Hue 2002 : gathering of unspoken art
According to organizers, Festival Hue 2002 will continue the spirit of
cultural exchange of Festival Hue 2000. However, this year's festival will
feature cultural and artistic performances from eight Asian countries and
France. A common point of these cultures is the expression of sounds,
dances, outlines and colors instead of words.
Festival of sounds, outlines and
light. Commencing and
concluding Festival Hue 2002 will
be two exclusive programs with
grandiose singing and dancing
performances and the light of
lanterns on the Huong River.
Other attractions of the 12-day event, from May 4 to 15, will be ao dai
(Vietnamese women's traditional dress) shows with lights and outlines of
Trang Tien Bridge as background, and performances of chamber music,
contemporary French dancing, Thai masquerade dancing, Korean wind
and percussion instruments, and Chinese opera theater. The festival will
include tours of nocturnal and rural markets, ancient quarters and a
sculpture camp. These activities will all together form an original picture
of cultures of Hue and Vietnam, as well as of other participating countries.
That is Festival Hue 2002 briefed by Nguyen Xuan Hoa, director of the
Service of Culture and Information of Thua Thien-Hue Province and
deputy head of the festival's organizing board. Le Viet Xe, head of the
festival's organizing board, said, "We are developing Hue into a festival
city for tourists from all over the world. If people can enjoy the beauty of
cultures and arts, and can understand one another without an interpreter,
the festival will achieve much greater efficiency."
With such spirit, organizers of
Festival Hue 2002 hope to attract
visitors to the festival through
wordless performances.
Together with selective artistic
items of the IN program,
organizers will plan picturesque
and colorful activities of the OFF
program: exhibitions on ancient
bibliographies, Vietnamese fine
arts, traditional and contemporary paintings and photos, and calligraphy
in Chinese characters; fine art fairs, a Vietnamese book fair and trade
fairs; gastronomic galas entitled "Central Highland Evening," "Thang
Long Evening" and "French Gastronomic Culture Week" at hotels, Kim
Long gastronomic area and Bach Dang-Gia Hoi gastronomic quarter.
A grand gathering. What Hoa and organizers of Festival Hue 2002
cherish the most is the tacit art performance which will completely suit the
artistic environment and the ancient atmosphere of Hue. Nguyen Van Me,
chairman of Thua Thien-Hue People's Committee, said, "Hue is a city of
poetry, and such a characteristic will be kept during the festival.
So, we
decided to choose those activities typical for the traditional artistry."
According to Me, there will be no contradiction between the quiet and
majestic scene of the citadel and Hue's royal dances, Thai or Khmer
dances. It is a real harmony when French artists express their aspiration
for thriving with Oriental music and requiems accompanied by Hue music.
"It can be said that Festival Hue 2002 will be a gathering of cultural
beauties of many peoples and countries. It will be a progress in
comparison with the former event in 2000, and this will be a premise for
other cultural exchange activities in the future," Hoa stressed.
By Nguyen Duc - The Saigon Times Weekly - May 04, 2002.
|