However, this art form still runs the risk of loss because currently there are only 26 preserved modalities among 99 modalities of ca tru. Therefore Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted the file to UNESCO for recognizing ca tru as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

With main goal of preserving, developing and advertising ca tru to Vietnamese and foreigners, Thang Long Ca Tru Theatre opened on April 3, 2009. The theatre is the first place having professional ca tru shows in Vietnam.

The theatre currently has the following ca tru shows:

Incense stick dance and song: It’s a modality used for worship singing and expressing gratitude to the God, Earth in national festivals

Rap - “Hong Hong - Tuyet Tuyet” paradigm: This modality based on the lyrics written by Dương Khue (1836-1902) has the possibility to depict all sentimental scales of mankind.
Letter sending: This is loveable modality of ca tru of which nobody knows about its origin. It’s a letter written by a young woman aiming to send to her man. She cherishes hope of her lover’s promise

Lullaby at the communal house gate: Nguyen Cong Tru is a great poet with several contributions to ca tru. In this modality, Nguyen Cong Tru created the singing style which intertwined between the seven foot - eight sentence verse and the six-eight-word distich metre

Mimic: This is the most ancient dance that appeared from the 9th century. It describes daily activities of Vietnamese people in this period such as: silk weaving, crab and fish catch…

In additional, the theatre performs many different modalities such as: Thet Nhac, Prelude,… especially introduction about ca tru performance style as well as instruments of ca tru
The theatre has showrooms of object and image for ca tru as well as Vietnamese traditional villages and calligraphy to meet demand of Vietnamese and foreigners
Useful information
- All modalities and performance schedule are introduced in English, French, Vietnamese
- Before performing time, there is introduction about history and development of ca tru during thousand years as well as performance style and instruments of ca tru in English, French, Vietnamese
- Performing time: 16h45, 18h00, 19h15 for all days
- Price : VND35,000

For more information, please contact:
Thang Long Ca Tru Theatre
Add: 25 Tong Dan St, Hoan Kiem Dist, Hanoi (in Vietnam Revolution Museum)
Tel: (84-4) 3935 1375 - 6655 4608
Fax: (84-4) 3935 1375
Email: thanglongcatrutheatre@gmail.com
Web: vietnamcatru.com ; thanglongcatrutheatre.com