27th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Singing, Dancing, Writing, Playing Competition Held in Mandalay Region

The 27th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Singing, Dancing, Writing, Playing Competition is being held in the Mandalay Region from September 3rd to 6th at the City Hall, according to reports. The opening ceremony was held on September 3rd, attended by Mandalay Region Parliament Speaker U Aung Kyaw Moe, Mandalay Region Chief Minister U Myo Aung, and government ministers. The ceremony included an opening speech by the Chief Minister and a ribbon-cutting. For the 27th Singing, Dancing, Writing, Playing Competition, 532 artists from 10 districts within the Mandalay Region will compete in 133 types of artistic disciplines. "By holding such singing, writing, and playing competitions, the generations of singing, writing, and playing arts will not be broken. For example, if competitions are not held for artists such as 'Saing' (traditional Myanmar wind instrument) players and string instrument players to inherit the legacy of their masters, emerging artists will appear, and Myanmar's fine arts will survive, develop, and spread. For generational succession, it must be the children. Only with these children can these heritages be passed down. During the period when competitions were not held for about four years from 2017 to 2021, generations were broken. When the competition was held again in 2023, we had to go to rural areas and persuade these children quite a bit," said U Kyaw Thu Aung, Pro-Rector (Administration) of the National University of Arts and Culture (Mandalay). The regional and state singing, writing, and playing competitions began in 1993, were suspended from 2017 to 2021, and resumed in 2023. The 27th competition is currently being held in 2026. The competition will be held from September 3rd to 5th, with an award ceremony and flag handover ceremony on the 6th. The central-level competition will be held in Nay Pyi Taw from October 21st to 29th.