An extravaganza featuring traditional dances from the old capital citywill be held in Hanoi in October to celebrate the city's 1,000thanniversary.
The two-hour performance is beingstaged by People's Artist Chu Thuy Quynh, chairwoman of the VietnamDancers' Association, and Nguyen Van Bich, chairman of the HanoiAssociation of Dance Artists.
Hanoi has nearly 100traditional dances closely linked with the city's history, includingfolk, royal and religious dances, Bich said. He expected that manypeople would enjoy the performance because the dances would help themunderstand more about the history, attitudes and spiritual lives of theThang Long people.
Under the theme Opening the ThangLong Festival – Finding Old Marks, the performance will feature over500 professional and amateur dancers from the Hanoi Association of DanceArtists.
The first part of the show will featureflames rising from mountains and hills and then an image of the Hong(Red) River, symbolising the harmony between fire and water.
The second part will feature a Giao Long dance from Le Matvillage in Long Bien district and will recount a legend of a youngfarmer who saved a princess from a serpent and was rewarded with thecontrol of 13 regions, corresponding to the modern wards of Ba Dinhdistrict.
In the Luc Cung dance, monks from MinhQuang Pagoda in Dong Da district will offer Buddha six items, includingincense, flowers, fruit, lanterns, tea and food, as a prayer forhappiness and peace.
For the Bai Bong dance,reflecting the lives of farmers from Phu Nhieu village in Phu Xuyendistrict, dancers will sport a special hat with a cotton ball glued ontop – which explains the name of the dance. In Vietnamese, bong meanscotton and “bai” means a way of doing things.
Bong,the comic dance features men cross-dressing in women's traditionalattire, including kerchiefs on their heads, embroidered shoes, colourfulribbons backs, and bamboo fans in their hands. They will wear plasticballs that have been cut in half and stuffed with cotton as fakebreasts.
The Giai Oan dance, performed by monks ofDao Xuyen Pagoda in Long Bien district, will pray for martyrs, ancestorsand souls departed from this life to reach a serene and pure land.
The extravaganza will conclude with dancers waving flags,dragons and weapons in a piece entitled Celebrating the Victory of ThangLong.
The performance will take place on October 3at Hanoi's King Ly Thai To Square./.
The two-hour performance is beingstaged by People's Artist Chu Thuy Quynh, chairwoman of the VietnamDancers' Association, and Nguyen Van Bich, chairman of the HanoiAssociation of Dance Artists.
Hanoi has nearly 100traditional dances closely linked with the city's history, includingfolk, royal and religious dances, Bich said. He expected that manypeople would enjoy the performance because the dances would help themunderstand more about the history, attitudes and spiritual lives of theThang Long people.
Under the theme Opening the ThangLong Festival – Finding Old Marks, the performance will feature over500 professional and amateur dancers from the Hanoi Association of DanceArtists.
The first part of the show will featureflames rising from mountains and hills and then an image of the Hong(Red) River, symbolising the harmony between fire and water.
The second part will feature a Giao Long dance from Le Matvillage in Long Bien district and will recount a legend of a youngfarmer who saved a princess from a serpent and was rewarded with thecontrol of 13 regions, corresponding to the modern wards of Ba Dinhdistrict.
In the Luc Cung dance, monks from MinhQuang Pagoda in Dong Da district will offer Buddha six items, includingincense, flowers, fruit, lanterns, tea and food, as a prayer forhappiness and peace.
For the Bai Bong dance,reflecting the lives of farmers from Phu Nhieu village in Phu Xuyendistrict, dancers will sport a special hat with a cotton ball glued ontop – which explains the name of the dance. In Vietnamese, bong meanscotton and “bai” means a way of doing things.
Bong,the comic dance features men cross-dressing in women's traditionalattire, including kerchiefs on their heads, embroidered shoes, colourfulribbons backs, and bamboo fans in their hands. They will wear plasticballs that have been cut in half and stuffed with cotton as fakebreasts.
The Giai Oan dance, performed by monks ofDao Xuyen Pagoda in Long Bien district, will pray for martyrs, ancestorsand souls departed from this life to reach a serene and pure land.
The extravaganza will conclude with dancers waving flags,dragons and weapons in a piece entitled Celebrating the Victory of ThangLong.
The performance will take place on October 3at Hanoi's King Ly Thai To Square./.
