The Việt Bắc Folk Song and Dance Company was originally established in 1953 as the Việt Bắc Autonomous Zone Cultural and Artistic Troupe (Đoàn Văn công Nhân dân Khu Tự trị Việt Bắc). Operating directly under the Performing Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the company comprises 55 members, most of whom are of ethnic minority (Tày, Nùng, Dao and Sán Diu) extraction. Its headquarters are located close to the Việt Bắc (North East) Region Secondary School of Culture and Arts where many of its performers originally trained. The Việt Bắc Folk Song and Dance Company is charged with researching, collecting, preserving and developing the traditional music and dance of the ethnic minority peoples of the Việt Bắc (north east) region, creating performance programmes which are imbued with national identity and performing them both in Việt Nam and overseas to as wide an audience as possible. The company has performed extensively overseas in countries such as Russia, China, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Laos and Cambodia. It has also won numerous prizes, including gold and silver medals in national competitions. The Việt Bắc Folk Song and Dance Company holds the Labour Medal Second Class and currently includes two Excellent Artists (Nghệ sĩ Ưu tú, NSƯT) and three People’s Artists (Nghệ sĩ Nhân dân, NSND).