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A new dance show from Arabesque Bradley Winterton “Artists receive, from their cultural inheritance as well as from their professional experience,” choreographer Nguyen Ngoc Anh told me recently. “For artists, the beauty of life is to return this in our performances. Thus, by using traditional Vietnamese culture, I hope to give some of it back again, but in a new format.” HCMC’s independent dance company, Arabesque, is presenting its latest creation, The Ballerina, in the Opera House on September 23 and 24, starting at 8 p.m., and Nguyen Ngoc Anh is in town to create it.The ballerina in question is Vietnam’s Ngo Thuy To Nhu, but there’s more to the show than her star-studded career on the ballet stage. “I danced a duet with her in Arabesque’s The Mist in 2013,” Nguyen Ngoc Anh said, “and I thought it would be nice to stage a show in her honor.” The Ballerina will last an hour and a half and will be in three … [Read more...] about A new dance show from Arabesque

The event, Theo Buoc Chan Nhung Nguoi Anh Hung (Following in the Footsteps of National Heroes), began on March 28 and features cultural and charity activities as well as celebrations at 70 historical sites around the country, including revolutionary sites in Tay Ninh, Quang Nam, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces. It is expected to attract more than 10,000 VYF members nationwide. The campaign’s young participants will upgrade martyrs’ cemeteries and historical relic sites. They will also offer free food, clothes and medicine, and build houses of gratitude for local people, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, wounded and sick soldiers, and members of martyrs’ families. Young volunteer doctors from hospitals and universities will offer free treatment for over 1,000 children and women from families under preferential treatment policies. In HCM City, VYF members will visit Cu Chi district’s Ben Duoc Memorial Temple which honours 45,000 heroes and martyrs across the country … [Read more...] about Youth campaign commemorates revolutionary martyrs

Boi Son Communal Folk Singing Club from Do Luong district is performing Vi-giam art form on a river for visitors. Performing folk songs amid the wide river delights the artists. The club was formed due to artists’ love and passion for Vi-giam folk singing when they were little. From a modest number of members at first, the club now has more than 30 artists. Vi-giam singing is popular in nearly 260 villages in the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. The folk music is a repartee sung while working. It reflects the work, cultural lives and feelings of the residents in the central coastal provinces. Since Vi-giam’s recognition as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, the province has undertaken various measures to integrate the folk art form into tourism products, including assigning Nghe An Folk Singing Promotion and Preservation Centre to establish Vi-giam Folk Singing Clubs at local hotels. Though still in the pilot stage, the folk singing has been warmly welcomed by … [Read more...] about Folk art form diversifies central province’s tourism

Mohab is a set designer at the Cairo Puppet Theatre, one of the leading theatres in researching and preserving puppet art in Egypt. She was not satisfied with a simple document on Vietnamese water puppets, which was translated in Arabic, and wanted to learn how to handle puppets so that they could be used to present Egyptian stories. After 8 years, Mahab has mastered her technique in water puppetry performance and also taught other artists at the Cairo Puppet Theatre. Artist Olam said, “This is a very unique art. It was so hard for me to handle the puppets at first. But I was attached to Vietnamese water puppetry and it touched my heart. Thanks to artist Mohab, who has taught me water puppetry, I can now perform very well.” Artist Islam Galad at the Cairo Puppet Theatre said “I love puppetry and especially Vietnamese water puppetry. I entered that field just because of my love for it. I love the skillfulness and the creativity of this art. I think Vietnamese water … [Read more...] about Egyptian artist May Mohab and her passion for Vietnamese water puppets

He travelled to both North and South Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh trail with the liberation forces, experiencing first-hand the brutal conditions of war and the courageous response of the Vietnamese people. Mederos paintings were initially exhibited in Hanoi, and were subsequently reproduced as a screen-printed series which has been shown all around the globe. Another trip in 1972 added to the body of work. Several of these images were reproduced in the US as part of the anti-war and Cuba solidarity efforts. Mederos also contributed to the solidarity posters produced by the Organization in Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which enjoyed worldwide distribution by virtue of their inclusion in the magazine Tricontinental. Now, with the generous support of the Cuban Embassy in Hanoi, this screen-printed series of 18 works has gone on exhibit May 19-June 12 at the Work Room Four located at 15 An Duong Vuong Street in Hanoi. By inviting Le Quy Tong, Nguyen … [Read more...] about Major exhibition of Cuban art opens in Hanoi

It was sponsored by Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Son and supported by Professor Odon Vallet from the Sorbonne University, who himself runs the Odon Vallet scholarship fund for excellent young students in France and Vietnam. Le Hong Thai, the Companion Fund Chairman, said that the concert was first held in 2009, and has become an annual event since 2012. This year’s concert received EUR4,000 (over VND100 million) which will be divided into 30 scholarships worth VND3.5 million each. The Companion Fund was established in July 2001 by a group of Vietnamese students in Paris, who wanted to support their less fortunate peers back home. The fund now has a network of 100 members and volunteers operating in France, Singapore and Taiwan. By fund-raising activities, the fund has to date presented about 3,500 scholarships worth nearly VND7.5 billion (EUR296,000) to poor students in Vietnam. In the 2016-2017 academic year, a total of 320 scholarships were presented. … [Read more...] about Paris concert raises funds for Vietnamese students

People’s Artist Le Ngoc Canh is known as Vietnam’s first dance professor For his great contributions in this field Canh has received the Ho Chi Minh Award for Literature and Arts. In his 70 years dance career, 85-year-old Le Ngoc Canh has held a number of positions, including Deputy Head of the Institute of Cultural Studies and Vice President of the Vietnam Dancers’ Association. Canh first came to the field of dance more or less by chance. In 1946, he was assigned to the revolutionary dance troupe, and he has been involved with dance ever since. Canh recalled “In 1947, I moved to Viet Bac revolutionary base and lived with ethnic people for 9 years. I got very interested in the dances of the ethnic groups. Several years later, I produced some dances as a choreographer. My work gradually improved with the help of colleagues”. Later, Canh pursued dance training inside and outside Vietnam. Canh has choreographed and performed 170 works, many of which have … [Read more...] about People’s Artist Le Ngoc Canh – Vietnam’s leading folk dance researcher

The Hanoitimes - President Tran Dai Quang made the request while addressing a ceremony in Hanoi on May 20 to honour 18 authors winning the 2017 Ho Chi Minh Award and 95 others with the State Award on literature and arts, the two noble awards for outstanding authors. President Tran Dai Quang presents the 2017 Ho Chi Minh Award. President Tran Dai Quang noted that the literature and art of Vietnam have inherited and promoted the patriotism and humanism of the nation, while closely attaching to the revolutionary career of the Party and nation. They are a sharp tool in the cultural and ideological battlefield, significantly contributing to the victory of the struggle for national liberation, reunification as well as construction and defence, President Tran Dai Quang said. He recognised the creativity and devotion of generations of artists and writers in improving the country’s revolutionary literature and art, and bringing glory to the nation. Mr. President highlighted the … [Read more...] about 18 authors winning the 2017 Ho Chi Minh Award

More than 300 professional artists, including singer Trong Tan, Minh Tuyet, Dang Duong and Tung Duong joined the performance themed Lung Linh Sac Mau Yen Bai (Glamorous Yen Bai). The event also features Inh La Oi, a traditional folk melody of the Thai ethnic group in Yen Bai province, performed by American singer Kyo York. Terraced paddy fields in Yen Bai province. (Photo for illustration)  Along with music and art, the characteristic images of Yen Bai - rice terraces, ban flower (Bauhinia flower - the signature flower of the region) and houses-on-stilts were also featured to bring audiences a sense of Yen Bai and the Northwest region.  The event also gathered Miss Tourism winners from previous years to showcase a fashion collection named Colors of Northwest of designer Viet Hung. The collection depicts the unique beauty of 30 different ethnic minorities and the landscapes of Northwestern part of Vietnam.  "Besides focusing on cooperating with neighboring provinces in the … [Read more...] about Yen Bai Tourism Year kicked off

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Truong Son stressed that the festival enhances mutual understanding between the two countries and draws overseas Vietnamese in Japan closer together. Relations between Vietnam and Japan are thriving, he added, expressing hope that the festival will deepen ties between the two countries’ governments and people. Vietnam’s landscapes and people will be introduced to Japanese friends through various art performances, food and handicraft booths. Vietnamese pop artists like Ho Quynh Huong, Tieu Chau Nhu Quynh and Ngo Kien Huy will also perform at the festival, along with an Ao Dai (long dress) show. The Vietnam festival in Japan is an annual cultural exchange activity. It welcomed 200,000 people last year, the largest number of visitors to date. The festival was first held in 2008 as part of activities to celebrate the 35th year of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations. … [Read more...] about Vietnam festival 2017 to be held in Japan