800 to vie for dance prize

Floor Killer, the fourth Viet Nam recreational dance championship, will be held this weekend in Ha Noi, drawing 800 contestants from Viet Nam and overseas.

The contest, held by Big Toe with sponsorship from the Vietnamese Recreational and Electronic Sport Association, is an annual tournament for professionals and amateurs.

The dancers will compete in six hip-hop styles - Breaking, Hip Hop, Locking, Popping, Waacking - and House.

Teams and individuals will compete in knock-out competitions starting tomorrow at Savico Megamall, 7 Nguyen Van Linh, Long Bien District, Ha Noi.

This year, loads of enthusiastic youth are expected, including the champions from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Germany.

Germans Uwe Donaubauer and Louis Becker have participated in numerous competitions in Europe and Asia. They won the German Battle of the Year in 2013.

Established in 1992, Big Toe has hundreds of members and is recognised as the top hip-hop dance troupe in Viet Nam.

Gukak Chungnam performs in Vietnam

The Gukak Chungnam Orchestra from Cheonan City , the Republic of Korea, is due to stage a concert at HCM City’s Ben Thanh Theatre on July 3.

The ensemble will play traditional Korean music with common instruments such as Daegeum flute and Janggo drum.

Korean artists will perform “Vietnam is my homeland” – a song composed by Do Nhuan, to deliver a message of Vietnamese people and beautiful landscape to international friends.

On July 6, the orchestra will move to Hanoi to give a performance at the Au Co Art Performing Theater.

Founded in 1990, the orchestra has staged more than 1,600 shows in the RoK and abroad to introduce Korean culture to the wider world.

Vietnamese conductor to perform in RoK

Conductor Tran Vuong Thach will lead the Goyang Philharmonic Orchestra's performance of Vietnamese musical composition Tro Ve Dat Me (Return to the Motherland) in Gyeonggi Province, the Republic of Korea, on July 11.

Composed by Nguyen Van Thuong, the tune is replete with beautiful melodies and reflects the composer's love for central Vietnam.

The orchestra will also play Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin and Piano and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4.

Organised at the invitation of the RoK orchestra, the event would boost ties between the HCM City Ballet, Symphony and Orchestra and foreign orchestras, Thach said.

The 73-member group will perform in Tokyo in October.

French cinema goers enjoy new Vietnamese films

Vietnamese films in different genres are being screened at the first Vietnamese Film Festival in the port city of Saint Malo in France.

The six-day event, which began on July 1, is among a series of cultural activities being held during the Year of Viet Nam in France this year. The festival introduces to French audiences a selection of 15 films, including features, documentaries and animations.

The feature films being screened at the festival are the ones that earlier won both Vietnamese and international cinematography awards.

French audiences can enjoy movies like Choi Voi (Adrift), Mui Du Du Xanh (The Scent of Green Papaya), Mua He Chieu Thang Dung (The Vertical Ray of the Sun),Dong Duong (Indochina), Bi Mat Tham Do (Scandal), Khat Vong Thang Long (Thang Long), Thien Menh Anh Hung (The Blood Letter), Mui Co Chay (The Scent of Burning Grass), Trang Noi Day Gieng (Moon at the Bottom of the Well) and Tam Hon Me (Soul of Mother).

The documentaries shown at the event include Con Lai Voi Thoi Gian (Remain with the Time), Chuyen Lang Then (The Story of Then Village) and Ba Noi (The Grandmother).

In addition, two films about Dien Bien Phu historical battle, Dien Bien Phu by famous French director Pierre Schoendoerffer and the recently-made Song Cung Lich Su(Living with History) by Vietnamese director Nguyen Thanh Van, are also being screened.

Alongside film screenings, the event will also feature a workshop on Vietnamese tourism.

The French movie director Regis Wargnier chairs the festival's jury, which has French-Vietnamese actress Pham Linh Dan and some other big names of French cinema on it. A total of 10 awards, including Best Director, Best Script, Best Documentary, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Soundtrack, will be presented.

The awards trophy, which imitates a dragon, was specially designed for the festival by famous French sculptor Richard Orlinski.

According to the chairperson of the film festival, Regine Petit, the event offers French audiences a better view of Vietnamese cinema as well as its cinematic talents.

Head of the Vietnamese Cinematography Department, Ngo Phuong Lan, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation attending the festival said, "The festival offers a chance for French people to enjoy Vietnamese movies, through which we showcase the images of Viet Nam as a dynamic, developing country, heading toward the future while preserving its traditional cultural identities."

The festival will end on July 6.

The annual Summer Music and Dance Festival for Children kicked off at the Children's House in HCM City yesterday.

This year's festival's theme is "Tiep Buoc Cha Anh, Mang Non Lam Nghin Viec Tot" (Following the Forefathers, the Young Generation Have Done Thousands of Good Things).

The aim is to educate children about the history of Viet Nam, and promote love and pride of the country.

The three-day event will include 1,000 young performers from children's houses in 24 districts in the city. The festival includes 150 performances featuring Vietnamese folk songs and traditional dances.

Day for riding and donating books for rural children

A festival day where participants will ride bicycles and donate books for children in rural areas nationwide will take place at 7 a.m. on Sunday at Le Van Tam Park in HCMC’s District 1.

People to the event which is hosted by the Entertainment and Education Bookshelf can ride together to call on the community about the program and come to locations to collect books or donate books or money to buy books for children.

The organizer aims to collect 8,000 books and five computers for children living along Tam Giang Lagoon and a mountainous region in the central province of Thua Thien- Hue. There will be a concert to raise funds for the program on July 21 at Ami Cafe at 133 Hai Ba Trung Street in HCMC’s District 1.

For further information, contact Ms. Kim Thoa on 0916 373 780 or email to tsgtgd@gmail.com.

Galerie Quynh displays local arts in Amsterdam

Galerie Quynh has chosen artworks by Vietnamese artists Uudam Tran Nguyen, Lena Bui, Bui Thanh Tam, Hoang Duong Cam, Ngo Van Sac, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Phuong Linh, Nguyen The Dung, Nguyen The Son, Phan Thao Nguyen and The Propeller Group for exhibition at Canvas International Gallery in Amsterdam.

Co-curated by Canvas International Gallery and Hanoi-based art consultant Vera Poelman Wolfs, this large exhibition called ‘Vietnam Now: Changing Society’ features works by both leading and emerging artists in Vietnam. Comprising painting, video, installation and photography, the exhibition brings together for the first time in Amsterdam a group of Vietnamese artists with a distinct visual language that is embedded in the country’s unique social and economical context.

The exhibition will run until July 31 in Amsterdam.

U.S. horror hits local screen this weekend

‘Deliver Us from Evil’ is a horror movie directed by American director Scott Derrickson featuring star actors and actresses such as Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, and Olivia Munn etc. The movie talks about the life of police offi cer Ralph Sarchie, one of the best anti-crime police officers in the county.

However, he and his family constantly see images of bloody ghosts and killers, which greatly disrupts their life. It wasn’t until Ralph Sarchie came into contact with a priest that he discovers there is an evil soul haunting and willing to destroy his family, a devil who according to the priest, is a serial killer that Ralph Sarchie killed a long time ago. ‘Deliver Us from Evil’ is full of creepy events and great actions that will intrigue viewers throughout the movie. The movie is now showing in theaters globally.

Contemporary concert to entertain city audiences

A concert ‘Vietnamese contemporary music and dance’ by HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will be held at 8.m. on July 9 under the baton of conductors Tran Nhat Minh and Do Kien Cuong.

The concert will feature talents of HBSO symphony and musicians, soprano Vo Thuy Ngoc Tuyen and tenor Pham Trang.

The concert will start with the work ‘Bong cuc trang’ (White daisy) for Vietnamese traditional instruments composed by Tran Manh Hung. The first part will be continued with ‘Truong Son’ for flute, oboe, clarinet, strings, percussion and bassoon composed by Vu Viet Anh.

Nguyen Manh Duy Linh will let audiences indulge in Vietnamese contemporary music with his work ‘Lan gio nhe bay’ for piano, vibraphone, marimba and strings.

Conductor Do Kien Cuong will replace Tran Nhat Minh to move on with ‘Guom Than’ for zithers, bassoon, saxophone, vibraphone, marimba and strings composed by himself.

The second part will amaze audiences with the contemporary dance ‘Danh mat va tim lai’ choreographed by brothers Nguyen Phuc Hai and Nguyen Phuc Hung. The dance will be conducted under the music of Arvo Pärt, Max Richter, Frédéric Chopin and Jocelyn Pook.

Tickets are priced at VND400,000 and VND350,000 and available at  the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square in HCMC’s District 1. Students just pay VND80,000 for admission.

For ticket booking and delivery, enthusiasts can call 08 3823 7419 or email to lamngochbso@gmail.com, info@hbso.org.vn, web: http://www.hbso.org.vn.

Local film competes at Gwangju Int’l Film Festival

Local movie “Than Tuong” (Idol) directed by Quang Huy will join other movies at the 14th Gwangju International Film Festival (GIFF) at Gwangju City in South Korea from August 28 to September 1 following an official invitation by the festival’s organizers, reports Thanh Nien.

With the theme “Remembrance for Peace,” the 14th GIFF promises high quality cultural events and performances. In addition, the Kim Dae-jung Cinematic Nobel Peace Prize award will be handed out at the festival – the award was founded in 2011 and has become an annual award at GIFF, which aims at recognizing film makers, producers from all over the world, who include important social issues such as human rights, freedom, peace, and environmental in their movies.

Previously, director Dang Nhat Minh was recognized at GIFF following his two big awards: Lifetime Achievement Award at the 5th GIFF (2005) and the Kim Dae-jung Cinematic Nobel Peace Prize at the 13th GIFF (2013).

Than tuong won best movie and best director titles at the Golden Kite movie awards in Hanoi on March.