Aussie embassy gets in on Ha Noi's act

Didgeridoo: Story-telling dancer and musician Jeremy Donovan will perform during the Once in a 1,000 Years: An Australian Gift to Ha Noi programme. — File Photo

It's a series of free exhibitions, concerts and cultural exchanges dubbed Once in a 1,000 Years: An Australian Gift to Ha Noi programme, organised in partnership with the Ha Noi People's Committee.

It will feature outstanding exhibitions and performers belonging to Australia's proud indigenous culture, the highlights of which will take place from yesterday until Sunday.

They include the remarkable Balgo Exhibition at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology, and the Journey Through Time gala concert and outdoor youth concert at the Cultural Friendship Palace. The programme also features music, traditional story-telling, hip hop performances and children's activities.

"Good friends celebrate birthdays together," Australian Ambassador Allaster Cox said, "that's why we've put together this exciting schedule of free events for all Hanoians to enjoy."

"It's our way of getting into the party spirit with the people of Ha Noi."

The programme includes something for everyone: world-standard indigenous art, classic didgeridoo performances, modern hip hop and musical exchanges, he said.

The Balgo Exhibition tomorrow at the Museum of Ethnology will display the largest collection of Australian indigenous works, featuring 26 paintings from 18 established and emerging indigenous artists from the remote Balgo region of Western Australia.

The opening ceremony at 10am will be a family-friendly event, with free children's painting classes and didgeridoo performances.

A gala concert with the theme of Journey Through Time will take place at 8pm tomorrow at Cultural Friendship Palace, Ha Noi. Free tickets are available at the gate of the Australian Embassy.

An immersive musical, visual and story-telling voyage through 60,000 years of Australian indigenous culture, will be told by acclaimed solo artist, story-telling, dancer Jeremy Donovan and five established and upcoming performers from indigenous hip-hop projects.

A team of young talented artists has turned the seemingly unreal into a reality, mixing traditional indigenous culture with modern hip-hop to make a unique Australian indigenous hip-hop.

Donovan and performers will be joined on stage by Vietnamese university students with whom they have been exchanging experiences.

Today, audience members will learn and practice hip-hop dancing with the aboriginal Australian indigenous hip-hop troupe at the Australian Embassy.

An outdoor talk show and concert will be held at 6pm on Sunday at the same venue, free entry, no ticket required. The audience will enjoy free hip hop exchanges and performances, children's games and painting classes, didgeridoo performances, body painting with Donovan and the performers.

The indigenous hip-hop projects promote youth self expression through movement, music and art, boosting morale and confidence and promoting positive social behaviour in communities.

Michael Farah, a proprietor who works closely with the group, shares the philosophy that "we should exist in a world where people, young and old, can express themselves freely through music and dance instead of drugs, alcohol and violence".

With this philosophy, Australian indigenous hip-hop provides opportunities, role models, inspirations and collaborations for youth in not only remote areas, but also in regional and urban areas, to enable long-term and sustainable community development.

A talk about the arts of aboriginal Australians took place on Wednesday at the Ha Noi College of Industrial Arts.

Ha Noi People's Committee deputy chairwoman Ngo Thi Thanh Hang yesterday expressed honour to welcome Australian artists to perform in Ha Noi to celebrate its meaningful year.

"The 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi is not important for the capital only, but it's also a significant event of the country," she said. "I expect that cultural exchange will strengthen relationship between the two countries." — VNS