Boston Children's chorus to perform in Viet Nam

The well-known Boston Children's chorus (BCC) from the US will visit Viet Nam at the end of June, where they will perform in HCM City and Ha Noi.

The chorus will arrive in HCM City on June 23 and take a guided tour to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, followed by a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels – part of the underground network of passageways constructed by the Vietnamese resistance fighters during their long struggle for independence. After the trip, they will see HCM City's centre and perform at the HCM Opera House on June 26.

The US's Boston Children's chorus (BCC) will visit Viet Nam at the end of June. They will perform in HCM City and Ha Noi. Photo http://www.bostonchildrenschorus.org

They will perform at the Ha Noi Opera House on June 29 after touring the Old Quarter and Bat Trang ceramic village.

After their five-day stay in Viet Nam, they will leave for Cambodia.

The Boston Children's Chorus, founded in 2003, is an innovative arts education organisation that unites children ages 7 – 19 without regard for race, religion or socio-economic status. The goal is for the children to discover the power of singing and transcend social barriers in a celebration of shared humanity and love of music.

It began with only 20 children in a pilot training programme and today has 450 singers in eleven choirs in five Boston locations.

Paris fashion exhibited in Hanoi

The French cultural centre L’Espace will introduce Hanoian audiences to Spanish fashion house Chula’s French-inspired collection as well as Boris Zuliani’s Polaroid photo exhibition from March 20–April 20.

The collection combines shapes and forms extrapolated from famous Parisian buildings with distinctly French colours, encapsulating the humour and guiding philosophy of Chula’s Vietnamese silk dress designs.

Chula has already been invited to display the collection on the banks of the Seine River.

Zuliani’s photos, taken during the Paris Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show that ran from February 26–March 3, capture the tension and excitement of the models at the centre of the event’s autumn-winter shows.

Zuliani will also cover Chula’s fashion show.

The Parisian photographer is currently working in Hanoi and is often hired for a variety of  reportage, promotional, and fashion assignments in China and Vietnam.

He has chosen Polaroid as the medium for his long-term documentary research project, taking portraits of ethnic minorities and indigenous groups in Europe, Argentina, Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

Three-star Michel Roux to reveal cooking secrets

Legendary three-star Michelin chef, Michel Roux, will bring his unique cooking skills and take on classic French haute cuisine to his newest establishment, La Maison 1888 at the InterContinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula from March 29 to April 2.

The Sun Group's marketing department told Viet Nam News that Roux would be sharing with gastronomers his passion for cooking at the five-star resort 600m above sea level on Son Tra Peninsula.

It will be the second time the French chef has visited Da Nang since he officially debuted La Maison 1888 last December.

Roux is also an accomplished food writer with 12 recipe books which have sold more than 2 million copies. He regularly appears on many BBC and UK Living TV shows such as Saturday Kitchen and Master Chef.

Voices of the future to celebrate youth union     

A hundred Vietnamese artists and 1,000 young people are expected to join together to perform Khuc Ca Dong Long (The Song of Solidarity) to celebrate the 82nd anniversary next Tuesday of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

The performance is expected to be broadcast on the country's major television and radio channels, to make it popular among young people.

In the rap hip-hop style, the song was composed by rapper Nguyen Hung and is the union's gift to its members nationwide. It calls for the solidarity of young people and their attachment to the causes of the union, the largest social-political organisation of Vietnamese youth.

So far 40 artists have registered to join the project including Meritorious artist My Uyen, actress Trinh Kim Chi, singers Hien Thuc and Khanh Ngoc and band MTV.

Folk sculpture honoured at Central Highlands festival

As many as 100 statues made by ethnic artisans were honoured at the closing ceremony on March 18 of the Mang Den Culture, Sports, Tourism Week 2013 in the Mang Den ecotourism zone in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

The statues were selected from works of more than 40 folk artisans from 6 minority ethnic groups in the locality. Local ethnic communities have the tradition of displaying statues carved from big tree trunks at their houses and tombs.

This is the first time Kon Tum province organised the Mang Den Culture, Sports, Tourism Week to promote the eco-tourism zone.

The Prime Minister has approved a master plan to turn Mang Den into a national park, nature reserve and tourism zone. It will also include areas dedicated to farming and economic development projects.

Danes offer prize for urban design ideas

Vietnamese architects, construction engineers, urban planners and landscape architects are invited to take part in a competition launched by the Danish Cultural Development Exchange Fund.

Architectural Ideas for Improving Urban Spaces is the theme this year. Participants will choose a particular Vietnamese urban area, analyse the relationship between the buildings and public space and propose a redesigning plan for the buildings by adding, deleting and/or changing the buildings to create more attractive public spaces.

The prize is a one-week visit to Denmark early next year.

A website will be available for the public to comment on and vote for the initiatives. The entry receiving the highest votes will get the audience prize, valued at VND10 million (US$500).

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