VietNamNet Bridge – In the seventh Dao Xuan (Spring Arrival) performance on February 24 in Hanoi, visual artist Dao Anh Khanh used five artists, who appeared on the stage with patterns painted on their bodies. 



Considered a "trademark" series which consistently receives rave reviews,
this year's Spring Arrival, entitled Vo-Tho (Cover-Breath), impressed audiences with
multimedia and dance performances. The stage is up to 4,000sq.m.






Dao Anh Khanh in "Cover".






According to Dao Anh Khanh, the first part, Cover, was about the sham and bottomless
cupidity of many people in modern society. It was presented by pantomime
artist Dang Trung and seven dancers.





Trung, a graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague who now works as
a businessman, expressed mankind's endless ambition through a ladder,
while the body-painted dancers were covered by nylon strips.












The highlight of the show was the moment when the performers tear off their outer coverage to be free.













"The performance conveys the message that people should escape from their sham appearance
 to be better, heading toward the values of ‘the True, the Good and the Beautiful,'" said Dao Anh Khanh.





The second part, the most impressive, was “Breath,” which is dedicated to the issue of
environmental pollution caused by development. "Somehow, the fresh air in developing
cities is becoming a luxury as the city becomes overloaded due to the lack of co-ordinated planning
and uncontrolled migration," Khanh said.





Fifty Harley Davidson motorcycles from the Hanoi Harley Davidson Club were used in
the show. Traffic lights, motorbikes, etc. implied the reasons that make environmental pollution.






A plastic block was noted with words about environmental threats “CO2 – perfume of cities,
” “CO2 + lead scum = daily meal”…, delivering strong messages.






Light effect contributed to the success of this item.











Human seeks to escape the confined space but they keep destroying the environment.













Performers, whose bodies were decorated by natural patterns, wriggled.






A girl symbolized a falling tree.





The 3-hour show drew thousands of audiences.












The show also featured appearances from contemporary music pioneers Tri Minh,
Vu Nhat Tan, Ngoc Dai, Pham Quang and Tran Minh.







PV