A contemporary dance entitled “Café Saigon” from two choreographers - Joost Vrouenraets of the Netherlands and Maite Guerin of France - will be performed at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House at 8pm on January 19 by artists from the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO).

Borrowing the context of a Saigon café to talk about love, the dance presents daily life as well as the ups and downs of people living in the busy city. Through fast rhythms alternating with gentle melodies, the stories of loves among young couples creates a host of emotions and keeps the audience involved.

The Saigon café scene is the basis for the interaction of different relationships among young people today - how they come together then separate, intertwined with the passion and eagerness for as well as the thoughts about everyday problems.

Choreographer Joost Vrouenraets once said that Saigon’s cafés, no matter how modern, always gave him a sense of nostalgia, possibly due to their space and the local culture and people. There are always young people, the elderly, and many couples sitting in a coffee shop discussing work, relaxing or even dating. From that initial idea, Saigon Café’s choreographers outlined the shape of the contemporary dance.

Saigon Café is the latest work from the two international choreographers, who visited Ho Chi Minh City in the middle of 2018. They spent almost two months working with nearly 20 dancers from the HBSO to create a new, strikingly contemporary dance that was different from any other dance the HBSO had previously performed. The ten best dancers were then selected for the dance.

After its first holding last June at the Opera House, the contemporary dance has been a success and received much applause from audiences locally and internationally.

Tickets range from VND300,000 ($13) to VND650,000 ($28), available at the Opera House. Online bookings are at https://ticketbox.vn.

VN Economic Times