• 
• 

Published on September 9, 2007

Fans of Vietnamese culture were given a rare treat recently as the Theatres on Bay - Singapore Esplanade Concert Hall played host to the 18th Charming Vietnam Gala.

This cultural showcase of music, theatre and fashion was staged by some 100 artists and offered not just traditional wisdom dating back thousands of years but also a taste of the tantalising talent of the country's new generation artists.

Singapore is the first country in Asia to welcome the Charming Vietnam Gala, which was first launched nationally back 1994.

Organisers were delighted at the response to the event's first overseas trip - to Australia in 2005 - and were quick to take up Singapore's invitation.

"When 'Charming Vietnam' was staged in Australia two years ago, the entire audience, which was made up of Australians, Indians, Americans and Canadians, wholeheartedly applauded Hai Phuong's dan tranh (16-chord zither) performance.

"They also loved the ao dai, Vietnam's traditional dress, which former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi once told a Vietnamese state leader is 'the world's most attractive'," says Nguyen Cong Khe, the gala's key organiser.

Nguyen is vice chairman of the Vietnam National Youth Federation and editor-in-chief of Thanh Nien newspaper.

Hai Phuong's flawless performance at the Esplanade Concert Hall also won the hearts of the Singaporean audience and they were equally entranced by the beauty of the ao dai, modelled by a bevy of Vietnamese and Singaporean beauty queens, who moved gracefully to the rhythms of the dan tranh.

National artist Do Loc also drew loud applause for his music on the lithophone, an ancient instrument whose origins date back 3,000 years to its first form as a grouping of sonorous rocks. The lithophone has been traditionally used by ethnic groups as a mean to make contact with the gods - calling for rain or for favourable weather - or to drive wild animals away from their crops or cottages.

The Red Sun Group - four women in red costumes - also offered the audience a taste of traditional music, playing classic and modern songs on the dan nhi (two-chord fiddle), dan bau (monochord), dan tranh (ghuzeng), and dan ty ba (Chinese 4 chord lute).

"We want to show the world Vietnam's very beautiful and manifold culture. Through these performances, the world can see Vietnam as a peaceful and culture-rich country. We have the ao dai, which is said to be the sexiest female costume in the world, different music styles, such as cai luong (Vietnamese opera) and unique musical instruments," says Thuc Minh of Thanh Nien newspaper.

The last part of the gala was devoted to the new generation, with Vietnamese and Singaporean stars taking turns to entertain with jazz, pop, rock as well as modern dance moves.

While the stars performed well, many guests seemed disappointed that the gala did not focus solely on the past.

"We don't want to bring to the world a Vietnam that's only about tradition. We also want to showcase what we are today -

a modern and evolving society

with young people who suffer in love, who are trying to find their way in a developing world, and who have their own minds. That's why pop culture is also a part of our latest gala," explained Thuc Minh.

The newspaper first initiated the gala at home as a way of providing financial assistance to needy students.

But while dedicated to raising funds for charity, in recent years it has evolved to become a medium for cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the world.

Next year, Charming Vietnam will be staged in Prague in Czech Republic and in Germany.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation

Singapore