A Vietnamese juggler is so enamored with his homeland after visiting for the first time in many years that he decided to showcase it in a show combining his love for his art and his country.
Le Ngoc Tuan Anh, or otherwise called Tuan Le, is a 37-year old Vietnamese juggler who was born in Ho Chi Minh City. Born into a family of artists, it was no surprise that he learned and excelled at juggling even at an early age. He even performed in a number of shows even when he was still young. His family migrated to Berlin in 1991, but this didn’t stop him from pursuing his passion. In between odd jobs, he studied about circus.
Le enrolled at Ufa Fabrik when he was 18 to learn dance, music and circus. Ufa Fabrik is a well-known international culture center. At night, he performed at small night clubs. He managed to land a job at Chameleon Variete Theater in Berlin and at Saint Dennis in 2000 wherein he had the oppurtunity to travel to France, Sweden, Austria and the United States. In 2009, he signed a long-term contract with Cirque de Soleil, a world-renowned Canadian circus. He was the first Vietnamese artist to join the distinguished artistic community. Because of Le’s passion and dedication, the International Juggler’s Association (IJA) awarded him the Excellence Award after just one year of working.
Photo by http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2014/05/my-village-show-imbued-with-viet-culture/
In 2005, Le revisited Vietnam after being away for 10 years. He immediately fell in love with the place that he came up with a project merging juggling with his home village. After working for three weeks straight and with the help of other artists Nguyen Lan Maruice and a choreographer named Tan Loc, “Lang Toi” was born. Thier hard work paid off when a French producer heard about the unique project three years after and decided to invest in it.
Inspired by his love for the art of juggling and the natural beauty of his home town, “Lang Toi” was performed by young and vibrant jugglers along with traditional Vietnamese music. Vietnamese traditions such as folk games, highland fairs and village festivals were highlighted in the show while set against technologically advanced light art installations and simple things like bamboo, conical hats and baskets. The constrast between modern and traditional was presented so beautifully that “Lang Toi” became a huge hit not only in Vietnam but all over the world. Le’s dream project produced a total of 400 international performances, even despite the fact that he didn’t allow it to be translated into the language where they were performing.
__________________________________________________________________________In 2013, Le came up with another project named “A O Show” featuring the effect of urbanization in the lives of South Central Coast and Mekong Delta residents. It will be on tour to Europe in 2015. Le is also venturing into puppeteering, fusing it with life in a traditional Vietnamese village. According to Le, it has always been his passion and dream to create something that his fellowmen can be proud of with their own history and culture, by infusing tradition and modern into one artistic and beautiful presentation. He has certainly succeeded in doing so.