VN artists join international drum show

Two traditional Vietnamese musicians will join the Drums and Voices musical performance by artists from ASEAN countries and Japan held in the capital this month.

The show is being organised by the Japan Foundation Centre for Culture Exchange in Viet Nam.

Mai Lien will play T'Rung bamboo percussion instruments from Central Highland ethnic groups, while Minh Chi will play folk percussion instruments used in cheo (traditional opera).

The show will draw 12 traditional percussionists from seven countries, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Japan.

Famed Japanese composer Michuri Oshima will direct the performance, which then will tour six ASEAN countries in October and November before ending the tour in Tokyo on December 18.

The shows in Ha Noi will be held at Au Co Theatre, at 8 Huynh Thuc Khang Street on 8pm, October 17 and 18. Free tickets are available from today at Japan Foundation Centre, 27 Quang Trung Street.

Concert reveals beat of Asian life

Twelve professional traditional music instrumentalists from seven Asia countries will gather in Ha Noi for a world premiere of the musical performance Drums&Voices this month.

Hosted by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Viet Nam, the show has been created based on the idea that drums and voices are the most primitive musical instruments in Asia, having fascinated humans for thousands of years with their intrinsic power and energy.

Artists from Viet Nam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Japan will present a dynamic, powerful and fascinating performance.

The musicians have spent time in Thailand and in Viet Nam to learn about each other's characters, cultural backgrounds, and creative vision.

To assist the collaboration, famous Japanese composer/director Michiru Oshima has been recruited as the director of Drums&Voices.

Having won awards for TV, animation and film compositions, she has instructed the group to achieve "harmonious diversity" in their music.

Vietnamese artists joining the performance include Mai Lien, who specialises in playing the t'rung – a bamboo percussion instrument from the Central Highlands, and Minh Chi, who plays folk percussion instruments used in cheo (traditional opera).

Other performers include a former member of the famous Japanese drum troupe Kodo, Tsubasa Hori; and Pyi Kyauk Sein from Myanmar, who won the Best Music Award at the Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards 2012.

After the debut performances at the Au Co Theatre in Ha Noi on October 17-18, Drums&Voices will tour Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Japan throughout October and November.

Tickets for the Ha Noi concerts are free, and available at the Japan Foundation, 27 Quang Trung Street, Tel: (04) 39447419. — VNS

Solidarity and friendship centre opens in HCM City

The newly established UNESCO Centre for Humane Sciences and Community (UNESCOM) on Thursday awarded merit certificates to five charitable organisations during its inauguration ceremony held in HCM City.

Le Van Tuan, UNESCOM general director, said the centre was established to develop friendship and solidarity among groups of different skin colours, beliefs and languages.

Beside social purposes, the centre will conduct research and promote cultural and scientific work of the community.

The centre's upcoming activities will focus on helping the poor and disabled as well as honouring soldiers in rural areas and islands.

Photographer draws inspiration from northwestern mountains

Twenty-eight photos featuring the landscapes and daily life of ethnic minorities in the northwestern part of Viet Nam are part of Nguyen Thanh Tung's solo exhibition that opened on Wednesday in HCM City.

Tung, who has 20 years of experience in photography, has often journeyed to the northwest over the last 13 years.

He said he was especially inspired by the people and landscapes in the northernmost part of the country bordering China and Laos.

"I have memories of the northwestern region where people are very friendly. Every time I stay there I feel as if I am at home," said the photographer who has also travelled to other parts of Viet Nam.

Funds raised from the photos will be donated to children in the area.

The photos can be seen at 53–55 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, District 3, HCM City until the end of October.

Professor wins calligraphy award

Professor Mai Quoc Lien, director of the Research Centre for National Culture, has been given an award for his helping preserve the Han-Nom (calligraphic script).

The script, based on Chinese calligraphy, in use in Viet Nam for thousands of years, was largely used to address the populace as it allowed for the expression of purely Vietnamese words, while the original Han Chinese form was more for official documents.

The award was given to the professor yesterday by chairman and founder of the Vietnamese Nom Preservation Foundation (VNPF), John Balaban.

Last year, Lien, who is editor-in-chief of the Hon Viet (Vietnamese Soul) magazine of the Vietnamese Writers' Association, received a national science and technology award for research into scholar and writer Ngo Thi Nham of the late Le dynasty (1427-1789).

The annual Balaban Award was founded in 1999 to honour individuals who have made significant contributions to preserving Nom heritage and Nom documents.

Japanese Butoh dance master to visit Vietnam

Katsura Kan, a Japanese master of Butoh dance, will conduct a workshop, a video lecture, and a Butoh performance at Hanoi’s BlackBox Art Centre over October 9–12.

Workshop places are limited to a maximum of 18 participants and open to anyone interested in movement and dance no matter the extent of previous Butoh experience. It will explore Master Kan’s idea of the “curious body” and incorporate group observations of daily life.

The workshop will be conducted in Vietnamese and English. Tickets costs VND350,000.

The video lecture features practitioners, teachers, and students discussing the “Surrealism of Body” and the history of Butoh in the post-World War Two Japanese avant-garde art movements of 1950s and 60s. The bilingual English and Vietnamese lecture is free and open to all.

Katsura Kan’s solo performance will mark his Vietnam debut for the first time. It will also include a short routine from Butoh dance workshop participants choreographed by Master Kan.

Tickets to the free performance are limited to 70 and appropriate for audiences aged 15 and up.

Katsura Kan, born in Kyoto, is a member of Japanese Butoh’s senior generation of masters. He performed with the seminal Butoh troupe “Byakkosha” between 1979–1981 before undertaking 20 years of research in Indonesia and Thailand.

Japan-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Festival bustles in HCMC

The Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and the City’s Youth Cultural House co organised Japan-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Festival - JAPAN DAY 2013 on October 6.

The event aimed to commemorate 40 years of Japan-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of Japan-ASEAN Friendship Year.

During the festival, Vietnamese young people joined a host of activities to learn more about Japanese culture, such as Japan’s drums, martial arts and traditional food.

Besides, an exhibition on Japan’s contemporary paintings, Japanese singing contest, Furoshiki cloth wrapping, wearing Yukata, playing Yo Yo, Yosakoi dances, Cosplay Vietnam Cup and a stall on introducing about studying abroad in Japan were also held.

The festival drew the participation of eight artists from Japan’s Da Da Da Da Dan Tenko group to perform traditional drum, and Vietnamese singers such as Hong Hanh, Nguyen Vu and Chi Thien.  

Hida Harumitsu, Japanese Consul General in HCM City said he hopes that the event will help further promote cultural exchange and the two countries’ stronger development.

Ha Giang to host cultural heritage week

The northern mountainous province of Ha Giang will host a Cultural Heritage Tourism Week of the Ethnic Minority Groups from November 19-23.

The five-day event aims to honour the value of its intangible cultural heritages and promote province’s tourism products and potentials to local and foreign tourists.

Visitors will have the chance to enjoy special art performances and the province’s traditional cuisine, as well as joining folk games and a fire dancing festival of Pa Then ethnic minority group in Tan Bac commune, Quang Binh district.

They can also learn how to weave brocade products with Pa Then ethnic people and visit the province’s well-known and beautiful sites such as the Dong Van Stone Plateau – a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks, Lung Cu flag pole and Ma Pi Leng pass.

Exhibition highlights Vietnam-UK relations

Nearly 100 photos reflecting the establishment and development of diplomatic ties and friendship between Vietnam and the United Kingdom are being showcased at an exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City from October 4-12.

Organised by the UK Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the event is part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Themed “Vietnam-UK relations: from the past to the future”, the exhibition is to promote the mutual understanding and trust between Vietnamese and British people, strengthening their friendship, solidarity and bilateral cooperation.

The UK Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Douglas Barners said the photos captured important events in the Vietnam-UK relationship over the past 40 years, which fuel new developments in the future bilateral ties.

Many photos taken by the VNA’s London-based correspondents have reflected bilateral cooperation in a wide range of politics, economy, culture, education, science and technology.

It also reflects the UK today through lens of four photographers of different generations of the Vietnam News Agency.

The exhibition will run until October 12.

Hanoi photo exhibition celebrates Vietnam-France ties

A photography exhibition documenting the Institute for Research and Development’s (IRD) Vietnamese activities opened at Hanoi’s French Cultural Centre L’Espace on October 3.

On display are 26 posters showcasing research by IRD and its partners, investigating issues in health, science, economy, society, and the environment.

The IRD, a French research organization, has collaborated with its Vietnamese counterparts to address development issue in globalization

Seventeen IRD research groups are currently working on various research programmes with eight Vietnamese universities and 30 institutes.

IRD Vietnam Representative Dr. Jean Pacal Torreton expressed his hope the exhibition will help strengthen Vietnam-France cooperation.

He said the IRD is committed to continuing its support for research at Vietnamese universities.

The exhibition will last through to October 11.

Int’l mountain marathon held in Sapa

The first international mountain marathon in Vietnam took place in Sa Pa, the northern province of Lao Cai, on October 5.

The event was sponsored by the Danish Embassy in collaboration with the Topas Ecolodge company and Danish Novo Nordisk firm.

Over 170 runners from 28 countries and regions attended the marathon, including 20 Vietnamese athletes.

Runners could choose to tackle a half-marathon (21 km), full marathon (42 km) or ultra-marathon (70 km) through local communes boasting stunning panoramas.

The closing ceremony and an awards presentation will take place on October 6.

Toulouse Cultural Week opens in Hanoi

A week-long festival highlighting the culture of France’s Toulouse city opened in Hanoi on October 4, as part of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties.

The Toulouse Cultural Week features art performances by Toulouse artists, contributing to promoting French culture to the Vietnamese.

A wide range of activities, including music shows, film screenings, concerts and exhibitions, are scheduled to take place during the festival.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said that the cultural week has been held regularly with the two cities taking turn to host since 1996.

A representative from Toulouse city expressed hope that this kind of event will be held more frequently to tighten the two cities’ solidarity, noting that culture is the most important factor in the community’s relationship.