, there should be specific support mechanisms and policies so that they can study with peace of mind and later become the succeeding core for the local arts movement,” Meritorious Artist Điêu Thị Thực shared.

In reality, for mountainous provinces like Điện Biên, arts education often suffers many disadvantages. Lacking facilities, high tuition costs, and few opportunities for professional performance cause many young talents to “falter” right from the start. Therefore, issuing special policies is essential to “nurture the seedlings” of the next generation.

In addition, improving the compensation for dance artists is also an urgent issue. A salary commensurate with their effort, a creative working environment, and opportunities for professional development are the “levers” for young people to commit and stay.

Điện Biên, a land where the cultures of more than 19 ethnic groups converge, has a rich treasure of folk dance, deeply imbued with the identity of the Thái, Khơ Mú, Mông, and Dao peoples. That is precious material for artistic creation, the “lifeblood” of the ethnic stage. Therefore, the work of rejuvenating the team of dance artists is not just about continuing the previous generation, but more importantly, about preserving and promoting the cultural quintessence of this westernmost land that has been passed down for thousands of years. When the young generation follows in their footsteps, they bring dynamism, creativity, and a fresh perspective to breathe the spirit of the times into traditional dances, both preserving the old soul and creating new vitality.

The path to rejuvenating the team of dance artists in our province is still fraught with difficulties, but people who are toiling on the practice floor every day still believe in the future. They believe that with the attention of the province, with appropriate policies, and the companionship of the culture sector, it won’t be long before Điện Biên will have a new generation of dance artists, young, talented, and full of aspiration.