Young ballet dancers from the Vietnam National Orchestra and Ballet (VNOB) will perform a contemporary dance piece entitled Per Sonare, choreographed by Dane Louise Midjord.

The work, based on the concept of identity, will be accompanied by music penned by Johann Sebastian Bach and Sunn O and consist of five characters including a dragon, unicorn, tortoise, phoenix and multiman.

"While Per Sonare does not claim to have the answers to questions of identity, it will attempt to make the audience think about the concept and draw their own conclusions," Midjord said.

The choreographer has been employed as a dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet since 1992.

Her works include three creations for the Ballet troupe itself alongside several collaborations with the Cross Connection Ballet Company.

Per Sonare will be performed as part of a Danish gala evening at the Hanoi Opera House on Nov. 29-30 in celebration of the 40 year anniversary of relations between the country and Vietnam .

The gala will additionally include the classical ballet La Ventana and popular Danish pieces such as Echoes of Ossian, composed by Niels Gade, and Little Suite for String, by Carl Nielsen, under the baton of conductor Graham Sutcliffe.

As a Danish composer of world fame, Gade was one of the first to understand the magical nature of national folk music during the romantic period, composing eight symphonies as well as chamber music and the score for a ballet.

Nielsen, as Gade's pupil, soon surpassed his teacher to become the most well known Danish composer of all time, basing his repertoire on folk music while creating a treasure-trove of national songs, six symphonies, two operas, concerts and chamber music.

"Our young artists have considerably improved their performing skills with classical works such as La Ventana, which includes a scene where a dancer performs as if to a mirror, which is in fact another dancer," said VNOB Deputy Director Ngo Kieu Ngan.

"It requires skilled and exact actions. This will be the first time that Vietnamese dancers try something like this," Ngan added.

Last year the VNOB worked with Danish artist Frank Andersen, first a principal dancer and then artistic director at the Royal Danish Ballet, who assisted in the performance of Ballet School .

"The artists have gained better performing skills. Vietnamese audiences are still not that familiar with western music and ballet, which is something we would very much like to change," Andersen said./.