EngLish hue festival

By the end of 1998 and the early 1999, thanks to the co-operation and support extended by the French Government via the French Embassy to Vietnam, and direct assistance from the Vietname

Hue Festival

Rising from the initial success of Vietnam-France Gathering in 1992 between Hue City and Vietnam-France Codev Association, the idea of organizing a larger-scale, higher-quality festival in Thua Thien Hue province has gradually come into shape.

By the end of 1998 and the early 1999, thanks to the co-operation and support extended by the French Government via the French Embassy to Vietnam, and direct assistance from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other Ministries; the People’s Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province officially requested the approval of the Government to allow Thua Thien Hue Province collaborating with the French Embassy to organize the Hue Festival 2000 – an international festival of culture, arts, and tourism of the country ever held in Vietnam

Hue Festival 2000

Hue Festival 2000 took place within 12 days and nights with the participation of more than 30 Vietnamese and French art groups, over 1,000 artists and professional and amateur actors and actresses It gathered approximately 410,000 people, including 41,000 tourists and 6,000 foreign visitors The Hue Festival 2000 was, in deed, the national festival of

international scale on culture, arts, tourism, and a forum to promote economic and cultural exchanges, which in its turn, would contribute to restore the economy of Thua Thien Hue Province after the historic flood in

1999 It was expected to highlight comparative advantages of Thua Thien Hue Province in culture and tourism

There will be over 600 young artists, students or schoolchildren of the City of Hue taking part in this opening ceremony, which is intended to

be a hymn to solidarity among communities and to building a brighter future.

There will be over 600 young artists, students or schoolchildren of the City

of Hue taking part in this opening ceremony, which is intended to be a hymn

to solidarity among communities and to building a brighter future The first tableau, in the form of a choreographic poem, will compose a tribute to the homeland The second, an epicode, will evoke the ancient capital of Hue The third and final tableau will connote the contribution of tradition to modern life

H ue Festival 2002

Building on the success of Hue Festival 2000, Hue Festival 2002 was continued to be held with the co-operation between Thua Thien Hue Province and the Embassy of France in Vietnam, the participation of various ASEAN countries and other partners, such as China, Japan, and Korea It brought about high appreciation not only nationwide but also throughout the world Based on these achievements, the Government allowed Hue City to

be developed as a city of festival of Vietnam and continued the organization

of international festivals which assume to be held periodically every two years

Hue Festival 2002 continued developing the theme “Discovering the lifestyle of Hue people” with linkages to the expansion of international exchanges It took place in 12 days and nights One month before the Opening Ceremony, the Festival was warmed up by the International Sculpture Symposium “Impression of Hue – Vietnam” Thirty three typical art troupes from France, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia and also domestic art troupes with 1,554 artists, actors and actresses, technical staff participated in this festival

It welcomed over 1 million audience and 75,000 tourists, including 18,000 foreign visitors (increasing threefold in comparison with Hue Festival 2000) Hue Festival 2002, an international festival of national scale, was evidently creating a spreading resonance worldwide It has been the pre-requisite to make Hue the city of festival of Vietnam

Festival night in Gia Hoi Old Quarter

Among ancient quarters in Hue, the area of Gia Hoi- Cho Dinh was known

as the most typical business center of the capital city under Nguyen Dynasty Among ancient quarters in Hue, the area of Gia Hoi- Cho Dinh was known

as the most typical business center of the capital city under Nguyen Dynasty There was a gathering of palaces, temples as well as residence of aristocratic class and royal mandarins with a lot of business sites and famous markets of Hue ancient capital The combination of cultural and religious installation of the Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian made this site become a crowded and

famous business center Festival night appears to be a brand- new activity in this Festival

Village Market Fair

Located in villages of alluring scenery, the Village Market Fair will take tourists to a village market day during the Festival The market will open up

on Thanh Toan Tile Bridge, next to a small lyric river

Located in villages of alluring scenery, the Village Market Fair will take tourists to a village market day during the Festival The market will open up

on Thanh Toan Tile Bridge, next to a small lyric river Going to the market, people will not only buy regional products but also taste popular dishes and play games and enjoy the pastoral scenery Furthermore, they will also participate in daily activities of farmers in the time of harvest such as paddy threshing, rice pounding and water threshing by foot, etc In the afternoon, tourists can take part in cultural activities such as Singing while pounding the rice, Opera and poem chanting or reciting shows, etc Each tour will include a day for going to the village market fair

Water Puppet Dangcing (Vietnamese Puppet Theatre, Hai Phong Water Puppet Troupe)

Water plays an indispensable part in the charming landscapes of rivers and mountains of Vietnam

Water is alwaysuncontrollable and also essential elements for rice cultivation Considered as an untamable factor, water is used in different ceremonies which was the foubdation for water puppet dancing to come into being and develop popularly in the Northern deltas of Vietnam Puppets are handmade from wood and controlled with an integrated set of poles, rods and cords Standing in water, artists operate puppets skillfully

Little stars Troupe

The dance art troupe was founded in September 1995 It originally included fifteen children from the 8 to 11 years old

Now, this troupe has 150 children at the age of 5 to 14 and is sponsored by the Bong Sen Music, Dance and Song Art Troupe The leaders of the troupe consist of the famous dance artists such as avant-garde teacher Kim Dung, Vice rector of Ho Chi Minh City Dance school, avant-garde artists Dang Hung and Vuong Linh The troupe has presented dance works with high educational content for many years

The Little Star dance toupe will come to Festival Hue with a general program including the most special and selective items

The “Ao dai” Fashion Show

The “Ao dai” Fashion Show, which gathers ten well- known designers of the country

The “Ao dai” Fashion Show, which gathers ten well- known designers of the country: Phan Quang Tan, Ngan Khai, Bao Kim, Trong Nguyen, Dieu Anh, The Bao, Si Hoang, Quoc Binh, Thanh Phuong and Minh Hanh and 550 models selected from Hai Ba Trung and Nguyen Hue Hight Schools, and

550 costumes, will take place in the traditional music melody on Truong Tien Bridge This will be an impressive show for respecting the unique charming beauty of Vietnamese Ao Dai

Hue Festival 2004 entitled “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development” took place within 9 days and nights Pre-event activities were launched one month in advance, such as the International Sculpture Symposium “Impression of Hue – Vietnam”, Folk Sculpture Symposium, Hue Poetry Festival and various festivities There were 15 foreign art troupes from France, China, Argentina, Australia, India, Germany, and America; 25 domestic art troupes with 1,300 professional actors and actresses, nearly 2,000 amateur actors and actresses, and technical staff This Festival attracted 1.2 million audiences, 101,950 tourists, among which there were 11,950 foreign tourists As a cultural and tourist festival of national and international scale, Hue Festival 2004 introduced specific artistic values of Vietnam, Hue, and other countries throughout the world It was also an opportunity to praise Hue Court Music, a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity, which was recognized by UNESCO and continuously created motivation to boost the development of economy, tourism, and culture, affirming advantages of a city of festival in Vietnam

Festival Hue 2004

Festival Hue 2004 will fall on June 12-20 with the theme ''Cultural heritage with integration and development'' It'll be a cultural- tourist festival covered

by the cultural identities of Hue as well as Vietnam Following the successes

of Festivals 2000 and 2002, the biennial festival aims to building Hue into a

specific Festival city in the country

Festival Hue 2004 will begin with the International Sculpture Symposium

“Impression of Hue-Vietnam 2004" held from May 10, one month before the

official opening on June 12 The symposium will attract more than 30 sculptors from all over the world to the banks of the Perfume River

Ngo Mon Square at night will be a grandiose stage for the opening ceremony which includes a rich polychromatic arts performance, showing the quintescence of the traditional arts in Hue as well as in Vietnam in harmony with contemporary arts The program will particularly aim to honouring royal elegant music (nha nhac) - the first heritage in Vietnam proclaimed as

a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO Earlier in the morning, a lively and colourful demonstration will

be attended by Vietnamese and foreign artists

The organisation board said within 9 days and nights, Festival Hue 2004 will

be organised into three tours, each lasting for three days Each tour will have

an exclusive day for festival as well as distinctive and special activities performed by artists from Vietnam, France, China, Russia and Argentina in

IN progammes (academic arts performances) and OFF programmes (community festival activities) Moreover, many vivid and attractive tourist programs will be arranged

Each tour will begin with a musical feast introducing Hue's gastronomy Throughout the dinner, visitors will be surprised and fascinated by the French fireworks magician Pierre Alain Hubert and other French and Vietnamese artists The arts performances from Vietnam, presented by different theaters, famous artists from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hue, the Highlands and Viet Bac will extol the beauty and the diversity of Vietnamese and Hue cultures

The center of the Festival will be the charming space of the Citadel at night with varied arts shows and luxurious feasts Aside from the Citadel, An Dinh Palace, Tinh Tam lake and other places in Hue city will be festival hubs and full of impressive large-scale arts performances Everywhere in the city of Hue are arts shows, traditional festivals and games, food centres, fairs of handicrafts, tourism, and trade

Co-managers of Festival Hue 2004 are the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam's National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam Airlines, representatives of French Government and Embassy in Vietnam People's Artist Trung Kien is still the director of the festival on Vietnamese side Apart from local artists, two French experts Philippe Boulert and Laurant Lahaut will be Kien's assistants as production director and technical director

The French director is Claude Mathis Le Viet Xe, Deputy Chairman of the local provincial people's committee and head of the organisation board in previous festivals will be Festival Director

Nguyen Xuan Hoa, the head of Thua Thien Hue's Department of Culture and Information and a deputy of the organisation board said, "Festival Hue 2004 will have a more effective structure in managing and organisation Festival Hue is not only a festive activity Therefore, it'll be held by Festival technology and obey international Festival technology."

At Festival Hue 2004, the Theater of Music, Dance and Song, the Theatre of Music, Dance and Opera as well as the Dancing College will release special new perfomances Designer Minh Hanh will introduce her new collection called "Return to Paradise" of stylized "ao dai" in an Oriental creative style Famous artists will present the delicacy and beautiful melody of Vietnam's traditional music of the North, the Central and the South in "Vietnam Timbre" Hue's royal ballet, traditional music will be performed in an attractive Citadel at night

The French as the main partner of Festivals Hue will bring to Hue special perfomances The opera "W.H.A" is directed by Régine Chopinot of the Atlantique Ballet Troupe and performed by artists of Vietnam's Theater of Music, Dance and Opera A concert called "The story of a soldier" (Histoire

du soldat) will be conducted by French conductors Xavier Rist and Marcia Fiani within the beautiful precinct of Duyet Thi Duong Theater Illustrative art once again exceeds all the influences The works to be introduced to the public are tools and equipment which are impressively arranged, attracting the attention of unprofessional artists and understandable to the public

Artists from China, Russia and Argentina will introduce the uniqueness and diversity of their cultures Guangdong's Circus and Lion dancing troupe will perform the magic skills of Oriental traditional arts Russian representatives are the Troupe of folk music and dance who give visitors Russia's bustling dance and beautiful melodies Argentina will send a tango troupe called

"Tango Emotion Enrique Cuttini" who bring the ebullient music of South America and a troupe named after Maria Angelica Diehl de Damerau, a well-known opera singer

Festival Hue 2004 will be a gathering for cultural and arts exchange, including galleries of paintings, photography, and calligraphy The Festival will reflect the local living style of Hue with different local entertainment activities like kite flying, boat racing, folk music, boat trips on the Huong

River, Hue garden tours, and much more It will be the first time a Puppetry Festival to be held and attended by 15 puppetry troupes from Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Ha Tay, Hanoi and Hue

Festival Hue 2004 will close with a traditional lantern night, with musical performance along the Perfume River

Hue Festival 2006

Hue Festival 2006 with the theme “700 years of the land of Thuan Hoa – Phu Xuan – Thua Thien Hue, Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development” gathered 1,440 artists, actors and actresses of 22 domestic art troupes (1,171 actors and actresses) and 22 foreign art troupes (269 actors and actresses) from France, China, Russia, Korea, Japan, Thailand, UK, Argentina, Indonesia, and Australia

Building up the achievements and experience from previous festivals, Hue Festival 2006 successfully obtained its objectives and attracted as many as 1.5 million audiences Together with warm-up activities taking place one month before the event, Hue Festival 2006, lasted from June 3 to 11, showcased 138 performances, over 40 cultural festivities and community events It was said as a fascinating and impressive festival featured with perfect blending of traditional and contempoary arts, deserving a professional and international festival of Vietnam Again, it contributed to reviving cultural values of Vietnam and Hue, and rendering the image of Hue Ancient Capital to the world community – a City of Festivals in Vietnam

Royal Court music exchange Vietnam – Korea – Japan

This is the first time the Vietnamese audience and international tourists have a chance to participate in such a special Royal Court Music

Exchange that brings under one roof three diverse and distinguished royal music traditions.

The Hue Royal Music Program boasts of new stage direction, with an

edition of songs that have been recently collected and revived There is also

an exchange of music between Hue Royal Court anf the Korean Royal Court Music Aak and the Japanese Royal court Music Gagaku The Korean group hails from Gyeongyu, the ancient capital of Korea The Japanese group hails from Okinawa, with 15 people, 7 musicians and 7 dancers This

is the first time the Vietnamese audience and international tourists have a

chance to participate in such a special Royal Court Music Exchange that brings under one roof three diverse and distinguished royal music traditions

Chinese dramatics

Van Nam Dramatics Theater, since 1951, is a typical dramatic performing organization in China

It gained popularity at many generations such as: Lat Thanh Chi, Truc Bat

Am, La Huong Pho, Bich Kim Ngoc, Uy Thieu Ban, Banh Quoc Tran,Van Tuong Trinh, Chu Hue Nong, Ly Thieu Ngu, Vuong Ngoc Tran, Duong Ho Quan, Tran Vinh Sinh At Hue Festival 2006, Van Nam Dramatics Theater will perform the dramatics acts- art form with unique, attractive and

traditional aspects-together with special Chinese dance

Exhibition

A typical exhibition festival will happen along many streets, in exhibition houses with many kids of diversified art forms

This is the 3rd time the Painter Le Ba Dang has participated in Hue Festival

2006 with his Le Bang Dang House newly built next to the Huong River in which talented and impressed art forms will be on display

This is the 4th time Dao Hoa Nu has continuously participated in Hue Festival 2006 with very own her new collection showing the architecture of Nguyen Dynasty Fine Arts Fair will be taken place at Thuong Bac Parking locating on walking street Nguyen Dinh Chieu with Calligraphy Garden, Pictures created by a collective, market for books on sale, souvernirs, legend traditional toys, street music and portrait sketch There are also exhibition of art pictures of “ Hue – Sai Gon – Ha Noi”, exhibition of “The Fine Art of Thua Thien Hue”, exhibition of “The works of the late Painter Pham Dang Tri”, exhibition of “ Pictures by Pham Luc”, exhibition of “The Fine Art of North Vietnam Delta”, exhibition of “Pictures of Sinh Village”, exhibition

of “Art arrangement of paper flowers by Thanh Tien Village”, exhibition of

“Art arrangement of Tintinnabulum Garden” The Administration Center of Hue ancient capital vestige preservation will specially exhibite precious and unique porcelain lotus and calligraphy grouping items This is the first time this Administration Center will have shown restored grouping porcelain items including household goods, sacrifices and prayer goods, ceremonial goods, decoration goods and some other very ancient goods together with poems about Hue Royal Kings and Lords and other poems about very ancient Hue in Han Chinese calligraphy performed by Hai Trung

Ao dai performance sparkles

Overseas Vietnamese artist’s dream realised in Hue It's not difficult for a visitor to Hue these days to see a traditional Vietnamese ao dai However, the hundreds of ao dai designs featured in a glamorous performance at Hue Festival 2006 last night intrigued visitors

The innovative ao dai with subtly different designs and glamorous colours were worn by beautiful fashion models from Hanoi, HCM city and Hue on the poetic Huong river under the glittering lights of a firework-lit night Entitled Colour of the Time, the performance featured works from 10 prominent Vietnamese designers The 300 designs were inspired by the central city's antique charm, picturesque landscapes, and the images of birds, plants and flowers

The collections included: Thu Giang's Phoenix collection; Anh Vu's Patterns from the Royal Palace, Xuan Thu's Dragon and Cloud, Cong Khanh's Patterns on Pottery-Porcelain, and Minh Hanh's Hue Citadel Gates

All showed innovation in the Vietnamese designers' use of paint, embroidery and other special embellishments And each collection was woven on high-tech Toan Thinh silk

Accompanied by the music of Trinh Cong Son, the performance started impressively when each designer sat with 25 fashion models on the same sampan floating along the river to greet the spectators

Surrounding each sampan were 10 little boats, which created a special stage for the performance On land, 50 girls in traditional ao dai drove their bicycles leisurely along Trang Tien bridge as the glittering firework performance was launched by French artist Pierre Alain Hubert

According to designer Minh Hanh, the general director of the performance, the sampan on the Huong River and the Trang Tien vaporous bridge were two typical images of the city and that was why they were selected as the main "stages" for the event

This was the second time an ao dai event of this magnitude was launched at the biannual Hue Festival, but what made this performance groundbreaking was the special stages and the combination of modern and traditional elements in each collection

As most of the designers were also artists, they viewed the ao dai as a sort of canvas for their art

Hue Festival 2008