When contemporary dance meets Vietnamese folk music
The French Institute of Ho Chi Minh City will present “Nón,” a contemporary dance show featuring Vietnamese traditional music, on June 13.
“Nón” (conical hat) is a project from two artists, Vu Ngoc Khai and Ngo Hong Quang.
They first met in Ho Chi Minh City in May last year and discovered that they had both been trained in the Netherlands. They then started their project in January this year in Amsterdam.
The project has been inspired by elements of Vietnamese culture, such as the conical hat, sticky rice cakes, and traditional musical instruments. The combination of contemporary dance and folk music not only creates a visual display of Vietnamese culture but illustrates Vietnamese musicality.
Khai is a dancer and choreographer who has studied and worked in Vietnam and Europe. In 2006, he gained a scholarship from the Consulate of Holland to study at the Rotterdam Dance Academy. Since then, he has worked for a number of dance companies and theaters in Vietnam and Europe.
Quang learned various types of Vietnamese traditional instruments at Vietnam's National Academy of Music and in different mountainous areas around the country. He also studied music at Den Haag Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands
“Nón” will have its local premiere at 8 pm on June 13 at IDECAF, 28 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tickets are VND200,000, and VND150,000 for students.