Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
Europe and America will send 14 troupes, Asia 11, and the rest will come from other continents, said representatives of the Hue Festival Centre.
France remains the traditional and special partner at this year’s festival, which will send Smooth band (hiphop , funk and jazz), Carabosse troupe from Poitou Charentes region, street band Jazz Combo Box, and artist Francois Audrain to the event.
Two Russian art troupes will take part in the festival, the Piatnisky Song and Dance Ensemble, specialising in Russian folk music, and the Raduga dancing group.
The UK, Belgium, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Australia, Poland, Japan and the Republic of Korea are expected to give impressive performances at the festival, said organisers.
More than 300 media workers have registered to cover the event. There will be 17 official information sponsors, including Vietnam Television (VTV), Voice of Vietnam (VOV), and Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
This year’s festival will take place from April 7-15 to mark the National Tourism Year in the North-Central Midland region.
Russians celebrate Spring Welcome Festival in HCMC
An event including music, dancing and cuisine featuring the ancient Russian holiday and folk festival Maslenitsa took place in Ho Chi Minh City on February 25.
Kicked off at 2pm, the festival, which was held for the first time in Vietnam, bids farewell to the winter and welcome the spring. The celebration at Winsor Plaza attracted hundreds of visitors, including many Russians living in the city and neighboring areas.
Daria Mishukova, a Vietnamese Studies expert, and author of the famous book "Vietnam. The Land of Dragons and Fairies,” " featuring Vietnamese culture, joined in at the event and shared about her homeland’s traditional holiday.
In Russia, each day of the one-week Maslenitsa holiday has its traditional activities, including a day for sleigh-riding, a day for sons-in-law to visit their parents-in-law and the last Sunday for everyone to forgive mistakes they made last year, she said.
Natalia Nikokosheva, head of the event’s organizing board, said the holiday is a chance for people to get together and feel happy.
“We’re making this an event for all Russian people as well as Vietnamese and foreigners who lived in Russia or love Ruissia,” she said.
“I hope to make it an annual event,” she added.
Exhibition introduces Vietnamese-French artist’s self-created style
More than 40 paintings in ‘galbisme’ style by Vietnamese-French artist Nguyen Van Tam are now on display at an exhibition entitled ‘The World’s Proverbs through the Eyes of Nguyen Van Tam’ at the Vietnamese Culture Centre in France.
Painter Tam created his own ‘galbisme’ style in 1997, in which he produces his works on a curved canvas to create interesting visual effects, encourage the viewers’ imagination and promote different explanations from each visitor.
Speaking at the opening on February 25, head of the Vietnamese delegation to UNESCO, Ambassador Duong Van Quang, praised the 88-year-old painter’s creativity, saying that the exhibition introduces a new form of abstract painting developed by the painter and he hopes Tam’s style will spread among French artists in the next 20 years.
Nguyen Van Tam was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1924. He began studying fine art in Paris in 1946 and has demonstrated his talent in various fields including fashion, media, design and advertising.
The exhibition will last until March 14.
HCMC to implement 11 cultural projects this year
The main gate of the mausoleum of Nguyen Dynasty General Le Van Duyet (1764 – 1832) in Binh Thanh District.
Eleven cultural projects will be carried out in Ho Chi Minh City this year, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism at a conference on February 17.
Accordingly, the projects include repair work at HCMC Museum of Fine Arts, the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, restoration work at the tomb and temple of Phan Chau Trinh (1872–1926), a famous early 20th century Vietnamese nationalist.
In addition, the city will also plan to build a center for cai luong (traditional Vietnamese opera) performance at the Hung Dao Traditional Theater in District 1, renovate the Nhan Dan (People) Theater, and the mausoleum of Nguyen Dynasty General Le Van Duyet (1764 – 1832) in Binh Thanh District, the War Remnants Museum in District 3, and repair and beautify the Opera House.
The city will also kick off an anti-flooding project at the warehouse of the Museum of History, renovate the College of Culture and Arts, and relocate a circus theater from September 23 Park in District 1 to Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District, and restore Giac Vien Pagoda in District 11.
German opera night coming to Hanoi this March
Famous German conductor Jonas Alber will lead the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and soloists from Vietnam National Opera and Ballet in performances to be held March 9 and 10 at the Hanoi Opera House.
At the event, music lovers will have the chance to hear the classic works of Mozart, Beethoven, Weber and Wagner.
Alber has worked with renowned orchestras around the world.
When Alber became General Music Director at the State Theater Braunschweig in 1998, he was Germany’s youngest conductor in this position, one which he held until 2007.
Ancient incense burner discovered in Ha Tinh Province
An ancient incense burner has been unearthed at the historical Tien Son excavation site in Hong Linh Town in Ha Tinh Province.
The cylindrical ceramic incense burner is 50 cm high and 30 cm in diametre, weighing 5 kilograms.
The antique piece has masterful decorations of unique and beautiful patterns, eight-petal flowers, two phoenix and dragons. It has a tiger head shaped-relief work on it as well.
According to experts, the ancient incense burner dates back to the Le Dynasty.
US bestseller debuts in Vietnam
The Vietnamese version of “Shit My Dad Says”, a top ten best-selling book in the US, has recently been published by Alpha Books.
The book’s author, Justin Samuel Halpern, first posted it on the Twitter website and after it was published, it sold a million of copies in one year. It is now being sold in 21 countries around the world.
The American author is also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS television series based on the book.
“Shit My Dad Says” consists of quotes on various subjects by Halpern's father, Sam, from which he learned many valuable lessons.
French music association raises funds for AO victims
A music association named “Dioxin Country Mascaret “(DCM) has been set up in Bordeaux, France to raise funds for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin.
The association’s founder, French singer Christian Filhos, also known as Gignac, says that DCM will organize fundraising concerts to gain financial support for the AO victims. He has already composed four songs about AO victims and hopes to perform them in Vietnam in the near future.
Filhos says his association aims to ease the lingering pain suffered by Vietnamese AO victims and help them have a better life.
DCM’s official website is at http://dioxinecm.free.fr.
German film fest chief visits HCM City
The Director of the Berlin International Film Festival, Heinz Hermanns, who visited HCM City recently to talk about making short films, wants to see more Vietnamese shorts at his festival.
Vietnamese movie to be shown at Berlin int’l film festival
At Hoa Sen University, Hermanns said no Vietnamese short film has ever been screened at the Berlin International Short Film Festival.
He expressed happiness at the interest shown by Vietnamese youth in making short films. The meeting was crowded and students posed several questions to him.
Hermanns, who was visiting the country for the first time, believed there is a lot of talent in the country and it needs to be supported.
Born in West Germany, the director founded the annual Berlin International Film Festival in 1982 and has run it ever since.
It has become one of the biggest short film festivals in the world, attracting 7,000 entries from over 122 countries last year, and the second leading film festival in Germany after the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2011, he co-founded and headed the Going Underground super short film festival held in the Berlin underground.
.svg){kind=icon}
