Within 3 years, from 2022-2025, artists of the Vietnam Circus Federation have excellently brought home 9 awards from famous international circus competitions and festivals.
These awards not only affirm the talent and dedication of Vietnamese artists, but also affirm the position of Vietnamese circus in international "arenas".
Vietnamese circus wins international awards
People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, Director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, said that from July 17-26, artists of the Vietnam Circus Federation won two major awards when participating in international circus festivals in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Specifically, at the IDOL 2025 World Circus Festival held in Moscow (Russia) from July 17-20, with the participation of 15 countries, the performance "Swinging Lotus" by four female artists: Lo Ngoc Thuy, Pham Huong, Luu Huong, Hong Thuy was awarded a Special Prize.
According to People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, the performance "Swinging on the Lotus" left a deep impression not only because of its skillful technique, but also because of the symbolic image of the pure lotus flower, staged in circus language, combined with music and traditional costumes. International audiences could not help but admire the grace and courage of the "living lotus flowers" - the little girls with Vietnamese souls.
After the festival, the performance "Lotus Swing" received an invitation to perform at the Circus on Lenin Hill - the cradle of the most professional and modern circus art in Russia today.
Following the success, the Vietnam Circus Federation immediately participated in the 3rd International Circus Festival, which took place from July 23-26 in Almaty (Kazakhstan). The festival brought together nearly 160 artists from 15 countries, with 28 competing performances. The event was held to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the founding of the National Circus of Kazakhstan. People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, Director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, was invited to be a member of the Jury at this Festival.
At this Festival, the double rope act “Duo Love” performed by Meritorious Artist Thanh Tuan and Meritorious Artist Thu Huong was highly appreciated for its excellent technique and emotional sublimation, especially in the scene where the two artists used their teeth to hang, creating the appearance of a kiss suspended in the air at a height of nearly 10 meters without using a safety rope.
The final part of the performance also surprised the judges: Artist Thu Huong hung one leg on a rope and used her hair to support artist Thanh Tuan spinning in a tooth-hanging position. The judges assessed that this is a rare technique that artists in the world can perform - once again affirming the class and dedication of Vietnamese circus artists. The performance "Duo Love" won the Gold Award in the award system including: 1 Granfix Award, 3 Gold Awards, 3 Silver Awards and 3 Bronze Awards.
After winning the award, the Vietnamese artist duo was invited to stay and perform at the celebration in Kazakhstan. However, due to their busy schedule preparing for the special program to celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Day on September 2, the artists asked permission not to participate and returned home to perform at the Central Circus.
Previously, at the 2025 International Circus Festival "Circus Princess" in Russia in early June, the Vietnam Circus Federation won the Bronze Crown Award with the performance "Creating on a vertical wire" by artist Luu Thi Huong.
People's Artist Tong Toan Thang said that the 9 international circus awards and medals in the past three years have demonstrated the strong integration progress of Vietnamese circus, while affirming the talent and dedication of Vietnamese artists.
Efforts to bring Vietnamese circus to the world
Over the years, artists of the Vietnam Circus Federation have always strived to practice, be creative and are always ready to step into the international arena.
Awards such as the Golden Crown at the Russian Circus Princess Competition, the Bronze Prize at the "No Borders" Festival (Russia), the Silver Prize in Kazakhstan, and most recently the Special Prize in Moscow and the Gold Prize in Almaty-Kazakhstan 7/2025... are the achievements of the perseverance, desire for integration and spirit of overcoming limits of Vietnamese artists.
“In the past, Vietnamese circus was just an honored guest, a group that came to learn. But now, we are invited to perform at the most prestigious stages. The performance 'Swinging Lotus' not only won the Special Prize at the 2025 IDOL World Circus Festival, but was also invited to tour at the Circus on Lenin Hill - where the elite of global circus converge,” People's Artist Tong Toan Thang proudly said.
One of the factors that makes Vietnamese circus acts famous and successful is the inclusion of traditional cultural elements in the staging of the acts.
According to People's Artist Tong Toan Thang, circus is not just a technical performance but also a wordless storytelling art. That is why artists do not choose to "copy" foreign acts, but create programs imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity.
The “Swinging with Lotus” performance uses silk ropes to recreate the elegant beauty of the lotus flower – the symbol of the Vietnamese people. The “Duo Love” performance is not only a daring act of hanging oneself by one’s teeth, but also a message of love, courage and devotion.
“We use body language to tell the story of Vietnam, just soft enough, just modern enough, but without losing the cultural core. When Vietnamese artists step onto the world stage with lotus flowers, ao dai, festival drums... it is not just a performance but Vietnamese culture shining,” People's Artist Tong Toan Thang shared.
The Vietnam Circus Federation has been making efforts to innovate its repertoire, stage experimental shows and performances, and invite international artists to perform in order to conquer modern audiences. The shows and performances are all elaborately staged, bringing together leading circus performers, many of whom have won high awards at international competitions in recent years.
In particular, this year, the Federation will welcome artists from Japan and Italy to perform. The Federation will also continue to develop performances to participate in circus festivals in Russia and Europe, affirming the Vietnamese circus brand in the world.
One of the efforts to bring circus art closer to the public is to change the mindset about how to approach the audience. Accordingly, the Vietnam Circus Federation does not passively wait for customers to come to them, but proactively organizes conferences to promote and introduce circus art and the programs that will be performed to the public, through building and introducing a full repertoire throughout the year, and at the same time calling on many organizations and individuals to join hands in implementing it. It can be said that this is a very remarkable move for a public art unit, especially in the context of the theater facing a lack of audiences.
“Building circus programs into cultural tourism products to serve domestic tourists, bringing Vietnamese circus to the world, promoting Vietnamese culture… is both the mission and goal of the Vietnam Circus Federation. The Federation has been making efforts to innovate repertoire, stage experimental programs and plays, invite international artists to perform and participate in international festivals and competitions to conquer modern audiences, and at the same time affirm the Vietnamese circus brand in the world,” said People's Artist Tong Toan Thang./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/xiec-viet-no-luc-khang-dinh-vi-the-tren-dau-truong-quoc-te-post1052882.vnp
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