LookAtVietnam – A nostalgic look at the past and the hearty welcome to the future will mark the 15th anniversary of Duyen Dang Vietnam music gala this year.

Clothes line: A collection from Angel Phan is modelled at Charming Viet Nam.

Nguyen Cong Khe, chairman of the Thanh Nien Media Corporation which initiated the event, said “The song made her famous among the Vietnamese people, and it will be the theme of Duyen Dang Vietnam 21 – Chao Vietnam (Hello Vietnam ).”

Addressing a press conference held to announce the event on December 10, Khe said that the event had been the launching pad for many famous Vietnamese singers like My Linh, Thanh Lam, Dam Vinh Hung, Quang Dung and Duc Tuan.

“In return, all of them gather together at the end of every year in this annual programme, which can be considered one of the largest music and fashion shows of the year.”

This year will also pay tribute to the late stage director Huynh Phuc Dien, associated with the event since its inception, who died of cancer five months ago.

It was Dien’s idea to have a programme themed Tro Ve (Come Back) that would collect all the artists who have performed in Duyen Dang Viet Nam since 1994, Khe said.

“So I chose stage director Dinh Anh Dung and musician Le Quang because they are close friends of Dien who know him thoroughly and can carry out his ideas.”

Dung said he had made some changes. “I divided the night into two parts - Tro Ve and Chao Viet Nam“. He said: “Dien wrote this scenario in a sad mood when he thought it would be the last time he would work for Duyen Dang Viet Nam. So the theme Tro Ve seemed sad and unsuitable for a programme which will take place on New Year’s Eve - at a time we are preparing to welcome a new year and a new decade.”

Popular overseas Vietnamese singers – Elvis Phuong and Duy Quang will perform the song Tro ve mai nha xua (Vietnamese version of Come Back to Soriento) with lyrics by composer Pham Duy.

“Singer Dam Vinh Hung asked me to compose a song to reciprocate Pham Quynh Anh’s Bonjour Vietnam. I hope that the song Chao Viet Nam Mot Ngay Moi (Hello Viet Nam on a New Day) written by Hung and music composed by myself will be a special highlight of this programme,” musician Le Quang said.

Catwalk stars

Also making a comeback marking participation in earlier editions of the event will be Vietnamese models and specials guests like Miss Universe Thailand 2007, Farung Juthithum, and former Miss Vietnam pageant winners Ha Kieu Anh, Truong Ngoc Anh, Giang My and Jennifer Pham.

They will present the three latest collections of designers Sifa Fashion, Son Collection and Quynh Paris.

Aside from music and fashion, this year will so see the return of a comedy scripted by famous director The Ngu, performed by comedians Hoai Linh, Chi Tai, and Cat Phuong, Le Quang said.

The music gala is a fund raising event for two charities founded by Thanh Nien – Talents of Vietnam and Nguyen Thai Binh Scholarship Funds. Tickets to the event have been priced at between VND200,000 (US$11) and 2 million VND (US$108).

It will run every night from December 31 to January 3, 2010 at HCM City’s Hoa Binh Theatre. Tickets will be sold from December 24 at the theatre, the Thanh Nien newspaper’s office and at the Thanh Nien Media Corporation office.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News