A series of cultural activities will be hosted in HCMC and Hanoi to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Denmark, giving Vietnamese people an insight into Danish arts and culture.
A special Danish program of classical ballet, music and contemporary dance is the main highlight of the festival which aims to bolster artistic ties between the two countries. The concert will present classical ballet by August Bournonville, popular Danish music pieces of Carl Nielsen & N. W. Gade, and contemporary dance choreographed by Louise Midjord in Hanoi Opera House on November 29 and 30.

‘Wishing upon the moon 2011’ sees world famous Danish artist Niels Lan Doky and his trio, together with Vietnamese diva Thanh Lam and musician Quoc Trung will take place in Hanoi Opera House on November 28 and HCMC Opera House 48 hours later.

The program will also include a badminton match between two of the world’s top players in HCMC, with Vietnamese star Nguyen Tien Minh and Dane Peter Gade going head to head. The program ‘Batida children’s theater in Hanoi and HCMC’ will tell a charming, heart-warming story about five people who are very different shapes and sizes, who want to cook spaghetti together.

Street Art Festival is a collection of activities and artistic projects including dance, music and theatre performances, there is also a circus and parade. At least ten local
experimental artists will take part.

Movie lovers cannot miss Danish Film Week which will present the best of Danish cinema, including Susanne Bier’s ‘In a Better World’, Bille August’s ‘Pelle the Conqueror’ and Kasper Barfoed’s ‘The Candidate’.

Guests also have a rare chance to meet Danish film directors Jorgen Leth during the opening of the film week on December 1 in HCMC and on December 2 in Hanoi during the screening of his documentary ‘Five Obstructions’.

The ‘Emergency Room’ is an ever-changing exhibition room which makes it possible for the participating artists to respond to daily happenings and to prevent delayed comments on Thursday’s world. The concept of Emergency Room has been developed by the Danish Artist Thierry Geoffroy.

14 Vietnamese artists and four Danish artists are participating in the Emergency Room and are free to mix different art media forms; for instance multimedia with painting or sculpture.

Each day at 11 a.m. the artists must hand in a new piece of artwork, which means the content of the exhibition is always fresh.

The program will also feature a photo exhibition named ‘Monumental motion – a cycling life in the capital of Denmark,’ by Mikael Colville-Andersen, highlighting 50 photographs of cycling in Copenhagen, which is called the city of cyclists.

Another show named ‘Climate Change Exhibition’ is organized in relation with the launching of the First Climate Change Week in Vietnam, in order to raise public awareness about the impacts of climate change.

Schedule of cultural activities during the celebration

1. Danish gala evening in Hanoi Opera House
- Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street at 8 p.m. on November 29 and 30
- Tickets: priced from VND150,000 to VND500,000. Contact Mr. Phuong at 0983 067 996.
2. Wishing upon the moon 2011
- 8 p.m. Hanoi Opera House on Nov. 28 and HCMC Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1 on Nov. 30
- Tickets: priced from VND800,000 to VND2.5 million. A limited number of free tickets can be picked up from Nov. 21 at Danish Economic and Commercial Office, 505, Centec Tower, 5th floor, 72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai District 3, HCMC.
3. Badminton match between two of world’s top players in HCMC
- Phan Dinh Phung Sport Center, 8 Vo Van Tan St., Dist. 3 at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.
- Tickets: priced at VND50,000 and available at the center from Nov. 24
4. Batida children’s theatre
-  8 p.m. at Tuoi Tre Theater, 11 Ngo Thi Nham in Hanoi on Dec. 1 and Drama Theater, 30 Tran Hung Dao, Disrict 1 in HCMC
- Tickets: at the Embassy of Denmark, 19 Dien Bien Phu (for performance in Hanoi) or at Danish Economic and Commercial Office Tower in HCMC from Nov. 21-25 and at theaters from Nov. 22
5. Street art festival
- Ly Thai To Garden in Hanoi from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 29 and Youth Cultural House, 4 Pham Ngoc Thach, HCMC’s Dist. 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.
6. Danish film week
- Idecaf, 31 Thai Van Lung, HCMC’s District 1 from Dec. 1 to 6 and  Hanoi Cinematheque, 22A Hai Ba Trung from Dec. 2 to 7
- Tickets: picked up at the Embassy of Denmark or at Danish Economic and Commercial Office in HCMC from Nov. 21 or at Hanoi Cinematheque and Idecaf
7. Emergency room
- Vietnam Fine Arts University, 42 Yet Kieu, Hanoi from Nov. 24 to Dec. 8.  Free entrance
8. Monumental motion – a cycling life in the capital of Denmark
- General Science Library, 69 Ly Tu Trong St. Dist. 1, HCMC from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5.  Admission is free.
9. Climate change exhibition
- Hilton Opera Hotel, 01 Le Thanh Tong Hano from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 29. Admission is free.

SGT