Fairs spotlight higher education in US

A US Higher Education Fair will take place this Autumn in Ho Chi Minh
City on October 11 and Hanoi two days later, reports the Institute
of International Education (IIE).

This will be the
second US higher education exhibition the IIE has organised in
Vietnam since the beginning of this year.

The HCM
City fair will see 89 prestigious US colleges and universities
taking part, while 43 schools will be present at the Hanoi event,
which covers a wide range of fields such as business administration,
finance, science and technology.

The fairs will
provide domestic students with a great chance to learn about the
opportunities for higher education in the US from official, reliable
and legitimate sources.

They will also enable
students to meet official representatives to inquire into application
procedures, entrance exams and scholarships.

Vietnam is one of the 10 nations to have the largest number of
students studying in the US , with 12,823 currently enrolled./.

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Hanoi hosts traditional Japanese entertainment

Utazo Katsura, a master of the traditional Japanese entertainment
Rakugo, will perform in Hanoi at the Dance and Light Music Theatre and
the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities on October 19 and
20.

The events, held by the Japan-Vietnam Culture
Exchange Centre, will offer Vietnamese audiences the opportunity to
explore Japanese traditions as well as watch a Rakugo performance.

Rakugo stories such as “Time Noodle” (Toki-sob), “Gonsuke’s Fish”
(Gonsuke-zakana) and “The Tree-Head Man” (Atama-yama) will be told with
rock music playing and a combination of traditional and modern features.

Rakugo consists of a solitary storyteller, sitting on stage,
equipped with only a paper fan sensu and a small cloth tenugui as props,
as they recount stories while sitting down.

Utazo Katsura,
who has practiced the art since 1991, is one of the two leading artists
of this kind in Japan. He also tells funny stories in English or in
Japanese with English sub-titles, helping foreigners to fully enjoy
Rakugo performances./.

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Rehearsal for Thang Long-Hanoi art and cultural festival

Tens of thousands of capital citizens gathered at the My Dinh National
Stadium in the evening of October 6 to see the final general rehearsal
for an art and cultural festival celebrating the Thang Long-Hanoi
millennium anniversary.

Attending the rehearsal were Deputy
Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, Head of the National Steering
Committee on the 1,000 th Anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, Secretary of
the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi and other senior officials.

The festival, entitled “Thang Long-Hanoi: City of
Soaring Dragon ”, scheduled for October 10’s night, will be an
important event that concludes ten days of celebrations for the
Millennium of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The festival will
review major milestones in the history of the Vietnamese nation in
general and Hanoi in particular, including King Ly Cong Uan’s capital
transfer in 1010, the Tran dynasty’s three victories over Chinese Mongol
invaders, King Le Loi’s sword return, President Ho Chi Minh with the
Independence Declaration, and Hanoi, the city for peace

It is expected to draw the participation of nearly 7,000 artists, athletes and students of art and sports schools.

Notably, a set of 100 bronze drums casted by artisans from the central
province of Thanh Hoa will be used during the festival./.

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Hanoi food fest tempts taste buds

Vietnamese food-lovers will be able to tuck into quintessential Hanoian
fare during a six-day festival that started on Oct. 6 at Ho Tay Park on
Lac Long Quan Street to mark the capital's millennium.

About 500 dishes – three-fifths of which will be Hanoian, will be available at 130 stalls.

Pho (rice noodle soup), banh cuon (rice pancakes wrapped with meat),
bun thang (rice vermicelli served with shredded chicken, pork pies and
fried egg) and bun cha (rice vermicelli served with grilled pork) will
be among Hanoi 's signature dishes available at the festival.

Replica of gates at Hanoi 's Dong Xuan Market, Hue 's Dong Ba Market
and HCM City 's Ben Thanh Market have been erected to represent
the three regions of the country.

Hanoi Food
festival will also have a cultural space featuring re-created scenes of
Confucian calligraphers, a traditional Hanoian wedding, an exhibition of
Dong Ho folk paintings and a photo exhibition on Hanoi .

There will also be folk games such as swing and walking cau khi (trunk bridge) and cock fighting.

Entrance to the festival is free. Guides will also be on hand.

Hanoi 's cuisine has been influenced by successive dynasties,
which give visitors a perfect insight into the local culture, organisers
said.

"It's a chance for Hanoi to advertise its
cultural values and delicacies to international visitors," said Truong
Minh Tien, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture, Sport
and Tourism, which organised the event./.

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Traditional music concert celebrates capital

The Vietnam Traditional Orchestra will join in the nation-wide
celebration with a performance at the Ha Noi Opera House tonight.

The orchestra will play Rong Bay Khai Nhac (Soaring Dragon Opening
Music Festival), a new piece composed by the Vietnamese conductor Nguyen
Thien Dao in honour of the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi. The work will
be conducted by Dao along with Hong Thai and Ngoc Khoi.

"Rong Bay Khai Nhac was composed with all my passion for Vietnamese traditional music and instruments," said Dao.

The Paris-based conductor is a household name in both Vietnam and
France. A brilliant musician, Dao studied under Olivier Messiaen at the
Conservatoire de Paris, where he graduated at the top of his class in
1968. He has received numerous international awards including the Andre
Caplet Award, the Olivier Messiaen Award for Music Composition from the
Foundation Eramus de Holland and the Chevalier des Artist et de Lettres
du Government Francais from the French government.

Throughout his career, Dao has composed more than 80 musical works that
have been performed around the world and extensively in Europe.

The traditional orchestra was established in 2009 from a traditional
instrument troupe at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and has
performed in many important events across the country, including
national receptions, international conferences, and international music
festivals.

A great work of nha nhac (ritual and
ceremonial music) played with war drums and clarinets will open the
concert. Other performances include dan bau, (monochord) solo; dan tranh
(16-chord zither); and other bamboo instruments./.

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Vietnamese, Korean musicians take part in chamber event

Soprano Cho Hae-ryong, pianists Noh Hae-ry and Chae Hyo-jin, of the
Republic of Korea (RoK) will perform in a chamber concert at the HCM
City Opera House this weekend.

They will be joined
on the stage by Vietnamese soloists – cellist Nguyen Tan Anh,
clarinettist Dao Nhat Quang and pianist Pham Dieu Thao – from the city's
Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO).

Cho
will sing popular works by composers A.L.Webber, G.Meyerber and
Rimsky-Kosakov, apart from Mozart's Parto! Ma tu ben mio from opera la
clemenza di Tito and Rachmaninov's Zdes Khorosho, Oni otvechali.

Born in 1973 in Busan, Cho graduated from the Ewha University in 1998
before developing her musical talents at the Glinka Music Conservatory
in Novorsibirsk, Russia.

She has won top prizes at
local and international music competitions, including the Obraztsova
International Vocal Competition in Russia in 2000 and Competition of
Romantic Music in RoK in 2007.

Cho worked with
prestigious symphony orchestras in RoK and Russia before following her
husband, Vietnamese clarinettist Dao Nhat Quang, to live and work in HCM
City.

She now works as a soloist and a vocal teacher for the HBSO.

The concert will continue with music by Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Nguyen Manh Duy Linh.

Cellist Anh will perform with his colleagues, pianist Thao and
clarinettist Quang, in Brahms's Trio for clarinet, cello and piano,
I&IV mov.

They will also play Beethoven's Sonata for Cello and Piano No 2, I&II mov.

A 1988 graduate of the Gnesin Music Institute in Russia, Anh has
performed many times in Russia, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam.

He is now the leader of the HBSO's Symphony Orchestra.

The event will open at 8pm on Oct.9, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1.
Tickets, ranging from 100,000 VND (5 USD) to 200,000 are available at
the theatre's box office./.

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Designers present new collections

Thirty-two designers of the Vietnam Designers House presented their autumn-winter collections on Oct.5 in HCM City.

Around 250 people attended the show at the Designers House's outlet downtown.

More than 150 elegant and simple creations in cool colours of white, grey and black were displayed on the catwalk.

The show included clothing by major designers, such as Minh Hanh, Anh
Vu, Nguyen Hang, Le Hang and Bao Kim, and by 8X-generation designers,
including Group F8, Ngoc Dieu, Thien Toan, Khanh Vi, Van Vo, Thanh Hoa,
Kim Khanh, Minh Hoa and Phuong Linh.

Designers paid
particular attention to the one-shoulder dress, maxi dress, and
strapless gowns made of soft and silky textures.

The trend was tailored, oversized elegant pants that can be adapted to every occasion, from business-wear to evening-wear.

Well-known designers Dang Khoa and Cuong Thinh brought their latest and boldest creations for suits and night dresses.

The highlight of the show was the romantic, impressive and
inspirational wedding gown collections of designers Viet Lien, Trong
Nguyen, Tuan Huy, Hien Le and Thien Trang.

Miss Vietnam 2008 Thuy Dung and Miss Beach 2008 Lam Thu Hang modelled for the show.

Vietnam Designers House in HCM City was opened by Viet Mode Co, Ltd in late August after opening last year in Ha Noi./.

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