Việt Nam Opera Ballet Theatre (Nhà hát Nhạc Vũ kịch Việt Nam) was established in 1959 together with the Việt Nam Dance School (Trường múa Việt Nam, Hà Nội) following the return of a group of Vietnamese dancers from classical ballet training in Beijing, China. In the following year the ballets ‘Soviet Nghệ Tỉnh’ (Xô Viết Nghệ Tỉnh) and Tấm Cám were created for the company under the guidance of an expert from North Korea. In 1964 the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre was amalgamated with the Việt Nam Symphony Orchestra and Choir to form the Việt Nam Orchestra, Choir and Ballet Theatre (Nhà hát Giao hưởng, Hợp xướng, Nhạc Vũ kịch Việt Nam). Thereafter the first truly home-grown ballets were choreographed for the troupe by graduates of the Việt Nam Dance School – Nguyễn Việt’s ‘Destroying the Prison’ (Phá lao), set to music by Đỗ Dũng, and Xuân Đình’s ‘Miss Sứ’ (Chị Sứ), set to music by Hoàng Văn. These important works were followed after Reunification by Trần Đình Quỳ’s ‘Sword Lake’ (Hồ Gươm), set to music by Cao Việt Bách, Kim Tiến’s ‘Pear Blossom Season on the Border’ (Mùa hoa lê biên giới), set to music by Đôn Truyền, Xuân Đình’s ‘Peach Blossom Season in the Year of the Rooster’ (Mùa hoa đào Kỷ Dậu), set to music by Đàm Linh, and Đoàn Long’s ‘Melody of Belief’ (Giai điệu niềm tin), set to Hoàng Việt’s Symphony No 1. In 1978 the company regained its separate identity as Việt Nam Opera Ballet Theatre. Soon after this the Ministry of Culture of the former Soviet Union sent a group of classical ballet specialists to Hà Nội to help the company stage a number of world-famous works such as Spartacus, Giselle and Swan Lake. More recently, within the framework of cultural co-operation between Việt Nam and France, Alliance Française has provided assistance to the VNOBT in staging such ballet standards as Romeo and Juliet. Meanwhile Vietnamese choreographers have continued to create their own works for the company, set to the music of Vietnamese composers. These include ‘The Legend of Mother’ (Huyền Thoại mẹ) by Nguyễn Công Nhạc and ‘Truờng Sơn Legend’ (Truyền thuyết Truờng sơn) by Băng Thịnh. Over the past decade VNOBT has also provided a platform for the development of Vietnamese contemporary dance. Collaborative programmes such as The Dance of the Monsoon, choreographed by Philippe Cohen of the National Conservatory of Dance in Lyon, and Unravelling, choreographed by Australian dance practitioner Cheryl Stock and a group of young Vietnamese choreographers from the Việt Nam Dance School and Việt Nam Opera Ballet Theatre, achieved exciting creative fusions of traditional, classical and modern dance in a multicultural setting. In 2001 the company presented to critical acclaim a landmark programme of four new works by young French-trained choreographers Nguyễn Hồng Phong, Lê Vũ Long, Bùi Ngọc Quân and Hà Thế Dũng. VNOBT has longer-term plans to establish a dedicated contemporary dance troupe with a view to the further development of the genre. In the meantime it has recently taken over the management of Together Higher, Việt Nam's first ever contemporary dance troupe for people with hearing impairments and other disabilities. See also details of the VNOB choir, opera company, orchestra and concert hall.