Around 5,000 people stood along Ngoc Thuy dike to witness “crazy” minutes of artist Dao Anh Khanh and his co-workers in the “Tree of Life” show on October 15.

The Tree of Life installation artwork in the daylight.

The VND2 billion dong ($100,000) project, which had been prepared for ten years, lasted three hours, and took place on three stages located in Dao Anh Khanh’s garden and a section of dike along the Red River in the evening of October 15.

“Tree of Life” is Dao Anh Khanh’s largest show to celebrate Hanoi’s 1000th anniversary. The show attracted around 5,000 people, including international diplomats, expats in Hanoi and a domestic audience.

The show combined paintings, dance, contemporary music, video art, installation and performance art. On the major stage, Dao Anh Khanh and nearly 100 artists danced while 12 Vietnamese and foreign dancers performed body-art on a smaller stage. Video clips about hundreds of historical events in Vietnam and the world were screened on a big screen placed on the main stage.

The Tree of Life at night.

The show closed with Dao Anh Khanh’s solo dance on an outdoor stage built on Ngoc Thuy dike, surrounded by giant bamboo-shoots. Khanh’s strange dance was accompanied by music of DJ Minh Tri, singing voice of Tung Duong and a group of Danish artists.

Sarah, a French girl, told VietNamNet after the show: “Wonderful! It was strange and beautiful. I’ve never watched such a big show.”

The “Tree of Life” show in photos:

Dancers on the major stage.

Models on the stage for body-art.

Dao Anh Khanh and his solo dance.

A dancer after the show.

Enthusiastic spectators.

Van Sam