Sydney (VNA) – Driven by a desire to preserve the Vietnamese language and cultural traditions among the Vietnamese community in Australia, Vietnamese dance and traditional music classes organised by the Viet-Aus Culture Exchange Organisation (VACEO) have been held every Saturday afternoon in Bankstown, Sydney.
On a sunny afternoon in October, teachers and students were busy rehearsing new pieces for Viet Soul 3, themed “Imprints of Alluvium”, scheduled for October 17. From outside the Bryan Brown Theatre in Bankstown, the lively beat of the “trong com”, a traditional Vietnamese cylindrical drum, could already be heard. Inside, more than 10 children stood in rows, carefully following each movement demonstrated by their teacher, Minh Ha Patmore.
During a break, Lexi Pham, one of the students, enthusiastically shared that she has only started learning the drum in early 2026 but had quickly grown fond of the instrument.
“When I play the drum, I feel very Vietnamese. This is something I don’t get at a regular school,” Lexi said.
Interestingly, she spoke Vietnamese of her own accord during the conversation. English remains the language she is most familiar with in her studies and daily life, but the weekend classes are giving her more opportunities to hear, speak and understand Vietnamese.
Fellow student Daniel Ngo shared a similar experience. Before joining the class, he had never played the drum. After overcoming the initial unfamiliarity, he has gradually discovered a new ability and, more importantly, learnt more about Vietnamese music. He said that whenever the teacher explains a piece of music, an instrument or the cultural stories associated with it, things that once seemed unfamiliar become more relatable. For a child born and raised in Australia, this is also a way of bringing Vietnam closer.
Listening to her students chatting, teacher Minh Ha could not hide her delight. She is formerly the leader and a founding member of Mat Troi Do, a contemporary traditional music band. After settling in Australia, she put her passion for traditional Vietnamese music on hold for a time. Yet her longing for home and desire to continue contributing to Vietnamese music never faded.
She said she hopes to bring the community together, so that Vietnamese children born in Australia can grow up knowing their roots and understanding just how rich their culture.
For her, the classes are therefore about much more than teaching children to play an instrument. Behind every exercise are stories about their homeland, its customs and sounds that many children may never have encountered in their everyday lives.
Dancer Bach Van shared a similar sense of purpose. Before settling in Australia, she was a soloist with the Bong Sen Traditional Music and Dance Theatre and a lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City Dance School. When VACEO invited her to collaborate, she needed little time to consider the offer.
Bach Van said teaching traditional Vietnamese dance to children born in Australia presented its own challenges. Many have little clear understanding of Vietnam’s regions or ethnic communities, so each dance lesson must begin with stories about its origins, costumes, props and the cultural traditions behind the movements.
Speaking to VNA correspondents in Sydney, Minh Ha said keeping such classes running was far from easy. Vietnamese families in Sydney live across a wide area, travel distances are long, and children have varying levels of Vietnamese proficiency. Attendance can also fluctuate from week to week.
Teachers must therefore adapt their lesson plans, using more pictures, stories and visual explanations to make the material easier for children to understand. Practical challenges involving classroom space, funding and organisational costs also remain.
Yet every Saturday afternoon, the classroom lights are still on. The drums continue to beat in steady rhythms. Dance movements are practised over and over again. And the children keep trying to speak Vietnamese with their teacher and friends, even when their pronunciation is not yet fluent.
Perhaps, for Vietnamese families far from their homeland, preserving their cultural heritage begins with simple acts such as these./.