The pianists will contribute popular pieces by Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky.

Quy and Khai started to learn the piano at the HCMC Conservatory of Music at eight years old. After graduating with excellent degrees, the duet received scholarships from the government of Singapore to continue their piano study at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).

During their study abroad, they received scholarships from Tan Chin Tuan, Yamaha, NAFA Asean Grant and Lee Bursary Foundation and performed at Summer Cultural Concert Festival in Croatia, The days of music festival in Montenegro, and Autumn Melody in HCMC.

Quy graduated in a master degree at Moores School of Music – University of Houston (the U.S.) earlier this year.

She is a member of Music Teachers National Association in the U.S. Khai graduated from NAFA in 2011. She is teaching at School of Young Talents of NAFA and Yamaha Music School in Singapore.

Tickets are priced at VND200,000.

source: vietnamnet

Renowned five-piece South Korean girl band Wonder Girls will enthrall Ho Chi Minh City with their performance at the concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of relations between the two countries this month.

Titled “M Live Most Amazing 2012,” the concert will also feature other artists from South Korea including Huh Gak, ZE:A, SanE, JJ Project and Hi.ni. Members of Bibap promise to bring a special performance, a musical introduction to the Korean dish “bibimbap” (mixed rice).

Pop singers Thu Minh and Van Mai Huong will represent Vietnam at the 3-hour event to be held by Korean CJ E&M Media and Entertainment Company.

“M Live Most Amazing 2012” will take place at Phu Tho Stadium in District 11 on November 24. The concert is expected to attract around 5,000 spectators. Tickets cost from VND500,000 to VND2.1million.

In related news, within the framework of activities to mark the 20-year relationship, a concert titled “K-Pop Festival 2012 – Concert in Vietnam” will also be held at Hanoi’s My Dinh Staidum on November 29.

The event will showcase renowned K-pop singers Son Dambi and HyunA as well as a number of star bands including SNSD, Dong Bang Shin Ki, Beast, Sistar, B.A.P, T-ARA, KARA, Miss A, FT Island, Teen TOP and INFINITE.

Outstanding artists Thanh Lam and Tan Minh will be Vietnam’s representatives in performing at the concert.

source: tuoitrenews

The exhibition titled “My Culture – Conversations in Open Spaces” which gathered photos depicting the life of ethnic people across Vietnam officially kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 10.

Organized at Lam Son Park in the city’s downtown, the event has attracted a number of foreign visitors in addition to local residents.

Although most foreigners have come to the exhibition by chance, they have been deeply impressed by the fact that the photos were taken by amateur photographers who are members of ethnic communities including H’mong, Dao, Muong, Thai, Pa Co, Van Kieu and Khmer.

The photographs are the result of photovoice, a program held by the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) in which the institute handed out cameras to ethnic people to capture the best moments of their daily life in the most vivid way, which is difficult for professional photographers to do.

Jasmin and her friend Dominik, both from Austria, said that they were interested in knowing more about the culture of small ethnicities in Vietnam via the photos while Rachel Gehrre from Australia admitted that the pictures gave her a special understanding of how Vietnamese people live.

“I see lots of activities, especially customs like ceremonies, marriage, how they farm, what age children start to learn to do things,” she said.

Though she knew about the exhibition beforehand, Anne Fromm Christiansen said she was impressed with what the photovoice program has done.

“I think it’s really interesting to see the cultures. They are very nice pictures. I like how they catch the moments and people in them were not posing,” she added.

For their part, Gail Falco and her partner Alan Jacobson from New York said that through the photos, they have come to understand more about local culture.

“The life of ethnic people in VN is very colorful and cultural. It’s nice to see how people have their own ways of training their children to carry out the traditional. It’s really a nice exhibition and the photos are beautiful,” Falco said. “I’d like to see this more in the city. As a tourist, this is why Vietnam would be more meaningful to me.”

The event also attracted a number of local celebrities. Actress Kim Khanh, who said she learned about the exhibition via a friend, said that this is the first time she has seen such a special photo exhibition in Vietnam.

“The photographers, they’re just amateurs, but they have taken very vivid pictures. The photos reflecting cultures through insiders are very specific and absolutely different from pictures taken by professional photographers. I really like the photographs here,” she shared.

Speaking at the event’s opening ceremony, Ly Hong Kieu, a Khmer woman who took part in photovoice, said she wanted to change what people think about Khmer people.

“Through photovoice, I want to introduce the lives of the Khmer people. People usually say that our life is poor since we have a lot of festivals. But that’s just not right. Each festival has its own meaning to us. Festivals are our ancestors’ heritage, we have no right to give them up,” she stated. “I also took photos of farmers to show that we also work, we’re not as lazy as people think.”

She also shared the difficulties she faced in taking part in the program. “We are farmers, we didn’t know how to take photographs, but then we were introduced to the photovoice program. We feel interested because we think we can do something to introduce our culture to outsiders.”

At the event, iSEE also raised funds the “500 cameras for ethnic minority people” program by calling on donations for a photo book, postcard and calendar with the hope to spread photovoice to many minority communities in the future.

Below are photos taken at the event:

The event showcases 143 photographs reflecting cultural practices, livelihoods, beliefs, spirituality and recent changes in daily life. The photos were chosen out of more than 70,000 shots taken during iSEE’s photovoice program.

A comment left at the event  

Many people flocked to Lam Son Park on November 10 for the exhibition.

Local actress Kim Khanh at a picture depicting the Bru – van Kieu ethnic people in Quang Tri province

The exhibition has attracted many local residents as well as a number of foreigners

source: tuoitrenews

Japanese artist Katsura Utazo

Eight popular comedy Japanese films produced in the 2000s will be screened.

All the films will have Japanese and English subtitles with Vietnamese language voice-over. In Hanoi, children can watch ‘Summer Days with Coo’ on October 27 and November 3.

Free tickets are available at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange on 27 Quang Trung Street in Hanoi.

The festival will be held at the National Cinema Centre in Hanoi from October 25 to November 4; at 19/4 Cinema in Phan Thiet City from November 16-18; and at Dong Da Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City from November 24 to December 1.

Meanwhile, artist Katsura Utazo will perform Rakugo, a traditional Japanese one-man show, in Hanoi on October 24 and in HCMC on October 27.

Rakugo originated in the 16th century and became established as an art form during the Edo era (17-18th century). It is always performed by one artist, who sits still in one place and acts out stories in a comic style.

In his performance, Utazo will act out funny Japanese stories with Vietnamese subtitles including The Idiot Yotaro, Long and Short and The Devil of Death. The Devil of Death is an adaptation of Godfather Death from Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Utazo was named the best Rakugo master in 2005. Since then, he has been enthusiastically sharing the fun world of Rakugo with Japanese spectators as well as audiences in other countries.

He gave his first Vietnamese performance in 2010.

The shows will be held at the Voice of Vietnam Theatre at 58 Quan Su Street in Hanoi on October 24 at 8pm and at the Student Cultural House at 643 Dien Bien Phu Street in HCMC on October 27.

source: dtinews

Xam singing is long-standing folk gentre from northern Vietnam with the two major genres of Xam cho (Xam singing performed at markets) and Xam co dau (performed in groups at drinking establishments).

Only Hanoi had Xam tau dien, and it was particular well known for being performed on the city’s former trams.

The art programme Xam tau dien. A Hanoi street culture will act as a reminder of Hanoi’s past and also introduce audiences to traditional music art from both words and costumes of performers.

The event will saw the participation of Xam researchers and meritorious artists Hoang Anh Tu, Thanh Ngoan and The Dan. The artists will bring the programme with well known Xam tau dien.

Xam singing is long-standing folk gentre from northern Vietnam

Only Hanoi had Xam tau dien

source: dtinews

On location: In her new DVD, Khanh Hoa sings songs in praise
of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands and the troops stationed there. —Photo biendong.vntime.vn

The DVD is one of the first filmed entirely on the islands of the offshore archipelago.

The DVD, entitled Gan Lam Truong Sa (The Spratlys Are So Close) arose out of Hoa’s third visit to the islands and represents two years of work preparing for the project, Hoa said. The songs include compositions by Tran Manh Hung, Do Bao, Son Trach, Tran Minh Tuan, and Tan Phong.

“In the minds of many people, the Spratlys are a very tough region with a lot of wind and sunshine,” she said. “But in this DVD, I want to present to the public the grand and pure beauty of the place, along with the beautiful and romantic soul of the soldiers working and living here.”

Getting to the archipelago is not easy due to the difficult conditions of travel by ship, but this didn’t deter Hoa from returning often, even though each trip caused her to lose several kilogrammes.

“No other sea can be more beautiful than at the Spratlys,” she said. “Anyone who has seen it with their own eyes can verify that.”

Born in Thanh Hoa Province, Hoa joined the Thang Long Music and Dance Theatre in 2005 after graduating from the Viet Nam National Academy of Music. She has won several medals in national music contests.

To make the new DVD, she spent 12 days visiting 10 islands of the archipelago. She and her crew took advantage of every minute to work, getting up at 2am everyday and starting work at 3am due to the time required to travel between the different islands.

“Many times I was exhausted. But we told to ourselves not to abandon our project because we might not have another occasion to realise our dream. We are ready to do every thing for our beloved Truong Sa, ” Hoa recalled.
She remembers the terrible heat on the archipelago. “My skin became very tan, like that of the soldiers. However, at that moment, I didn’t think so much about how to look beautiful; I only thought about how to work rapidly and effectively.”

Hoa said she was touched to receive a warm welcome from the local soldiers and civilians and experience their lives.

“They are simple but noble people. Although they live with many difficulties, they remain very sentimental and optimistic. When I met them, I felt more proud of my country and loved it more.”

“After I watched her DVD, I felt the islands were so close, as the name of the album implies,” said fellow singer Tan Minh. “I was touched to feel the warmth among people there.”

“It’s a touching album,” said musician Nguyen Trong Tao. “It can make people feel closer to the sea, to the islands and to the soldiers. With an expressive singing voice and a great love for the islands, Hoa has touched the hearts of many people.”

Hoa offered 500 copies of the DVD to the soldiers of the archipelago.

“I make this DVD not only for those who have been or never been to the islands, but for the soldiers who spend days and night guarding the sea,” she said.

source: vietnamnet

 

Supermodel Thanh Hang.

Ngoc Quyen

source: vietnamnet

Lan Khue is happy with the prize.

 

She is praised by the organizing board to have an impressive face. Her pictures are very special.

 

In addition to the Best Photogenic award, the organizers also presented four other prizes. The Best on Stage: China, Best Figure: Sri Lanka, Best Active: Mongolia; and Popular: Pakistan.

 

Lan Khue shows off the prize.

 

The Vietnamese representative is in the third position now.

 

Lan Khue has been very successful at the competition. She said to try her best to shine in the final on September 29.

source: vietnamnet

The second Hanoi International Film Festival will take place at the Friendship Cultural Palace in the capital city from November 25-29.

According to Ngo Phuong Lan, head of the Deputy Head of Cinema Department, the event has seen more than 200 films from 38 countries and territories registered, and the number is increasing.

For its part, Vietnam will participate with 16 feature movies and 14 short films.

Besides giving awards, this year’s festival will also screen numerous movies, including a number of the world’s outstanding cinematography works such as Iran’s director Asghar Farhadi’s movie “A Separation” which won the Best Foreign Film title at the 2011 Golden Globe and the Best Film prize at the 2012 Asian Film Awards; “Amour,” the film by Michael Haneke which won the Palme d’Or Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and British film “We Need to Talk About Kevin, which has won 16 awards during the last two years.

Around 30 Vietnamese movies will join the screening.

An exhibition and a workshop entitled ‘Vietnamese Cinema during the Renovation Period’ and an exchange between artists and audiences will be held during the festival.

First launched in 2010, the festival was formerly called Vietnam International Film Festival.

source: tuoitrenews

The first prize went to the South African beauty and the second to the Portuguese contestant.

This was a disappointing result for Oanh, who had earlier won two important titles in the event’s sub-contests and was considered a promising candidate.

With her attracting figure and confidence stride on the catwalk and an, she received the ‘Super Model International Swim Wear’ title on August 30.

Oanh also got the ‘Miss Popular Vote 2012’ prize at the country’s famous beach Pattaya.

source: dtinews