Ministry considers designation of national treasures

Profiles of 30 historical objects have been submitted to the Prime Minister by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for recognition as national treasures.

The objects were earlier selected by the National Heritage Committee from a list of 90 recommended items.

The objects include artefacts of the Champa civilisation (1,000-200 BC), Dong Son civilisation (700 BC – AD100) and Oc Eo civilisation (AD0-630). Items are also drawn from various royal dynasties, such as the Ly (1009-1225), Tran (1226-1400), Le So (1428-1527), Le Trung Hung (1533-1789), Tay Son (1778-1802) and Nguyen (1802-1945).

The collection includes the hand-written book Duong Kach Menh (Revolutionary Road) and the Prison Diary of President Ho Chi Minh. A 37mm anti-aircraft gun used in the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954, MiG 21 fighter which flew in the Dien Bien Phu air battle in 1972, and the first two tanks to occupy Independence Palace in Sai Gon on April 30, 1975, are also among the items that have been submitted for recognition.

Binh Dinh to host Int’l Traditional Martial Arts Festival 2012

The ‘International Traditional Martial Arts Festival 2012’ will be held in Quy Nhon City in the central province of Binh Dinh from August 1-4.

The festival will attract more than 900 martial artists from 26 foreign countries and territories across the world.

The festival will feature many martial arts performances of Vietnamese and foreign artists, folk games and an exhibition of martial arts weapons and martial arts costumes.

One of the highlights of the festival will be a martial arts beauty contest for female martial artists and a boat racing event on Thi Nai lagoon.

The central province of Binh Dinh is well-known as the birthplace of many of the country’s martial arts techniques. The festival is a good chance to promote traditional martial arts of the region.

Hue cultural museum moves to new location

The Museum of Hue Culture has moved to a 6,000-sq. m French-colonial-style building overlooking the Huong (Perfume) River at 23 – 25 Le Loi Street.

Thua Thien-Hue Province authorities will spend VND53 billion (US$2.5 million) to renovate the building, which was previously used by the city's People's Committee. Since its founding in 1989, the museum has moved several times.

The museum contains items that feature Vietnamese and Cham bronze and ceramic artefacts, and photos and documents related to historic events in Hue.

But why no bicycle?

Monday night’s performance at the City Opera House consisted of three contemporary items all of which involved some visual component, plus the second showing of the HBSO Ballet’s Dream Puzzles, first seen in April.

In the opening item we saw a pianist and a cellist playing with video accompaniment, mostly filmed in the Opera House itself. At the conclusion four dancers advanced down the aisle, jumped onto the stage, and disappeared.

Next we were offered a pianist, a violinist and a cellist playing slow, hypnotic music, while on the opposite side of the stage a man in jeans and a black shirt performed some acrobatics with two chairs.

Then followed a pianist and a saxophonist, followed by a girl in a red dress dancing and being recorded on video by a crouching man, with the resulting footage projected onto the theatre’s cyclorama.

These pieces were all enjoyable, though it was hard to relate them to the items listed on the printed program. Maybe the order had been changed. But the visual elements all added an often excellent, and always advantageous, dimension to the novel music. These evocative visuals, in other words, combined well, whether the music was plangent or thrusting, suggesting this was an approach that could be taken much further, and should now become the norm, at least for new, short musical compositions.

“They must be getting the bicycle ready!” I thought as the evening moved on without intermission to the second performance of Dream Puzzles. A cyclist crossing the stage on a flower-decked bicycle to the sound of tubular bells had, for me, been the climax of this work’s premiere three months ago.

Imagine my disappointment when no cyclist appeared! How could a choreographer possibly cut what had been the work’s high point, its most original inspiration? But cut it was. I was advised later that the effect had in April been a last-minute addition. This was irrelevant, I thought. Artistic ideas come from the most unexpected places. Could it possibly be that the creators of Dream Puzzles were capable of creating both the good and the indifferent, but couldn’t tell the difference between them?

Dream Puzzles is being repeated next month (on August 18) as part of a three-day Gala. I very much hope the bicycle is re-introduced. If the company doesn’t have a bicycle they can use, they are most welcome to borrow mine.

Dreaming the dream in Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, which is an adaptation of the 2006 Chris D’Arienzo rock jukebox Broadway musical and featuring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin, hits Vietnamese cinemas on Friday.

The musical comedy, directed by Adam Shankman, opens with Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) traveling from the small town of Tulsa, Oklahoma to Los Angeles dreaming of becoming a famous singer, while barman Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) prepares for another night of work at ‘The Bourbon Room’ a popular nightclub on the Sunset Strip.

Sherrie is slowly beginning to realize her dream is just that but fate plays a hand when she meets Drew and he gets her a job at the Bourbon Room as a waitress. They slowly fall in love based on their passion for rock.

The film suggests people should follow their heart and chase down their passion and it entertains audiences with rock ‘n’ roll classics.

It also stars Malin Akerman, Paul Giamatti and Russell Brand.

Korean art performance ‘Cookin' Nanta’ comes to Vietnam

Within the framework of activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Vietnam-South Korean diplomatic ties, ‘Nanta’, also known as Cookin' Nanta, a kind of Korean art performance using kitchen utensils, will be performed in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Performances will take place in Hanoi from July 20-22 and at the Hoa Binh Theater in Ho Chi Minh City from July 27-29.

This particular form of performance is mostly non-verbal and   integrates traditional Korean percussion tempos with western performance style. This popular South Korean comedy musical show debuted in 1997 and won the hearts of audiences worldwide.

‘Nanta’ storms on to a stage set up like a huge kitchen where cooks are preparing a banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen implements-pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping board, water bottles, even brooms and each other- into percussion instruments.

Cookin' Nanta was presented to Vietnamese audience on the occasion of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) in Vietnam in 2006.

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