Born amid the flames of the revolutionary struggle, over the past 75 years, the Military Song and Dance Theatre (hereafter referred to as the Theatre) has always served as a vanguard force on the cultural and ideological front, steadfastly nurturing trust, inspiring determination, and fostering revolutionary ideal among cadres, soldiers, and the people. In the new stage of national development, that role continues to be affirmed and elevated to new heights, meeting the increasingly demanding requirements of the cause of national building and protection.

On 15 March 1951, when the resistance war against French colonialists was raging fiercely, the Military Art Troupe (affiliated with the Department of Political Education and Information, under the General Department of Politics) - the predecessor of the Theatre - was established. This event not only marked the birth of a professional artistic organisation within the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) but also reflected the strategic vision of the Party, the State, and the VPA regarding the particularly important role of culture and arts in revolutionary warfare as well as in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

The Theatre’s Ceremony to receive First-Class Fatherland Protection Order

From its very earliest days, despite numerous hardships, revolutionary song and dance programmes and musical works by the Military Art Troupe - irrespective of whether they were performed at resistance bases, the rear or the front line - vividly reflected the life, training, combat, and production activities of both troops and the people, contributing to unified awareness, revolutionary ideal, and military - civilian solidarity. The ensuing immense spiritual strength enabled our VPA and people to achieve the extraordinary feat of “56 days and nights of digging through mountains, sleeping in bunkers, enduring relentless rain, living on rice balls, with blood mingled with mud - yet with unwavering courage and willpower”, contributing to the historic victory of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign - a triumph that “resounded across the five continents and shook the globe”.

During the resistance war against the US imperialists for national salvation, the vanguard role of the Military Art Troupe on the cultural and ideological front was further affirmed at a higher level. Generations of artist - soldiers, undaunted by hardships and sacrifices, closely followed the fiercest battlefields, bringing songs and dances imbued with love for the Fatherland, national pride, and the determination to liberate the South and reunify the country to both troops and the people. Their performances powerfully inspired the aspiration for national reunification, revolutionary heroism, and the will to fight and win. Across the smoke-filled battlefields, the footprints of these artist-soldiers were present everywhere. Their names became inseparable from the “songs that endured over time” deeply etched in the memories of generations of Vietnamese people and forming an integral part of the glorious history of Vietnam’s revolutionary culture and arts.

Since the country was reunified and entered a new stage of development, the Theatre has inherited the tradition of revolutionary performing troupes and gradually renovated its creative thinking and operational methods. Many large-scale artistic programmes with profound ideological depth and high artistic value have been staged and performed at major political events of the Party, the State, and the VPA. In addition to serving troops and the people in remote, border, and island areas, they are part of defence diplomacy activities. By doing so, the Theatre has contributed to enriching the cultural and spiritual life of troops and the people, promoting the image of the country, the people, and the VPA to international friends, arousing national pride and strengthening the people’s trust in the Party, the State, and the VPA.

Throughout its 75-year journey, regardless of wartime or peacetime, under both favourable and difficult conditions, generations of the Theatre’s cadres and artists have demonstrated steadfast willpower and absolute loyalty to the Party, the Fatherland, and the people. They have continuously devoted themselves to self-cultivation, study, and professional training to improve their artistic competence and moral qualities. Through their wholehearted service to the Fatherland, the troops, and the people, they have embodied and illuminated the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and artist - soldiers. Many of the Theatre's artists have been honoured by the Party and the State with prestigious titles and are widely admired by the public and audiences. The noble awards conferred upon the Theatre throughout its process of development, dedication, and growth stand as a worthy recognition of the persistent and silent contributions made by generations of its cadres and artists to the VPA’s building and combat cause and to national construction and defence.

An art programme by the Theatre for troops of Naval Region 4

Currently, the world and regional situation continues to evolve rapidly, complexly, and unpredictably. Hostile, reactionary, and opportunistic forces have intensified their sabotage activities on the cultural and ideological front, promoting manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, and pursuing plots aimed at depoliticising the VPA, thereby making the struggle on the cultural and ideological front increasingly intense and complicated. Domestically, the process of extensive and intensive international integration and the vigorous development of cyberspace have brought about both opportunities and considerable challenges when it comes to the tasks of building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation, and maintaining political orientations and aesthetic standards in artistic creation and performance. In the new period, the cultural and artistic needs of the troops and the people, together with the requirements of the VPA’s tasks of building and combat readiness, are becoming increasingly diverse.

Against that backdrop, the Theatre is required to continuously renew and develop itself, and further promote its pioneering and vanguard role on the cultural and ideological front, thereby contributing to making the VPA politically strong and enriching  the troops' cultural and spiritual life. To that end, several major solutions must be implemented effectively.

First, steadfastly upholding the Party’s leadership and ensuring consistent political orientation in all artistic activities. This is a matter of principle and a fundamental basis for the Theatre to successfully accomplish all assigned tasks and to truly act as a vanguard force on the cultural and ideological front. Accordingly, the Theatre must regularly study and thoroughly grasp the Party’s guidelines on culture, literature, and arts, particularly Resolution 80-NQ/TW, dated 7 January 2026, by the Politburo (13^th tenure) on the development of Vietnamese culture, the Resolution of the 14^th National Party Congress, the Resolution of the 12^th Military Party Congress, as well as the viewpoints of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and the General Department of Politics on the development of culture, literature, and arts within the VPA. Based on those documents, orientations must be concretised in the direction of artistic creation, staging, and performance so that every artistic programme embodies Party spirit and high ideological and aesthetic value, thereby fostering patriotism and highlighting the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the new era. Alongside this, the leadership of Party committees and Party organisations over the entire process of artistic creation must be maintained and strengthened. This includes enhancing content appraisal and aesthetic orientation, proactively preventing manifestations of deviation from the noble mission of revolutionary culture and arts. Each artistic work and programme must not only meet artistic standards but, above all, represent political self-awareness and clearly reflect the Party’s viewpoints and stance. Doing this helps shape public awareness, consolidate trust, and nurture revolutionary ideals among cadres, soldiers, and the people while contributing to enriching the troops' cultural and spiritual life, firmly safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation, and upholding the noble mission of revolutionary culture and arts.

An art performance by the Theatre during the National Song and Dance Festival of 2024

Second, closely following the realities of Vietnam's era of national rise and the requirements of building the VPA to promote the Theatre’s vanguard role on the cultural and ideological front. The Theatre consistently adheres to the view that revolutionary art can maintain vitality and combativeness only when it is closely associated with the development of the country and the VPA. At present, the entire Party, people, and VPA are striving to bring the country into a new era of socialist-oriented rapid and sustainable development. Meanwhile, the task of building a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern VPA sets increasingly high requirements on cultural and ideological work. In this context, arts must not only reflect reality but also contribute to building a firm spiritual foundation along the way.

Accordingly, the Theatre must focus on core themes that highlight the new stature, aspirations, and objectives of the country and the VPA in the new era. Its artistic works must vividly portray the noble image of revolutionary soldiers with steadfast political will, modern thinking, strong determination, and profound humanistic qualities. Through emotionally rich artistic language, artistic programmes must concentrate on nurturing revolutionary ideal, strengthening firm trust in the goals of national independence and socialism, and inspiring dedication, civic responsibility, and determination to build and safeguard the Fatherland.

In addition, the Theatre must strengthen the selection, creation, staging, and performance of outstanding artistic works imbued with national identity, including “songs that have endured over time”, praising the glorious Party, the great Uncle Ho, the Fatherland, and the heroic VPA. The persuasive power and values of truth, goodness, and beauty embodied in these works contribute to firmly safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation, enriching the cultural and artistic life, and fostering sound aesthetic ideal among the public. Doing so also helps counter hostile forces’ plots and schemes in the cultural and artistic fields, while generating great spiritual motivation for the cause of national construction and defence.

Third, renovating methods of artistic creation and performance in a more professional and modern manner to enhance the effectiveness of dissemination and education. In the context of rapid changes and fierce competition within the cultural and media environment, improving the quality, professionalism, and modernity of artistic activities has become an inevitable requirement. For the Theatre, creative innovation not only enhances the attractiveness of artistic works and programmes but also directly strengthens ideological influence, increasing persuasiveness and spreading love for the Fatherland, the VPA, and the aspiration for dedication.

Therefore, the Theatre needs to focus on comprehensively improving quality at all stages, from composition and staging to performance, so as to meet the increasingly high expectations of audiences. Simultaneously, due regard should be paid to promoting the application of science and technology as well as digital transformation in stage design, sound, lighting, and programme organisation. The Theatre should expand its performance space on digital platforms and proactively reach audiences through flexible approaches in line with new communication trends. Renewing forms of performance helps enhance the attractiveness, ideological depth, and aesthetic value of artistic works, creating harmony between tradition and modernity and between the VPA’s distinctive identity and contemporary artistic language. When artistic quality is improved, each production not only provides aesthetic enjoyment but also becomes an effective means of influencing the public's awareness, thought, emotions, and beliefs. This contributes to consolidating the ideological front and strengthening society’s “resistance” against harmful cultural products and distorted viewpoints in the cultural and artistic fields.

Fourth, building a contingent of artist - soldiers who are politically steadfast, professionally competent, and wholeheartedly devoted to serving the Fatherland, the VPA, and the people. This is a key and long-term task. To that end, the Theatre must closely combine political and ideological education with professional training so that each artist is not only professionally proficient but also steadfast in their political stance, loyal to the Party’s goals and ideal, and deeply aware of their responsibility on the cultural and artistic front. The political willpower of artist - soldiers is reflected both in their awareness and their choice of themes, artistic expression, professional attitude, and conduct towards the troops and the people, ensuring that every work and every performance reflects revolutionary spirit, combativeness, dedication, and profound humanistic values.

At the same time, emphasis must be placed on building an increasingly healthy internal cultural environment that upholds discipline, proper military bearing, solidarity, and creativity. Also, the exemplary role of key cadres and prestigious artists must be promoted, while the image of exemplary military artists both in daily life and on stage must be bolstered. When the contingent of artist - soldiers truly becomes politically and artistically steadfast, it will provide a solid foundation for the Theatre to further improve the quality of its artistic productions, maintain its prestige, and maximise the effectiveness of its communication and public outreach.

Fifth, building a pure, strong Party Organisation and a comprehensively strong Theatre, thereby creating a firm organisational foundation for its long-term vanguard role. The pioneering role on the cultural and ideological front can be sustained only when it is grounded in the sound leadership of Party committees and Party organisations and in the foundation of a unit with high overall quality. Fully aware of that, the Theatre’s Party Organisation must focus on building its increasingly pure and strong affiliates, constantly enhancing their leadership capacity and combativeness while heightening the exemplary responsibility of cadres, Party members, and artists. This is a key factor in presenting a united front throughout the Theatre.

In addition, attention must be paid to making the Theatre comprehensively strong in accordance with the new criteria, maintaining strict standards of order and discipline, ensuring full compliance with military regulations and the State’s laws, renewing management and administration methods, streamlining organisational structures in association with improving operational quality.

Promoting its glorious tradition, the Theatre will continue to serve as a vanguard force on the cultural and ideological front, contributing to firmly safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation and making practical contributions to the VPA's building and fighting cause as well as to national construction and defence in the new era.

Sr. Col., People’s Artist NGUYEN THI BICH HANH