Australia’s DeepBlue to perform in Hanoi

Australia’s DeepBlue orchestra will entertain audiences with their unique rich mix of classical, pop and film music at Radio the Voice of Vietnam Theatre in Hanoi on April 8.

The group will then continue their trans-Vietnam tour which includes three headline concerts at this year’s Hue Festival 2014.

Free tickets to the performance themed “Who Are You” will be available at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi from April 3.

One of the finalists on Australia’s Got Talent in 2011, DeepBlue is part band, part orchestra and part theatre delivered with magnificent sound, lighting, images and stories.

“It’s such our honour to be invited to perform at the opening ceremony of Hue Festival 2014,” said Greta Kelly, DeepBlue violinist.

“We also feel lucky to have three shows at Thai Hoa Eastern Stage and An Dinh Palace during the festival and are looking forward to an international cultural exchange in the city,” she concluded.

Hanoi exhibition provides window into Japan culture

A traveling exhibition featuring the work of thirteen young Japanese artists entitled “Sakura” will open at Hanoi’s Manzi Art Space from April 3-7.

Many of their works reflect on everyday life of Japanese culture and nature, while others introduce visitors to Japan’s more traditional arts, including “chuusen” - a cloth dyeing technique.

At present, only a few workshops in Japan make embroidered handkerchiefs (named Tengugui in Japanese) following the traditional technique.

The event provides arts lovers the opportunity to experience and develop a better appreciation for the Japanese culture through the skillful hands of the young Japanese artists.

The exhibition is open at 14 Phan Huy Chu Street, Hanoi.

Endangered tree frogs featured on stamps

A stamp collection featuring tree frogs was issued nationwide yesterday.

Designed by To Minh Trang and Vu Kim Lien, the collection depicts the five most common tree frogs in Viet Nam in their natural habitats.

Tree frogs are currently endangered due to water pollution and excessive hunting.

Wild Animal Rescue (WAR) and the Viet Nam Post organised a ceremony in HCM City to introduce the stamp collection and call on people to join hands to protect tree frogs.

Film screenings to celebrate national events

Vietnamese films celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory will be screened for a week starting on April 28 in Dien Bien Phu City, northern Dien Bien Province.

Both old and new films and documentaries on the Dien Bien Phu Victory, including new movie Song Cung Lich Su (Living with History) and documentary Dien Bien Que Toi (My Homeland Dien Bien), will be featured.

There will be interactive sessions between locals and artists such as film director Nguyen Thanh Van, cameraman Ly Thai Dung and playwright Doan Minh Tuan.

From April 22, local mobile film screening teams will start touring to serve locals in remote areas in the Tuan Giao, Muong Ang and Muong Cha districts.

Between April 25 and May 20, various Vietnamese films and documentaries featuring revolutionary wars will be screened throughout the country.

The screenings will celebrate Reunification Day (April 30), Labour Day (May 1), Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7) and the birth anniversary of President Ho (May 19).

‘Cinderella' returns with modern twist

The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera in co-operation with the Transposition Programme – Norway will organise a performance of a contemporary version of the ballet Cinderella by Norwegian choreographer Johanne Jakhelln Constant at the HCM City Opera House on April 9.

Last year, the premiere of the ballet in HCM City was held in August, with performances remaining fully booked for two performances in October.

The choreography is based on the fairy tale about Cinderella, a poor girl who lives with her stepmother and stepmother's daughter. She is ill-treated and not allowed to attend the party of the prince.

But thanks to her Fairy Godmother, she makes a dazzling entrance at the royal ball and captures the attention of all and the heart of the prince.

Yet her beautiful dream must end at midnight, and in her haste to depart she leaves one jewelled slipper behind.

The Cinderella ballet Op.87 was written by one of Russia's most famous composers, Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, between 1940 and 1944.

More than 1,500 versions of the ballet have been staged around the world by various choreographers.

Norwegian choreographer Constant also staged the successful The Nutcracker ballet in 2011 and 2012 in HCM City.

Tickets are available at the Opera House. They are VND400,000-650,000 and 150, 000 for students.

New Zealand food tempts local market

New Zealand's foods and beverages are on show to the country's leading F&B professionals at an event, starting in HCM City on April 2.

New Zealand Food Connection, the first of its kind in Vietnam, features a variety of premium wines, meat, and dairy products.

"Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia's fastest growing markets," said Tony Martin, New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Vietnam.

The country is a fast-growing food and beverage market for New Zealand, particularly dairy products, which make up more than half of all of its exports to Vietnam.

Exports of New Zealand fruit and meat to Vietnam also saw strong growth last year.

The event was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 31, and goes next to Manila, the Philippines, on April 4.

Gia Lai preserves Gong cultural space

The Central Highland province of Gia Lai is making every effort to preserve and promote the cultural space of its famous gongs, which were recognised by UNESCO as an intangible and oral masterpiece of human culture in 2006.

The province reported that J’rai and Bahnar ethnic communities have preserved more than 5,600 sets of gong, many of them extremely old.

J’rai people in Ia Grai district have preserved more than 1,000 sets, while Bahnar people in K’ Bang district have kept over 900.

In 2006, the province spent VND200 million buying new sets of gongs to be given to ethnic minority villages in the locality. It also opened courses on how to adjust a Gong’s sound for elderly artisans.

Other courses on Gong playing were also organised in schools, while clubs and ensembles of Gong players were established. Gong festivals are held every two years, drawing many Gong troupes in the province.

Gia Lai also teamed up with other localities in the Central Highlands to organise a series of activities to promote the heritage, with a highlight event - the International Gong Festival 2009 - drawing 60 troupes from localities throughout the country and six regional nations.

Early this year, the province also successfully held festivals and tourism activities in connection with J’rai and Bahnar’s cultural space of gong.

According to Phan Xuan Vu, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the local authorities will continue intensifying suitable activities in the coming time, towards sustainably preserving the intangible cultural heritage.

67 foreign arts troupes to perform at Hue Festival

Sixty-seven arts troupes from 38 countries and territories across the world will join Vietnamese artists at the 2014 Hue Festival scheduled for April 12-20.

The information was announced by Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of central Thua Thien-Hue province Ngo Hoa, who is head of the festival’s organizing board, at a press conference on April 1.

A two-day refresher course was opened on March 31, to train security and safety. The festival themed "Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development” will honour unique cultural and historical values of Hue in particular and Vietnam and other nations in general through art performances.

Within the framework of the festival, a range of programmes will be held including an Ao Dai (Traditional Vietnamese dress) fashion show, “Dem Hoang Cung” (Royal Night) and “Dem Phuong Dong” (Orient Night) events, Royal Court music and dance performances and traditional songs from Hue.

ASEAN cartoon competition raises copyright awareness

An animation contest, open to all professional and amateur animators and students who are citizens of ASEAN member countries has been launched to raise the awareness of the copyright.

Software files must be submitted prior to the deadline of April 15 via the competition’s website and along with paper copies directly to the Authorship Copyright Department in each ASEAN member country.

The event, within the framework of the 2011-2015 ASEAN intellectual property action programme, is designed to improve animators’ skills and capabilities in making and commercializing cartoons.

It also provides opportunities for contestants to share experience, and expand the animation industry within ASEAN.

Each contestant or group is permitted to send one entry which must be translated into English.

The organizing board will evaluate the works based on ideas and content (40%), production techniques (30%) and character and design (30%).

Five of the best works from each ASEAN member countries will be selected and advance to the second round.

In the second round, the candidates will attend a seminar on ASEAN cartoon production in Thailand which is scheduled to take place in early May 2014.

Six outstanding works will be selected for awards to be given at a ceremony scheduled to take place in early August, 2014.

There will be one first prize, one second prize, one third prize and three consolation prizes.

The prize-winning works will be used for an awareness-raising campaign on intellectual property in the ASEAN region.

The competition is being organised by the Association of South East Asian Nations Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC).

ASEAN comprises 10 member countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Folk tunes nominated for albums of the year

Ha Noi-based folk singers Tan Nhan and Ngo Hong Quang are making their mark on the local music scene, with their first CD nominated for the 2013 Devotion Prize for Best Album by the Vietnam News Agency's The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper.

After beating albums recorded by pop stars like Dam Vinh Hung and Hoang Thuy Linh, Nhan and Quang were nominated for their success in singing jazz and modern folk music.

The prize will be voted by nearly 100 music critics and reporters from prestigious newspapers and magazines across the country.

Nhan's Yem Dao Xuong Pho (Village Damsel Walking down the Street) includes seven folk songs combining cheo (traditional opera) and jazz. She was accompanied by several instruments, including cymbals.

Nhan, 32, worked with musician Tran Manh Hung, who is experienced in jazz, to challenge her vocal range.

"Hung helped me combine traditional cheo and jazz, making a new style luring young audiences," she said. Surprisingly, Quang, a graduate of the National Music Institute, recorded Song Hanh (Walking Abreast) with Dutch musician Onnon Krijin.

His album features eight songs combining modern and traditional styles.

In Song Hanh, Quang and his colleague mixed folk songs in western music. They used electronic music to highlight their idea.

His album received mixed responses from fans and critics.

"I wanted to sing in a different way to other singers. I hope my music provides my fans with a very new taste," said the 34-year-old.

Nhan and Quang will compete with their younger colleague, Nguyen Dinh Thanh Tam, for the prize.

Tam, 26, worked hard to record and release Canh Dieu Lac Pho (The Missing Kite), a production of pop music.

The album includes nine songs such as Loi Toi Ru (My Lullaby) and Len Chua (Visiting the Temple) by veteran composers Duong Thu, Tran Tien and Quoc Trung.

The songs are performed by pop stars Tran Thu Ha and Hong Nhung, but they were remixed to highlight Tam's voice.

Tam is also a new face in the race for Singer of the Year. He has been compared to five-time winner Tung Duong, who has been nominated once again this year.

Three other nominees for Album of the Year include Doc Dao (Unique Path) of Tung Duong, Canh Cung 3 (The Bow 3) of Do Bao and Yeu (Love) of the band 5 Dong Ke.

The Devotion Prize is presented annually to the best show, album and artist in seven categories.

The traditional categories include Best Music Production, Best Artist of 2013, Best Album, Best Show and Song of the Year. There will also be an award for the Best Series of Music Performances.

The April 22 awards ceremony takes place at the Ha Noi Opera House, with a live broadcast scheduled on Vietnam Television's VTV2.

"Through our prizes, we hope to support music artists in their work, encouraging them to contribute more to the country's music industry," said Truong Le Kim Hoa, the newspaper's editor-in-chief.

Phu Tho works hard to spread Hung Kings worship rite

The northern midland province of Phu Tho is working hard to preserve and spread the values of the worship rite of the country’s legendary founders Hung Kings. The rite was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2012.

Legend has it that Lac Long Quan, son of King Duong Vuong married to Au Co, daughter of King De Lai. Au Co then gave birth to a sac containing 100 eggs from which 100 children were born. The couple then decided to separate in order to populate the land and propagate the race, so half the children followed their mother to the highlands and the remaining half went with their father to the sea.

The first child went with mother Au Co to Phong Chau, now Phu Tho province. He then became King Hung and founded the first nation in the history of Vietnam, called Van Lang.

Ruling the country through 18 dynasties, Hung Kings taught people how to grow wet rice. They chose Nghia Linh mountain, the highest in the region, to exercise rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for lush crops.

To honour Hung Kings’ great services, a complex of temples dedicated to the Kings was built on Nghia Linh mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month is designated as the annual national commemorative anniversary.

The worshiping of Hung Kings, which is closely related to the worship of ancestors that is a tradition of most Vietnamese families and forms an important part of the people's spiritual lives, is practised nationwide, at 1,417 temples and places of worship across the country.

Home to the largest and oldest temple dedicated to Hung Kings, Phu Tho also has 325 other places in commemoration of the Kings and the figures living in the Hung Kings reign.

In addition to upgrading local worship places, the province has invested heavily in facilities around Hung Kings temple such as cultural and tourism villages and festival organising sites.

As part of efforts to comply with the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, it has added courses on heritage and Hung Kings worship rituals into school curricula.

Spiritual tours of relics related to the Hung Kings period will be on offer while managerial staff working at cultural heritage sites will receive training and incentives as well.-

UNESCO book honours late President Ho Chi Minh

A UNESCO book honouring late President Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s national liberation hero, has been released by the National Political Publishing House.

The over-200-page book is comprised of three chapters. The first presents information about UNESCO and its relations with Vietnam.

The second part introduces readers to an original UNESCO resolution on the 100 th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, which is in French, English, Arabian, Chinese, Spanish and Russian.

Meanwhile, the last chapter includes articles by both domestic and foreign writers praising the life and revolutionary cause of the late President.

The book in Vietnamese is expected to provide readers with more valuable documents on the UNESCO-recognised cultural figure.