ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 27/9 ? Talk Vietnam

Exhibition revives glory of Dong Son culture

The exhibition, ?Dongsonian Arts,? opened this morning at the Viet Art Centre, No.42 Yet Kieu Street in Hanoi.

Nearly 100 items are on display including utensils, jewelry, and primitive weapons, as well as musical instruments and textiles that represent the daily lives of ancient Vietnamese people during the Dong Son era.

The artefacts were collected from the latest research on the Dong Son culture by the Southeast Asia Prehistory Centre (SAPC).

The exhibition also showcases writings and articles on Dong Son culture by Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the SAPC.

?We hope that the exhibition will provide visitors with an overview of the Dong Son culture, the pinnacle of prehistoric fine arts in Vietnam and Southeast Asia,? said Dr. Viet at the opening.

The exhibition features photos and Do paper rubbings of the patterns on Dong Son bronze drums, which are masterpieces of Dong Son art.

?A bronze drum is not only for decoration, it also reflects the Dongsonian view of the universe. Four spaces are represented in the three parts of a bronze drum: the drumhead symbolises heaven and earth while the barrel represents water and the drum pedestal depicts the afterworld,? said Historian-Professor Le Van Lan.

?That?s why the bronze drum is the main symbol of the Dong Son culture, fine arts and production techniques,? he concluded.

A seminar on Dong Son Fine Arts will be held at the Viet Art Centre on September 28.

The exhibition, held jointly by the SAPC and the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, aims to raise the younger generations? awareness of preserving Vietnam?s cultural heritage.

The ?Dongsonian Arts? exhibition will last through October 3.

Young people learn Ca Tru singing

Many may think that young people today are only interested in modern pop music and turn away from traditional Vietnamese music, however, when watching and listening to students who are passionate about learning Ca Tru (traditional ceremonial singing) at the Hanoi Ca tru club, one can feel the vitality of this world intangible cultural heritage.

Every evening in the ancient house at 87 Ma May street in Hoan Kiem district, the sounds of instruments and voices performing Ca Tru can be heard, not from older artists, but from very young pupils and students. With her clear voice full of emotion, 10th grader Doan Linh Huong surprises a lot of people, especially when they find out she has been a ?senior? member of the Thang Long ceremonial singing troupe for four years.

The Ca Tru club consists of 20 official members and hundreds of other participants; the youngest is only 12 years old. They all share one thing in common: the love for this traditional art form. Thanks to the guidance of artist, teacher Pham Thi Hue, all 20 official members of the troupe are able to sing and play the traditional musical instruments fluently. After hours of hard work and study, if there is no performance scheduled, the club members will dress up in traditional costume and perform for each other to practice.

It is not easy to learn Ca Tru because it is impossible to write down the notes, so the learners must listen carefully and memorise the melodies in relation to their own feelings. During each lesson, the young learners have the chance to listen to the velvety voice of artist Pham Thi Hue and get to know the traditional musical instruments; they also learn how to understand the meanings and sing each sentence in the lyrics. ?I love to sing Ca Tru because through its melodies and words, I have learned more about the country?s history and literature?, said young singer Linh Huong. Third-year student Bui Viet Trung from the Faculty of Culture and Arts Management under the Hanoi University of Culture, said he had strong feelings for the rhythms and lyrics of Ca Tru after he saw a show about it on television. He then came to the Thang Long ceremonial singing troupe and the young Ca Tru club to find out more about this type of music and collect further cultural information to support his studies at university.

In addition to the group at 87 Ma May street, FPT University has recently put a Ca Tru course into their curriculum. The course lasts in 12 days and students are taught about three typical Ca Tru songs. Pham Thi Hue said she hopes that such activities will attract more and more young people, promote interest in Ca Tru singing, and provide them with knowledge about its history and poetry, thereby raising awareness of preserving traditional cultural values.

Vietnam?s culture promoted in France

The 10th Foreign Cultural Week officially opened in Paris on September 23, beginning with an exhibition themed ?Cultural Heritage Route ? of Vietnam.

This is the first time the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France (VCCF) has joined the event as both organiser and participant.

Attending the event were representatives from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Vietnam-France Friendship Association, the Vietnamese Embassy in French and overseas Vietnamese in the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Le Hong Chuong, Director of VCCF highlighted the significance of the event. He said through the event, the centre wanted to promote the special features of Vietnam?s culture to the French people as well as foreign friends.

Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Chi Dung spoke highly VCCF?s contributions to the event, saying that this is the best opportunity for spectators to enjoy a multicolour and multinational cultural event.

VCCF is the newest member of the Forum of the Foreign Cultural Institutes in Paris (FICEP), which gathers foreign institutes or cultural centres in Paris to introduce culture to the world.

In the framework of the event, a range of activities including music performance, Vietnamese films screening, and courses on Vietnamese language, traditional musical instrument and martial art will be also held.

The event will run until October 1.

National Museum of History to be established

The Prime Minister has decided to establish a National Museum of History based on the mergence of the present Museum of Vietnamese History and Museum of Vietnamese Revolution.

The Museum of Vietnamese History has a total area of more than 2,200m2, displaying nearly 7,000 documents and objects. It also has over 100,000 specimens of precious objects from the cultures of Nui Don, Hoa Binh-Bac Son, and Dong Son.

Meanwhile, the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution covers more than 2,000m2 large with over 80,000 objects, photos, and documents with highly historic values.

Big cities showcase photos of Europe and Hanoi

A photo exhibition featuring the beauty of European countries through the lens of three young Vietnamese overseas students is being held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Titled ?Europe?s story,? the exhibition gathers 27 black-and-white photos taken during the time when the students lived and studied in Europe.

The three students are Nguyen Thang Hoa, Nguyen Thanh Hai and Pham Tuan Ngoc who studied in Belgium, Hungary and Switzerland respectively.

The exhibition at Caf? Photo at 21 Dinh Tien Hoang Street in District 1 will run until October 15.

In Hanoi, 108 works that entered the contest for best photographs of the Vietnam?s capital launched by the Hanoi Art Photo Association last month will be displayed next month.

The ?Feelings about Hanoi? contest calling for entries depicting traditional customs, craft villages, and Hanoi?s people, environment, and society was open to both Vietnamese and foreigners living in Vietnam.

The contest attracted 1,078 works of 217 photographers around the country.

16 amongst them will be awarded at the exhibition opening ceremony on October 8.

The first prize is ?I lobe peace? by Nguyen Nhu Hao while two second prizes go to ?Festival? by Lai Dien Dam and ?Grandmother and child? by Nguyen Xuan Chinh.

The prize-winning photographers will also become members of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists to which the Hanoi Art Photo Association is affiliated.

The exhibition will take place at the Hanoi Exhibition House at 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street.

MTV Vietnam contest dismays music industry

Cable music channel MTV Vietnam?s Vietnamese Music Video Contest has raised eyebrows, with industry insiders expressing concern that only 24 singers and music bands, all selected by the organizers, have been allowed to compete.

Artists ranging from top singers Hong Nhung, My Tam, and Dam Vinh Hung to emerging names such as Anna and Van Mai Huong will receive VND 40 million (US$ 1,900) and a HD camera to make a video.

The videos will then be edited by song writer Quoc Trung and director Quang Dung and later judged by a jury including producers Duc Tri and Nguyen Hai Phong and viewers.

Since the contest will choose the best videos to broadcast internationally on MTV Asia Network, critics said it needed to widen the selection process and look at more artists.

The fact that the organizers have not publicized their selection criteria only adds to growing doubts, especially after new faces like Anna, Karik, and Tiny Monster, who are barely known to the public, made the cut.

Bich Hien, director of BHD Multimedia Company which has the rights to MTV in Vietnam, said since music videos shown on the channel had to follow strict technical standards set by MTV Asia Network, they had to leave out many other artists.

?We have to invite singers, give them money and camera equipment, and make sure they are making videos to international standards.

?We hope this will raise the bar high for following videos made by our artists.?

Singer Pham Anh Khoa, one of the artists chosen for the contest, said Vietnamese should get used to paying more money for art and entertainment.

?Although the award aims to bring our music to the world, we still think we have to do a good job in Vietnam first. Artists have to be able to make money with their music and work more professionally.?

Since the Vietnam Music Video Contest is also produced as a TV reality show featuring backstage activities in the production process, singers like Ha Anh Tuan said he was thrilled to join.

?Audiences will have the chance to see our weakness and how hard each of us works to create a music product.

?I hope they get to know us and our works better.?

The event began on pay TV channels like VCTV, HTVC, K+, VTC, MyTV, and HCATV last Saturday at 9pm and will be on every Saturday.

The first six music videos will be broadcast on October 1 and will feature Hong Nhung, Pham Anh Khoa, Ha Anh Tuan, boyband 365, Duong Trieu Vu, and Linh Phi.

The contest will end next January.

Vietnam joins in Switzerland autumn fair

Vietnam are participating in the Zuespa Autumn Exhibition 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland, from September 23 to October 2 as an honour guest on the 40th anniversary of Vietnam ? Switzerland diplomatic ties.

The organisers said this year?s fair-exhibition is accommodating about 580 pavilions of countries around the world, and expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland, Hoang Van Nha, said Vietnam?s presence in the fair-exhibition helps further enhance mutual understanding, friendship and traditional co-operation between the two countries.

Visitors would have a chance to get an insight into the land and people of Vietnam through woodblock paintings, rickshaws and handicrafts made by Vietnamese artisans and traditional specialties like spring rolls, noodle soup (Pho) and rice vermicelli.

Young prodigy plays Vietnamese folk musical instrument

Ngo Hoang Anh, a 6 year old girl from the northern province of Nghe An has left a deep impression on people with her talent to play the dan bau , a Vietnamese one-string monochord instrument.

Hoang Anh took her first dan bau lesson a year ago from her grandfather, musician Ngo Khac Duy who served in the Nghe An Province Volunteer Youth Force. He is one of the members of the Ca tru singing club in Dien Chau District.

Within just three months, Hoang Anh could play extremely well. Her grandfather was surprised at her prowess and skill of the Vietnamese traditional musical instrument.

Musician Ngo Khac Duy along with Cao Xuan Thuong, head of the Dien Chau Culture and Arts Association recorded her playing the instrument on a ?homemade? CD. They recorded 12 folk songs besides a few other works.

Hoang Anh and her younger sister live with their grandfather, while her parents are working in Laos.

She is an active, vivacious and intelligent little girl. She is the pride of the local people who usually come to her house to hear her play the musical instrument.

This only shows that despite the influx of modern westernized music, young people still hold an interest in traditional Vietnamese music.

?Vietnam?s Got Talent? starts auditions in October

Auditions for Vietnam?s Got Talent will be held from October to June 2012 nationwide, according to a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on September 26.

According to organizers, VTV3 and BHD Company, the official name of the competition in the country will be Vietnam?s Got Talent.

The reality show is for everyone of all ages, featuring performances in various genres, including music, dance, magic, traditional art and comedy.

The competition will include 26 shows, which will kick off nationwide, including in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son from October 9 to November 5.

Oganizers will select 360 of the best performances for the audition round, to be held in Hanoi and HCMC from November 12-23.

The winner will receive US$20,000 at the final gala, to be held on June 17.

Got Talent originated in America in 2006 and is a huge success since it has been adapted in 45 countries worldwide. Susan Boyle, the winner of Britain?s Got Talent 2009, is the most famous talent to emerge from the reality show.

The 49-year-old winner?s performance has been watched over 150 million times on YouTube and her album I Dreamed a Dream released the same year was the number one best-selling CD on charts around the globe and is the UK?s best selling debut album of all time.

According to organizer, Vietnam?s Got Talent is expected to introduce more talented faces to the local showbiz and entertainment industry.

The Vietnamese edition will be broadcast live on VTV3 every Sunday at 8 p.m.

PV

Source: http://talkvietnam.com/2011/09/art-entertainment-279.html

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