HA NOI — Vietnamese amateur and professional composers nationwide have been invited to join a song writing contest about Agent Orange.
Entries from foreigners are also welcome.
Organised by the Association of Agent Orange and Dioxin Victims, the contest was launched nationwide on Thursday.
Popular singer My Tam will be the contest's Ambassador from the Central region. The HCM City-based singer Dam Vinh Hung will be the South's Ambassador, while musician Dang Nuoc will be the North's Ambassador.
All the entries should be submitted by March 30, 2011. The selection and semi-final rounds will be held across the country from April to June, while the final round will take place in July.
The contest is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam's Agent Orange disaster, which occurred during the American War.
Agent Orange was used in Viet Nam during the early 1960s and was extensively deployed from 1967 to 1968 before being discontinued in 1971. About 80 million litres of Agent Orange herbicide was used in Central and Southern Viet Nam. Millions of Vietnamese people have been affected by the chemical agent.
Photographs on Ha Noi architecture, urban life exhibited
PARIS — A photo exhibition and a seminar on Ha Noi's architecture and urban life were opened in the Viet Nam Cultural Centre in Paris, France, on Thursday.
The documentary photos chronicled Ha Noi from the past till the present day with its famous relic sites namely Hoan Kiem (returned sword) Lake and Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), or French-styled architectural works such as the Long Bien Bridge, the Ha Noi Opera House and the Presidential Palace.
At the seminar, French architect Christian Pedelahore de Loddis, who lived in Ha Noi for ten years and has a good understanding about the city, explained Ha Noi's architectural characters through pictures on the screen.
The exhibition will remain open until next Wednesday.
HCM City to host free-wheeling stage show on Viet Nam's history
HCM CITY — Viet Nam's mythical origin and history will be told through dance, circus performances, and martial arts at a show to be staged in HCM City in December.
Xin Chao! (Hello) will tell the mythical tale of Lac Long Quan – Au Co (the origin of the Viet people through the union of Dragon Lord Lac Long Quan and Fairy Mother Au Co).
"Our show will give foreign tourists a better understanding of the extraordinary depth of Viet Nam's rich and fascinating cultural heritage and traditional performing arts," said Laura Burke, producer of Xin Chao.
Fifty performers, including the country's top acrobats, martial artists, and traditional and contemporary dancers, will be instructed by leading Vietnamese martial artists and American choreographers.
Burke, who has written scripts for Hollywood films for 30 years and lived in Viet Nam for eight years, has written the musical score using a mix of traditional and contemporary Vietnamese music.
The show will be staged every night at the Circus in District 1 starting on December 5.
A theatre-in-the-round format will be used with the audience seated around a 15m stage.
Augustus Greaves, Operation Director and Producer of the Xin Chao! Art Performance Co, said the setting will enable the audience to see the play from every angle, not unlike watching a 3D film.
It will also promote tourism by adding a new item to the evening entertainment available in the city. — VNS