Japanese drum troupe to tour Vietnam

Japanese drum troupe Batic-Holic will perform January 7 at 8pm in Hanoi at the Youth Theatre on 11 Ngo Thi Nham street.

They will also take to the stage January 9-10 in Thanh Hoa province for two performances at the Japan Cultural Day festivities.

The troupe was formed in 2004 in Kyoto city, Japan and is gaining in popularity for its singing and playing of the Shinobue (Japanese flute) and Wadaiko (Japanese traditional percussion).

They perform on average in excess of 100 concerts annually at schools and festivals in Japan and numerous foreign countries filling the stage with passion.

French Culture Centre to host film festival

The French Cultural Centre L’Espace in Hanoi is hosting a weeklong festival entitled Clap from January 17-25, dedicated to fiction and new talents in cinema, television and the internet.

Organizers from the centre say they are desirous of contributing to the development of the Vietnam media industry and promoting French contentwithin.

We wish to create a platform to promote professional and artistic discussions aiming to inspire young budding artists and provide them key tips to success, they announced.

A select panel of French and Vietnamese professional speakers will be here to talk about their experience, give their advice on the evolution of the media & entertainment industry and all those new opportunities.

The organizers have chosen to introduce seven special categories at the festival including television short films, scripted reality (category game shows the connection between reality and fiction), short film, video art, feature length film debut, web site content and long film episodes.

Hue exhibit looks into lives of last king and queen

The central city of Hue has opened Emperor Bao Dai's palace to the public to mark the New Year, giving tourists to the former royal capital a closer look at life during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).

The deposed emperor and his wife resided in the Khai Tuong Lau Palace from 1945 to 1955. The hall is part of the An Dinh complex, which is a separate royal residency located on the south bank of the Huong (Perfume) River.

Visitors will have a chance to look at furniture and daily items used by the emperor and his wife, but the highlight of the palace is the magnificent wall paintings that German experts restored in 2007.

Books and photos about the country's last empress, Nam Phuong, who was one of the most beautiful leaders in Viet Nam's feudal history, are also part of the exhibition.

According to the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, visitors will enjoy free entry to the site from January 20 until the end of March.

Central Highlands epics named national cultural heritage

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says it has granted certificates recognising epic poems of ethnic groups in Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces as national intangible cultural heritage.

Four types recognised this time include oral recitation of the Ede ethnic community in Dak Lak, Ot Ndrong epic of M’Nong people in Dak Nong, Homon epic of Banah in Gia Lai and another Homon epic of Rongao in Kon Tum.

Epics have played an important role in the cultural life of the Central Highlands people for centuries.

They usually describe the socio-economic process that formed and developed the community of ethnic groups or tell stories about strong and admirable heroes in the mythology of locals.

The epics, believed to be created around the 16th century, will be submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a world intangible cultural heritage of humankind.

New TV shows aim to amuse young viewers

Two new comedy shows produced by HCM Television are expected to become a hit this year.

Trong Nha Ngoai Pho (At Home-On the Street) and Hoi Ngo Danh Hai (Gala of Comedians), broadcast once a week on HTV7, feature one- and two-act skits by talented actors, including Nhat Cuong, Huu Nghia, and Thanh Thuy.

HTV has worked hard to create the shows specifically with a young audience in mind.

"We will offer a series of comedies featuring meaningful stories to entertain and improve the life skills of youngsters," Nguyen Minh Hai, head of HTV's theatre office, said.

He has invited stars Bao Quoc, Kim Ngoc, and My Chi to perform in the shows.

Popular children's programmes such as Em Yeu Lan Dieu Dan Ca (I Love Folk Tunes), Vuon Am Nhac (Music Garden), and Vui Cung Hugo (Joy with Hugo) have been revamped to help young viewers to improve their basic knowledge, life skills, and singing and dancing ability, enabling them to be more confident while speaking and sharing with others.

The highlight is expected to be Em Yeu Lan Dieu Dan Ca, broadcast on Tuesdays and Saturdays, which encourages youngsters to learn about traditional music.

It features young performers like Quang Anh, Phuong My Chi, and Phuong Trinh.

A new programme, Em Yeu Khoa Hoc (We Love Learning Science) broadcast on Monday evenings, is an experiment by HTV that seeks to both education and amuse children.

Hai stressed the need for more airtime and better scheduling for children's programmes.

"We have worked to air children's programmes at 6.30pm every day to attract young viewers, who have left school but not begun to do their homework."

Producing a programme for children costs HTV spends around VND10 million (US$500), including a royalty of VND500,000 for the director, he said, adding it only cost VND2 million five years ago.

To improve the quality of its children's programmes, HTV has also tied up with private entertainment companies to improve the skills of its personnel and bring in modern technology.

RockStorm 2014 lures 10,000 fans from Can Tho

RockStorm 2014 themed “Dong A Spirit” was held at Military Zone 9 Stadium in Can Tho City on January 3 attracting over 10,000 rock fans.

In addition to local veteran bands like Buc Tuong (The Wall) and Microwave, and two new bands Parasite and Hac San, the concert featured Stevans band from Switzerland.

All proceeds from ticket sale worth more than VND283 million were donated to Operation Smile Vietnam and local Funds for Underprivileged Students and the Heart Fund of Vietnam Television.

Earlier, RockStorm  presented live shows in Hai Phong, Hue, Danang, Bien Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City.

Rock Storm introduces rock singers, songs and bands pathing the way for Vietnam’s rock development. After five years, Rock Storm still manages to attract high profile bands playing ever- popular songs.

Hanoi prepares for another Lunar New Year spectacular

Hanoi will burst into the lunar ‘Year of the Goat’ with a tropical display of pyrotechnical wizardry at 30 venues throughout the metropolitan area.

Under the plan approved by the municipal People’s Committee, six high-range firework shows will take place at five venues including two at Hoan Kiem (Restored Sword) Lake, one at the Thong Nhat (Reunification) Park, one at Lac Long Quan flower garden near the West Lake, one at Van Quan Lake, and one at the My Dinh national stadium.

25 low-range shows will be held at inner districts and suburbs throughout the metro area.

The 15-minute pyrotechnic performances are set to take place from 00:00 to 00:15 on February 19.

Phu Tho province strives to protect singing troupes

Authorities of northern Phu Tho province are exerting additional efforts to protect hat xoan (spring singing), which has been designated part of UNESCO's intangible heritage sites.

Ha Ke San, Vice Chairman of the Phu Tho People's Committee, said that the province will promote research, teaching, training and collection, as well as compiling information about the area's heritage.

"Activities of the hat xoan performance and popularisation will be promoted in the country. Simultaneously, a project to restore and preserve xoan relics will be started. In addition, an inventory of the xoan singing troupes in the province will be created," said San.

He further said that Phu Tho has financially supported the xoan singing troupes, including the art masters, to train staff and organise activities for the preservation of the heritage.

The provincial department of culture has been assigned to co-ordinate with the Vietnam Music Academy and the Centre for Preservation and Development of Culture Heritage to research and collect ancient xoan songs. These will be recorded and publicised to serve as training and research materials, he said.

Other agencies will refer to these works in creating a plan involving the restoration, preservation and practice of the singing in four original xoan communities in Phu Duc, Kim Doi, Thet and An Thai, said San.

More than 60 veteran singers have taken part in teaching young artists, including 100 teenagers in those xoan communities, said renowned singer Nguyen Thi Lich.

San said that hat xoan will be protected if the young artists were well trained.

He noted that the promotion of the xoan heritage of the Hung Vuong worship religion, which was recognised as one of the world's intangible

heritages in 2012, should be connected to the development of tourism through performances of xoan singing troupes.

This should be done from 2016 to 2020.

"We will try to share the hat xoan in international exchanges. We aim to fully restore the traditional xoan festivities by 2020," San added.

Xoan singing, or hat xoan, is a genre of Vietnamese folk music performed in the spring, during the first two months of the Lunar New Year or Tet in the northern province of Phu Tho.

Da Lat displays gemstone statues of Thai sacred animals

A pair of dragon and peacock statues made of gemstone by Thai craftsmen are being displayed at the the Love Valley tourist site in Da Lat resort city of Central Highland Lam Dong province.

270 Thai artisans spent one year to create the pair of statues. They are made of silver and bronze, plated with 24K gold and decorated with crystal and precious stones.

The dragon statue measures 132cm high, 114cm wide and weighs 88.5kg, while the peacock is 170cm in height, 127cm in width, and weighs125k.

According to Thai belief, Dargon and peacock are sacred animals which symbolize power, wealthy and luckiness.

Half-Korean singer debuts music video in Vietnamese

An emerging half-Korean singer has released her debut music video in the Vietnamese language.

Hari Won, who was born to a South Korean mother and a Vietnamese father, introduced her maiden music video “Huong Dem Bay Xa” (The Night Scent Wafts Far Away) on Tuesday.

The video features the 28-year-old singer dancing boisterously to a catchy tune and singing in perfect Vietnamese.

Harry Lu, a Taiwanese singer who was born in Vietnam, also starred in the video.

Hari released her single of the same name in mid-November after practicing her command of Vietnamese for one year.

The song has been warmly embraced and secured top spots on local online music billboards.

Hari taps into the single’s success and turns it into a K-pop-style music video, with all the scenes shot in a film studio.

The singer has lived in Vietnam in the past 10 years and is set to establish a firm footing in the Vietnamese showbiz as a versatile artist.

Her good looks, boisterous, outgoing personality, and adequate command of Vietnamese and English – apart from Korean – have added to her appeal to fans.

Hari has been a household name to many young Vietnamese thanks to her regular appearance in reality shows, such as “The Amazing Race Vietnam” and the Vietnamese version of “Thank God You're Here,” an Australian improvised comedy.

She also acts as a host in several music shows, particularly those featuring such Korean bands as T-ara.

Hari starred in a local film titled “Chang Trai Nam Ay,” which hit screens nationwide on New Year’s Eve.

Saint Tan Vien’s statue moulded

A ceremony was organised at the historical relic Thuong Temple in Hanoi on January 2 to mould a statue of Saint Tan Vien, the God of the Mountain and one of the Four Immortals worshipped by the Vietnamese.

The bronze statue by artist Nguyen Phu Cuong is 1.4 metres high and weighs 500kg . The statue is valued by artists and culture researchers for its aesthetic value and is close to people’s idea of the Saint’s image.

The statue will help complete Thuong Temple, paying tribute to the Saint for his merits protecting people and the country, contributing to honouring traditional cultural values and serving people’s wish for spiritual cultural values.

The statue will be completed over 15 days and will be unveiled on January 23 at Thuong Temple.

Saint Tan Vien, also called Son Tinh, taught people to grow crops, hunt animals, catch fish, practice martial arts, hold festivals and help them resist natural disasters, embodying the aspiration of triumph over natural disasters, especially floods.

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