ASEAN symphony orchestra performs in Vietnam

The ASEAN symphony orchestra, which consists of musicians from Vietnam and the other ASEAN nations, will perform in HCM City, Da Nang and Hanoi on October 26, 27 and 28 during the 2010 ASEAN Summit.

The famous conductor, Yoshikazu Fukumura, from Japan, will be in charge.

The concert is a new cultural event for ASEAN nations, and the audience will enjoy a top quality professional programme. 

The concert marks the start of a tour around the ASEAN nations with the first performance scheduled for Brunei in 2011.

Clowns to entertain at special shows in HCM City

Two local circus clowns who have traveled the world to show off their funny acts will perform at a series of shows in Ho Chi Minh City later this month.

The Ho Chi Minh City Circus’ Festive Day of Clowns will be held in the 23-9 Park on Pham Ngu Lao Street in district 1 on October 22-24 and 29-30.

Tran Manh Cuong and Tien Hung of the Vietnam Circus Federation will perform and will be joined in the ring by several circus animals.

The HCMC Circus won a gold medal at the International Circus Festival held in Hanoi last August and has also won various awards at national circus festivals.

Besides travelling around Vietnam, it has performed in countries like China, France, and Belgium.

Tickets for the event are available at 2 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1.

Cuba ballet dancers to pirouette in Vietnam
 
The Rakatan Ballet Troupe of CubaThe Rakatan Ballet Troupe from Cuba is touring Vietnam for the first time and will put on shows in three different cities between October 21 and 24.

The 19-strong troupe will perform in Hanoi’s Opera House (October 21), Hai Phong’s Thang Tam Theater (October 22) and Thai Nguyen’s Cutural and Information center (October 24).

Founded in 2001 by dancer and choreographer Nilda Guerra, Ballet Rakatan is regarded as one of the most talented and versatile groups to emerge from Cuba in many years.

They have performed throughout the island in some of the most prestigious venues and events including the Playa Municipal Theatre, the Havana Street Festival, and Cuba's annual film festival.

Most of the dancers are graduates of the renowned Escuela Nacional de Arte de la Habana, and combine contemporary dance with traditional Cuban dance and other Latin styles like classic, folk, popular, salsa, and flamenco.

The troupe arrived in Vietnam Monday at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture.

Baroque symphony in HCMC to mark Pergolesi’s 300th birthday

To join the world in the celebration of 300th birthday of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-2010), Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) organizes a baroque symphony at 8pm October 19 in the city’s Opera House.

Pergolesi is an Italian baroque composer, violinist and organist with many famous works such as “Opera seria” and “Il prigionier superbo”.

The highlight in this show is Pergolesi’s Violin Concerto in B Major performed solo by Violinist Nguyen Truc Thuy.

The first part of the show will also feature classic works like Tommaso Albinoni’s “Sinfonia in G Major” and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “No.3 in D Major”.

The second part is dedicated for classic ballet with extracts from “Diana & Acteon”, “Chopiniana” and “Le Corsaire” performed by artists like Minh Tu, Hoang Yen, Diem Trang and conducted by Tran Vuong Thach.

The HCMC Opera House is located No.7 Cong Truong Lam Son in district 1.

8,000-year-old human remains found in northern cave

A cave in Na Hang district in the northern province of Tuyen Quang is thought to have housed primitive humans during the Neolithic Era (7,000-8,000 years ago) after many tools made from stone and animal bone have recently been discovered.

Tuyen Quang Museum's director Quan Van Dung said that experts from the museum and the Vietnam Archaeology Institute discovered primitive human artifacts in the cave, which is known as Tham Choong Cave to the locals.

They include more than 1,000 stone objects, including tools for cutting, chopping and grinding. The tools were handmade with stones that had been retrieved from a riverbed.

The tools bore Hoa Binh cultural features (thousands of years ago and lasted till 2,000BC), he added.

At the site, archaeologists also found a narrow tool with a sharp point, which is assumed that it was likely used to stitch clothing that was made from tree bark.

Local industry attracts foreign film makers

Cinematography officials have offered an attractive environment, including legal support, for international partners interested in producing films in Vietnam.

The offers were made at a workshop held in Hanoi on October 19, where organisers emphasised simple licensing procedures, tax exemption and low production costs as major incentives for foreign film producers.

Playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, Vice President of the Vietnam Cinematography Association, made it clear that international film producers were exempt from taxes for using local services while services were cheaper than other countries, such as the hire of skilled workers or professionals, enabling a large number of people to be employed at relatively low cost overall.

Licensing procedures were being simplified and Cinematography Law simply asks applicants to submit a written request and film scripts in both English and Vietnamese. The licenses will be granted within 30 days, or the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will have to explain in writing the reasons for refusal to grant a license.

The Head of International Relations Section under the Cinematography Department, Do Duy Anh, said with Vietnam’s open-door policy, an increasing number of international award-winning foreign-made films have been shot in Vietnam, such as “Indochina”, “The Quiet American”, “Cyclo” and “Buffalo Boy”.

“In each of the past five years, Vietnam welcomed between 15 and 20 foreign film-making delegations to shoot footage,” said the film official in charge of international affairs.

Actor Phuoc Sang, who represented the private film studio of the same name, described Vietnam as a virgin and promising land for the seventh art industry and called for further investment and greater efforts by film makers, both domestic and international, to roll out high quality and attractive products.

Foreign delegates called on Vietnam to build and upgrade their film studios as well as establish truly professional film-making companies as basic conditions to attract more foreign film producers.

Vietnamese cultural festival held in Russia

A Vietnamese cultural festival has opened in the Russian city of Tula to mark the 60th anniversary of Vietnamese-Russian diplomatic relations and the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The event was organised by Vietnamese students at the International faculty from Tula State. L.N Tolstoy Pedagogical University.

According to the Voice of Russia, the festival presented Vietnam as a friendly country through music, a fashion show of traditional costumes, an exhibition of cultural artifacts and the lives of Vietnamese ethnic groups, the multimedia show “Vietnam – my love”, a photography exhibition of Vietnam’s countryside and its people and special Vietnamese cuisine.

Chinese students at the university will also hold a similar event in the near future to celebrate Chinese year in Russia.

PV