Art performance to mark 70th National Day

A special art performance titled ‘Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh Era’ will take place on the night of September 2 in Hanoi to mark the 70th anniversary of the August Revolutionary and National Day.

The performance is a semi-epic story told through dancing, music and singing combined with movies, documentaries, sound, lights and stage techniques to create impressively grandiose scenes.

The performance, which aims to highlight the ‘Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh Era’, will portray the historic period of the nation’s heroic revolutionary war under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Around 500 artists from the military and central art units in Hanoi will join the programme.

On the occasion, a music concert ‘The Autumn Melodies’ will be performed at the My Dinh Stadium.

Cultural centre promotes Hoan Kiem Lake

A cultural centre opened in Hanoi on July 20 to provide the public with information on Hoan Kiem Lake, a special national heritage and popular destination in the capital city.

The three-storey building covers 242 metres and is located at No 2 Le Thai To Street, Hoan Kiem district.

With an open space, the facility’s first two storeys are being used for exhibition and information searches and the top floor is dedicated to organising relevant workshops and seminars.

The operation of the centre is expected to further promote the values of the lake as well as the old quarter surrounding it.

Previously, two centres for information on the old quarter and cultural exchanges were already established in the district.

National history a child's play

Trung Nu Vuong (The Heroic Trung Sisters) is part of Toi Yeu Lich Su Viet Nam (I Love Viet Nam's History), an IDECAF theatre production for children.

IDECAF Stage, HCM City's leading drama troupe, is performing a children's play about historic Vietnamese figures every weekend until July 30.

The play, Trung Nu Vuong (The Heroic Trung Sisters), features the Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, two of the country's most popular heroines who led the Vietnamese in their fight against Chinese rule in 40AD.

Nearly 200 children attended the opening at Tran Cao Van Drama Stage last weekend.

Young audiences were rapt with wonder while veteran and young actors, such as Dinh Toan, Thanh Loc and My Duyen, displayed skills in music, dance, pantomime and circus tricks.

"Costume designers and specialists in sound and light added a realistic element to the play through beautiful clothes, accessories and interior design suited to the play's theme," said the play's director Vu Minh.

Ticket buyers had to stand in long lines at the box office.

Minh is one of the city's young talents who have worked to create a new style on stage by adding attractive features.

"I want children to enter the theatre to enjoy and discover the world and themselves," he said.

Trung Nu Vuong is part of Toi Yeu Lich Su Viet Nam (I Love Viet Nam's History), a theatre programme on Vietnamese history created for children, which IDECAF began late last year.

The programme's artists have offered 80 performances for several thousand students from 63 primary schools around the city, not including disadvantaged children at open houses and shelters who receive tickets for free.

Featured plays Thanh Giong (Saint Giong), Tran Quoc Toan (Young Hero Tran Quoc Toan) and Son Tinh-Thuy Tinh (The God of Mountain and the God of Water) have been restaged many times.

The programme will be launched at primary and secondary schools in Da Nang City during the 2015-16 academic year.

Trung Nu Vuong can be seen at Tran Cao Van Drama Stage, 7 Tran Cao Van Street, District 1, at 8pm every weekend until the end of the month.

English skills win UK scholarships

Students Nguyen Khanh Huong Thao, Ho Diem Quynh Phuong and Pham Minh Hang beat 130 other competitors for their English presentations at the Speaking Challenge Summer 2015.

Thao and Phuong are from Chu Van An High School, while Hang is a student of the Viet Nam-Ba Lan High School. In their presentations, the high-school students spoke about issues related to climate change, how to study and the advantages and disadvantages of studying in a foreign country.

The winners will be awarded US$39,000 for scholarships to study at Kings College in the UK.

The event was held on Saturday in Ha Noi.

Writer releases Dutch translation

Writer Nguyen Dieu Linh has released her latest book entitled Thi Thanh Ky (Chronicles of a City Dweller) with a Dutch version of her short stories collection.

Chronicles of a City Dweller is the first of five books that are going to be published in 2015.

The Dutch version was translated by poet Dick Gebuys from the English version published in 2012.

Linh (pen name Di Li) is a member of the Viet Nam Writers Association and the Asia Pacific Writers & Translators Association. Her works include crime thrillers, horror stories and comedies.

The poet read Di Li's stories and loved the way she wrote as well as the content of her stories.

Hotel promotes local fashion industry

The InterContinental Hanoi Westlake has been running a monthly program to promote local fashion brands and talented designers.

Due to few fashion events in Hanoi, the hotel wants to combine hospitality and fashion to bring a new experience to its local and foreign customers in the Fashion & High-tea” program. Participants have a chance to learn more about Vietnam’s fashion brands with diversified styles.

At each event the program will feature a collection of Chula created by Spanish couple Laura Fontan and Diego Cortizas since 2004 in Hanoi and a local designer who will be chosen for each program. Chula is a fixed partner of the program for all year round and has been together with the program from the beginning.

Apart from enjoying a fashion show, guests will experience the traditional high-tea served in a more modern and stylist way with  food well prepared in both quality and style by the hotel’s culinary team.

According to a representative from the hotel, the program has attracted a stable number of customers who are Vietnamese, foreign tourists and expats working and living in the country. With “Fashion & High-tea” the hotel looks to create a popular rendezvous for those who love gastronomy and fashion.

The latest show of “Fashion & High-tea” unveiled the latest collections of Jagi Design and Chula. There were luxury dresses in bright colors and unique patterns by designer Diego from Chula and feminine and youthful ready-to-wear outfits in basic colors of black, white, grey and light blue of Jagi Design.  Guests also found it interesting to enjoy all the cakes in shapes of fashion designs and accessories of models in bright and eye-catching colors and styles.

The InterContinental Hanoi Westlake is located at 1A Nghi Tam Street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi. Website:  http://www.hanoi.intercontinental.com/