Reality TV dance competition in Vung Tau City

Dancer Oksana Nikiforova, of Russian and German descent, will be guest of honor at the Buoc nhay hoan vu 2011 dance competition, a Vietnamese version of UK’s television program ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Oksana Nikiforova was world champion in Latin American dance in 2002, 2003 and 2004. She was also a teacher to Vietnamese dancer Khanh Thi, who is a jury member at the competition.

She will also perform with Vasily Anokhin, who won Dance Sport Championship in Estonia and Finland.

Buoc nhay hoan vu 2011 will take place in Vung Tau City on June 19 and broadcast live on VTV3 channel at 9 pm.

Buoc nhay hoan vu was launched in 2010 and is produced by Vietnam Television and Cat Tien Sa Productions, based on the world famous TV series ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Fish Worshipping Festival restored in Khanh Hoa

The festival is the epitome of various rituals like the whale worshipping ceremony often held by fishermen living in coastal areas.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa held a ceremony on June 14 to restore the Cau Ngu (Fish Worshipping) Festival to preserve and bring into full play the cultural value of the traditional rituals.

Cau Ngu is observed by the coastal communities stretching from Quang Binh to Kien Giang provinces. It originates from the traditional worship of Southern Sea God (Whale) believed to protect fishermen in distress at sea.

At the festival, 15 boats were mobilised for rituals at sea along with a procession of flower-decorated vehicles, dragon and lion dances, some acts of Tuong (Classical Drama) and singing performances.

Nha Trang sea festival successfully held

Over 100,000 foreign and domestic visitors flocked to the fifth Sea Festival 2011 themed “Nha Trang – The Sea Rendezvous”, which wrapped up on June 15 in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Le Xuan Than, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and Head of the organising board underlined that the event sent a message to the people, urging them to protect marine resources and promote beauty and great values of seas and islands.

The ten-day event was colourful with over 60 cultural and sports activities, such as a bathing festival, a fishing competition, a fish worshipping ceremony, a sepak takraw competition on the beach, a seminar on developing bird’s nests as well as music performances by art troupes from Cuba, the Republic of Korea and France.

Highlights of the event were a photo exhibition on Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and a display of Truong Sa map made from coffee beans.

Initiated in 2003, the event aims to honour, preserve and uphold special cultural characteristics of Khanh Hoa province as well as splendid beauty of Nha Trang bay - one of the world’s 35 most beautiful bays.

Vietnam to organise ancient costume movie festival

An ancient costume movie festival will be held during the 2012 Hue city Festival by Viet Charm Company, which is engaged in a project to train actors and actresses for ancient costume movies.

Many famous artists, such as Hoang Dung, Minh Hoa and Dieu Huong will take part in a three-month training course, the first of its kind in Vietnam so far, which is being held in Hanoi and Hue.

A part from improving their professional skills, they have the chance to learn how to ride horses and elephants and use ancient weapons.

Cultural diversity on show in Melbourne

Whether it is a boy making paper birds in a park to pray for peace or a Vietnamese language speaking practice session between a father and daughter, Trung Nghia seeks to present every moment he captures with emotional clarity.

A collection of photographs taken by Nghia, a producer and reporter for ABC Radio Australia, is now showing at the Michaels Camera Museum in Melbourne.

Nghia’s Asia-Pacific in Contrast, a collection of 40 photographs in black and white as well as in colour, is the result of nearly 10 years work that took him all over Viet Nam and other countries in the Southeast Asian region.

The different themes that the photographs are grouped under – Traffic or A Closer Look at Young People - shows the different aspects of life that has captured the photographer’s attention.

Nghia has visited many foreign countries, but his focus is on capturing his motherland’s beauty.

The exhibition area is decorated with green bamboo, an inonic part of the country’s flora, to give exhibition visitors an authentic feel for the the country, he said.

The exhibition also includes images dealing with the life of Vietnamese communities in Australia, on the ways they strive to preserve and develop their traditional culture in a foreign country.

Nghia’s images reveal “a true artist, who has worked hard to capture vivid moments with much emotion, passion, pleasure and pain,” said Mike McCluskey, CEO of Radio Australia.

A graduate in journalism from the HCM City University of Social Science and Humanities, Nghia now studies community welfare at Melbourne University.

” I want to work as a social worker to help disadvantaged children,” he said.

He has also published tourist books and organised personal photo exhibitions in Viet Nam and Europe.

His show has attracted considerable local interest since it opened early this month.

All money from the sale of photos will be used for charity, Nghia said.

The exhibition will remain open until June 27.

Vietnam elected to UNESCO culture diversity committee

Vietnam has been elected as a member of the inter-governmental committee of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of the UNESCO.

Vietnam, together with China and Laos, will represent the Asia-Pacific in the committee.

The election took place at the third plenary session of the Convention member countries held in Paris on June 14-15.

At the session, Vietnam delivered a presentation on its experience in preserving and promoting culture diversity.

Messe Solennelle and Ballet by HBSO at Opera House

A special performance ‘Messe Solennelle and Ballet Mixed Repertoire’ by the HBSO Choir and Ballet, and Symphony Orchestra will be held at 8 p.m. on Sunday at the city’s Opera House.

The program has two parts. Part one is Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cecile by French composer of the Romantic era Charles-Francois Gounod, who penned Ave Maria as well as operas Faust and Romeo and Juliet. It will be conducted by Tran Nhat Minh.

Part two features pieces of music consisting of Pas de deux from Ballet Diana & Acteon, Arabian Dance from Ballet Nutcracker, Duo from Ballet Nutcracker, Pas de Quatre and Waltz of the Flowers.

Tickets are available at the Opera House box office, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1 and priced at VND 250,000, VND150,000 and VND60,000.

Book captures the Charm of Vietnam

A book featuring photos of Vietnam and Vietnamese people shot by journalist Hoang Minh Quoc is being showcased at a photo exhibition being held in Ho Chi Minh City today to mark Vietnam Journalism Day (June 21).

The 227 pictures of Vietnamese landscapes and people all the way from the northern mountains to the Mekong Delta in “The charm of Vietnam” are also on display.

The trilingual book — in Vietnamese, English, and French — is expected to have a print run of 2,000 copies.

Quoc was born in 1969 in Hanoi and moved to HCMC in 1980. He works for Vietnam Pictorial.

The exhibition is being held at the Vietnam News Agency, 116 – 118 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

Ana Mandara wins Nha Trang cyclo contest

Anna Mandara Resort in Nha Trang won a contest for the most beautiful cyclo Tuesday at the ongoing sea festival being held in the coastal city.

At the 2-4 Square, where the contest was held, Vo Duc Han of Sao Mai The Ky 21 Company won the prize for Most Skilful Cyclo Rider.

All cyclos participating in the former category were decorated with fruits and flowers while Han and the other riders taking part in the skill category had to ride through narrow roads and past obstacles.

The contest attracted 15 cyclos from 12 resorts, restaurants, hotels, and companies.

Later all the cyclos went in a parade along main streets like Tran Phu, Biet Thu, and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

“Nha Trang – The Sea Rendezvous” is being celebrated from June 11 to 17.

Young Vietnamese sweep top prize in American design competition

A group of three young men working for global advertising agency Grey Group have won the first prize in Ad Age’s 2011 Global Cover Contest organized by the magazine, Advertising Age, last month.

Inviting young creatives from all over the world to design a global-themed cover for its June 13 issue, the contest drew 369 entries from 54 countries, up from 220 entries in 2010.

The Vietnamese team includes three young men: creative planner Nguyen Tuong Luan (29), art director Nguyen An Hoa (27) and Copywriter Do Duy Thien (27).

Tuong Luan went to Webster University in the US to learn adverting and marketing. After graduation, he worked in the customer service section in a Bangkok-based company before joining Grey Group.

The trio’s design of a kaleidoscope to reflect a vision of a world connected by brands have outshone other competitors from America, Canada and France and won the top price.

The idea came when the three were having a coffee break one afternoon in Saigon. Luan looked up at the stained-glass facade of a nearby cathedral and noticed that the “chaos” of all the small glass fragments came together to create a unified image. He then thought of using a kaleidoscope to show how brands connect the world.

“We trooped back to the office … and by the wee hours of morning found ourselves staring at a winner,” said Luan in an interview with adage.com, the advertising magazine website.

“We observed that individuals, while differing by outlook, aspirations, values and cultures, share a special affinity and common ground with others via brands. Brands can help tell about ourselves and about others and connect the world.”

Besides the joy of seeing their artwork appear on the cover of Advertising Age’s global issue published on June 13, the group also won a roundtrip ticket to France for the 2011 Cannes Lions International Creativity Festival where they will attend different activities, including an exclusive cocktail party hosted by Advertising Age and AOL.

This is the second time the Ad Age Global Cover Contest has been organized. Last year’s winner was also a team working for Grey Group based in New York.

Photo show explores Ha Noi

Different views of Ha Noi can be seen through more than 100 images at the Artistic Photo Festival exhibition which opened in the capital yesterday.

An award ceremony also took place.

Organisers, the Viet Nam and Ha Noi Artistic Photographers’ Association, received 746 entries from 138 photographers in Ha Noi.

The exhibition displays 126 of the best photos of which 12 were awarded.

With the theme of Ha Noi: renewal, development and integration, the photos highlight natural beauty, historical vestiges, cultural heritage and human’s activities.

“The photos reflect many aspects of day-to-day city life through the photographers’ precise eyes and their love for Ha Noi as well,” said Dang Dinh An, president of the Ha Noi Artistic Photographers’ Association.

“The festival was joined by many veteran photographers,” he said. “Despite old age, they’re still painstaking in creating and showing moments with young and fresh views.

“Meanwhile, young artists express their talent and energy through lively angles. Their photos are of good quality and many win prizes.”

The exhibition at 45 Trang Tien Street will run until next Friday.