HA NOI — Ten Vietnamese and four Japanese dance troupes will be performing Yosakoi at the Genki Festival in Ha Noi this weekend.
Yosakoi, one of the most popular dance forms in Japan, will be the highlight of the Genki Festival, which is being co-organised by the Viet Nam–Japan Cultural Exchange Association.
Representing Viet Nam will be the Ha Noi Sennen Yosakoi troupe. About 100 dancers are currently rehearsing for the show.
The two-day festival will be held at the Giang Vo Exhibition Centre.
In addition to Yosakoi, there will be a series of Japanese cultural activities such as origami, formal tea ceremonies and cherry tree displays.
For the event, cherry trees, which blossom in March and April, will be brought to Viet Nam from Japan.
Morning Star singing contest returns
HA NOI — The Viet Nam Television singing contest, Morning Star, began on Sunday.
Organised bi-annually, the first round will run until June 30 to select the best contestants to go forward to the north, centre and south regional rounds in July.
Each region will put nine candidates into the final round, scheduled to take place in August.
There will be separate awards for chamber, folk and pop music styles. Finalists will have the chance to win special prizes voted for by the jury and the TV audience.
The 2009 contest attracted thousands of contestants aged 17-26.
Youth reaches photo contest final
LONDON — Mau Thi Thanh Nhan, 21, has just won sixth place in the Bold Lipstick photo competition to draw attention to human trafficking in Europe and Asia.
The photo, taken in a supermarket was of her holding a board with the sentence: "I am not goods".
"I thought that people are being sold like everyday goods," the Ha Noi-born woman wrote on the competition's official website.
"I tried to develop something that portrayed this idea. So many tears and so much pain. We need to realise that people are not goods."
The competition, part of the MTV Exit campaign, was launched on Valentine's Day this year.
Twinkle-toed dancers return to TV screens
HCM CITY — The first show of the second season of Buoc Nhay Hoan Vu, a Vietnamese version of the popular TV reality show Dancing with the Stars in the US will be aired live on Sunday on Viet Nam Television (VTV).
Buoc Nhay Hoan Vu, produced by VTV and Cat Tien Sa Media and Television Company, pairs 10 celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, who each week compete by performing in 10 shows from April 17 to July 3.
The second season will feature Vietnamese celebrities including singers Thu Minh, Pham Anh Khoa, Thuy Tien and Nguyen Vu, singer and actor Hua Vi Van, actors Huy Khanh, Vu Thu Phuong, Thanh Thuy, Kim Hien and Dai Nghia and 10 professional dancers from Bulgaria.
Participants will perform standard ballroom dances of Slow Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quicksteps, and Latin dances like Chachacha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive.
The judges, including director Le Hoang and dance sport champions Khanh Thi and Chi Anh, and the votes of the audience will decide the eliminations, which will begin in the second show.
The winner of this season will award VND150 million (US$7,140) rewards, while two runners-up will receive VND120 million ($5,710) and VND100 million ($4,760).
MC Thanh Bach and singer Doan Trang, the runner-up of the first season, will host the shows.
All the shows will be broadcast live every Sunday on VTV 3 at 8pm.
Lao students celebrate New Year
THUA THIEN-HUE — More than 350 Lao students from universities and colleges in Thua Thien-Hue Province have celebrated their traditional New Year at the Thua Thien-Hue Pedagogy College.
The celebration featured Lao cultural activities during the New Year, including dancing and praying for health and happiness. The event also presented Lao costumes and food.
Vansa Launhiada, Consul General of Laos in Da Nang, and leaders of Hue University took part in the celebration and wished Lao students a happy Lao new year. — VNS