Thao (born 1991) is 172cm tall and weighs 49 kg. On Sunday night she received the crown and VND200 million as prize money. First runner-up Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy from Vinh Long Province received VND80 million and second runner-up Nguyen Thi Phuong Uyen from Ben Tre Province received VND70 million.

The panel of judges also awarded eight other prizes worth VND20 million each for best Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese costume), best Ao Ba Ba (shirt worn by South Vietnamese people), best body, best answer, best eyes and best style.

Miss Thu Thao was chosen from 20 finalists from provinces in the Mekong Delta. She also participated in the competition for best Ao Ba Ba, Ao Dai, swimwear, own dress of choice and took part in a Q&A session.

The Miss Mekong Delta 2012 competition took place at the Exhibition 2012, highlighting 10 years of achievements in the Mekong Delta, in co-ordination with Hau Giang TV station and HCMC’s Sen Vang Company, and aired live on Hau Giang TV channel.

source from: dtinews

The Italian team’s performance:

The French team also had an impressive show the same night:

source from: vietnamnet

The Spring 1975 general offensive, with the Ho Chi Minh campaign as the peak, liberated southern Vietnam, successfully closing the war of resistance against the US. This is the theme of an ongoing photo exhibition at the Lam Son Park in District 1, HCM City.

Below are some photos displayed at the exhibition:

In late March 1975, Mr. Le Duc Tho went from the north to the south, together with Mr. Pham Hung
and General Van Tien Dung, to guide the campaign to liberate Saigon.

11.30am of April 30, 1975, tanks of the liberation army went into the Independence Palace.

The liberation army attacked and occupied Tan Son Nhat Airport on April 30, 1975.

The liberation army occupied the General Staff of the Saigon regime.

The liberation troops occupied some sites in Hoc Mon and Go Vap in April 1975.

The Independence Palace on April 27.

President Duong Van Minh signed the surrender decision at the Saigon
Radio on April 30.

Tanks of liberation troops at the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975.

Correspondents.

Students were entering the Independence Palace.

People flocked to the road to welcome liberation troops.

Saigon people welcomed liberation troops at noon of April 30, 1975.

The Saigon regime broke up completely. From May 1, 1975, southern provinces were liberated
one after another. In the photo: the liberation army was entering Bac Lieu town.

Boats carrying liberation troops to Ca Mau.

source from: vietnamnet

Will domestic stage be revived?

Certain smaller theatre companies have expressed concern over the State’s role in subsidising the arts, and the effect it will have on their competitiveness. Director of the Vietnam National Theatre said the merger would not impact small theatres.

The theatre will be established in accordance with a decision approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hoang Tuan Anh, on March 27. The Vietnam National Theatre will include three subsidiaries with separate tasks. Vietnam Drama Theatre will be responsible for classic dramas, Tuoi Tre Theatre is to produce comedies and modern dramas and Children Drama Theatre will arrange plays for children.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to subsidise the Vietnam National Theatre. They will also be involved in play selection with a focus on classical dramas. A new 7,000-square metre theatre is to be built in My Dinh, Tu Liem District, on the outskirts of Hanoi. The merger of these two theatres is hoped to be a major contribution to the performing arts in Vietnam.

In the north, theatrical productions have faced a number of difficulties over the last decade. Tuoi Tre Theatre, Hanoi Drama Theatre, Vietnam Drama Theatre struggled to exist.

While some see the new development as a bright spot for the arts, smaller theatres have voiced  concerns about how it will impact local houses, such as the Hanoi Drama Theatre.

People’s artist Le Hung, Director of Vietnam National Theatre, spoke with DTiNews about the merger.

Do you think that the establishment of the Vietnam National Theatre, which is a merger between two theatres, Tuoi Tre Drama and Vietnam Drama, will bring positive changes to the performing arts in the north?

It is not unusual for other countries, particularly in Asia, to have a national theatre. China, Japan and Singapore all have national theatres. Why should Vietnam be any different?

The Vietnam National Theatre will be under the regulation of the Government, and will receive their support and guidance. The aim is to bring the quality of stage productions in this country up to international standards. For this reason we plan to  join the Asian Stage Alliance.

We will also establish acting courses in other theatres, with a focus on classic drama.

Keeping in mind the troubles faced by Vietnamese theatres over the past decade, do you really think that the establishment of a national theatre could improve the situation in terms of public interest and ticket sales? In short, do you think that this could result in a revival of theatre in the north?

The investment we make will spur regular performances. This will lead to more money to invest in the performing arts. This is the type of environment that would allow theatres in the north to prosper. Beyond that, it is quite difficult to make predictions.

I will give you an example, before, the Ministry only invested two dramas per year in each theatre. Now we may be invested 10 dramas. When we have more shows, more kinds of drama, more audiences will be attracted to theatre.

In the past, the Government has subsidised studios and theatres at great cost, but many were not well-received by audiences. If the Government supports 10 productions every year for the Vietnam National Theatre, do you think that there is a possibility of making the same old mistake?

Audiences are still not well-acquainted with classic dramas. So our aim is to familiarise them with this rich art form. Music is a good example. It is true that the symphony has a very selective audience. But does that mean that the Government should not support this because the tickets were not sold out?

The difficulties faced in theatre in this country are similar. There is a real need to invest in these valuable art forms, and to promote them properly.

I believe that, with the cooperation between the Government and artists, we can have achievements that we can be proud of.

Our drama group was invited to perform in a number of different countries in reproductions of classics, such as Macbeth, and the Doll House. I believe that we will continue to develop our international standing in the performing arts. Also, domestic audiences will become more familiar with this art form.

Some drama troupes have expressed concern over Government subsidies in the arts, including Hanoi Drama Theatre. Do you think that State funds allocated only one theatre, as well as their role in selection, could have any negative influence over the creative freedom of performing arts in the future?

Our success would only translate into success for the arts in Vietnam, including smaller theatres. If we thrive, they will benefit. Our acting classes is a great example of this.

Every theatre will obviously have its own target audience. But it is up to them to attract their audiences with the quality of their work.

But if the national theatre is able to create better quality productions because they have greater financial means, don’t you think that smaller theatres will have a hard time attracting audiences?

That is their job.

People’s artist Le Hung

Vietnam Drama Theater used to be famous for classic drama, like Hon Truong Ba, Da Hang Thit

Le Hung, prospective Director of Vietnam National Theatre

One scene in Loi Nguyen

source from: dtinews

Quyen Thien Dac a main attraction

Luala is a community programme aimed at heightening music appreciation. The Luala Spring – Summer concert season was officially launched on the afternoon of April 7.

Its organisation board said, “Instead of classical music, this time we will focus on jazz and blues. Much of the music will be performed by a trio called the Phu Sa Band, whose members are Quyen Thien Dac, Vu Ngoc Ha and Le Quoc Hung. Nguyen Nhat Ly will be the art director. We sincerely hope that the event will bring together some of the best jazz artists in Vietnam to expose audiences to sophisticated improvisational music.”

Dac said, “This will be my first time doing street performance. I am looking forward to  being able to directly engage listeners.”

“The 90-minute set will include jazz standards and Vietnamese folk music. For example, we will rearrange some folk songs, like Trong Com, in a new style. I hope that this will give listeners a new take on familiar music,” he said.

Visual art exhibits will also be on display from April 7 to May 6. These will be held in three parts: the works of children studying painting at Hanoi Children Culture House, pictures of the child artist Vu Tuan Kiet and a group exhibition by other young Hanoi artists.

The most exclusive part of the line-up is scheduled for the afternoon of April 15, and will combine classical music and jazz, complete with a string section conducted by Xuan Huy.

The performers can be seen free of charge, in front of 61 Ly Thai To Street, every weekend up until May 6.

Composer Nguyen Nhat Ly, art and sound director of Luala Concert

source from: dtinews

On the morning of April 8th an emotional scene took place at the Hue Central Hospital as American musician Mary McBride and local singer Le Cat Trong Ly performed for patients as part of the activities related to the Hue Festival that is currently taking place.

The concert was part of an effort from the festival organizers to bring top acts to everybody.

To many music lovers all over the world, seeing Mary McBride’s band in person would be a dream come true.

The band consists of McBride, guitarists Paul Carbonara and Mark Spencer, bassist Greg Beshers, and drummer Lloyd Hicks. The group performed well-known songs like “If You Live In My Town”, “No One’s Gonna Love You Like Me”, and “Route 66”, as well as Southern folk-song “Ly Chieu Chieu”.

Le Cat Trong Ly’s gentle and friendly voice pleased the audience as well. She also took time to interact with the audience; at one point she asked an elderly woman who was squeezed into the crowd “Ma’am, are you weary? Please come here! There are available places!” Her singing encouraged the patients watching the performance: “The pain will pass, and everything is gonna be ok!”

Pham Hung – a 31 year-old patient sitting in a wheelchair who has four steel bars in his legs – was listening attentively with a smile on his face. Every hand clap causes him to wince, but he said “I am grateful to the performers as well as the organizers”.

Somewhere nearby Tran Thi Duyen raised an IV bottle that was drip-feeding her husband, Tran Van Cong, who was listening with half-closed eyes. Passing the bottle from hand to hand, she said, “It’s tiring for Cong to be here, but he is sad so I asked the doctor to bring him here”.

They are from Dak Lak, and her husband has been suffering from severe stomach pain and was hospitalized on April 5th. He said, “It’s sad and painful in the sickroom, but it’s ok now. Who can refuse such music?”

Looking at the happiness on the faces of patients sitting in wheelchairs or standing with crutches, an older doctor said he had never seen such a thing in 10 years at the hospital.

After saying good bye, Mary McBride said that she was glad to be a “messenger” bringing an atmosphere of art to the festival. Le Cat Trong Ly added that she, “hopes everybody can feel the happiness like I do”.

According to the festival schedule, the Co La band and the Russian Raduga Art Company will entertain patients at the hospital starting at 2:30 p.m. on April 12th.

The Hue Festival runs from April 7-15.

source from: tuoitrenews

The exhibition will show the works of five artists who have been featured in documentaries shown at the Hanoi Cinematheque recently: Tran Huu Nhat, Hoang Xuan Son, Tran Chi Thanh, Chu Viet Cuong and Project Black Artist leader Nguyen Minh Tan.

According to a press release from the center, the exhibition features works of five commited artists who are deemed so controversial that no gallery wants to exhibit them, though they’ve got something important to say.

Nguyen Minh Tan has gathered the artists together under the banner of Project Black.

“Though they are outcasts of the local art scene, the group is determined to reach out to the wider community and say “Here we are. Reject us or accept us on our own terms. You don’t have to agree with us but at least we can talk,” says the press release.

Viet Art Center, 42 Yet Kieu Street, is located directly adjacent to the Vietnam University of Fine Arts.

source from: thanhniennews

Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning and the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, the Los Angeles Country Coroner’s office said Tuesday. (AFP Photo/Robin Marchant)

Houston, who died at age 48 in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel room last month, likely had some kind of heart attack which caused her to slip under the water, said the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, on Thursday.

“You have a heart condition exacerbated by cocaine use which, combined, resulted in her drowning,” spokesman Craig Harvey told AFP, adding: “We feel that there was a heart event, complicated by cocaine use,” before she drowned.

Ed Winter, deputy chief of coroner investigations, was more explicit when asked by the LA Times to explain the drowning. “She may have had a heart attack,” he told the newspaper.

She had cocaine in her body when she died, said a coroner’s office statement, which described her death as an “accident,” and the cause as “drowning” and “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”

“How injury occurred: found submerged in bathtub filled with water; cocaine intake,” it said, adding: “No trauma or foul play is suspected,” and that a final coroner’s report will be available for release within two weeks.

Houston was found dead on February 11, a day before the music industry’s biggest awards show, and hours ahead of a glittering pre-Grammy party in the Beverly Hilton hotel where she died.

Speculation had raged since her death that the singer may have succumbed to a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Indeed, other drugs were found in her system, but which did not contribute to her death, the coroner’s office said. They included marijuana, alprazolam (Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (Flexiril) and Diphenhydramine (Benadryl).

The TMZ celebrity news website quoted a coroner’s office official as saying Houston used cocaine “immediately prior to her collapse” — but investigators who arrived on the scene found no traces of cocaine or any other illegal drug.

That was because “an individual” removed all traces of cocaine from the room before authorities arrived, it said, adding that the person was the same one who supplied the drug to Houston.

The coroner’s office spokesman said chronic use of cocaine was likely a key factor in Houston’s death.

“Chances are, had she not had the pre-existing heart disease and cocaine use she may not have drowned,” he said. “The cocaine causes the heart to beat faster, the arteries to constrict, which could… set you up for a cardiac event.”

Houston’s shock death cast a pall over the annual gathering at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with several tributes to the singer — and a public prayer — added to the show at the last minute.

The singer of hits including “I Will Always Love You” sold over 170 million records during a nearly three-decade career, but fought a long battle against substance abuse while trying to keep her performing talent alive.

Houston was buried a week after her death in New Jersey after an emotional farewell ceremony in the Newark baptist church where she sang as a child, which was watched worldwide.

Earlier this month it emerged that Houston had left all of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born from her troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown, who gets nothing.

Bobbi Kristina, who is currently 19, will inherit the proceeds from all of the late singer’s money, furniture, clothing, personal effects, jewelry, and cars, according to the will published on March 7.

A few days later Bobbi Kristina said she plans to follow her mother into show business, while the drug-troubled star’s sister-in-law admitted her untimely death could have been predicted.

The late star’s sister-in-law, Patricia Houston, said it had been possible to forecast that drugs would claim the singer’s life. “The handwriting was kind of on the wall. I would be kidding myself to say otherwise.”

source from: dtinews

Chau van singing

The Research and Preservation of Vietnamese Cultural Beliefs Institution has co-operated with hundreds of artisans in the northern and central regions of Vietnam to found the club.

The club includes Chau van singing artisans, researchers and officials in charge from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Vietnam National Committee of UNESCO.

The club has also attracted the participation of some professional associations, including the Vietnam Folk Literature and Art Association and the National Council for Cultural Heritage.

The artisans in the club will open courses to teach Chau van singing in the time to come.

The Vietnam Folk Literature and Art Association used the occasion to award five artists with the title Folk Artist.

Chau van is a folk art which combines trance singing and dancing, and has been a central feature of Vietnamese cultural practices for centuries.

source from: dtinews

The J Spring Fashion Show, featuring brands from across the globe, will be held on March 19 on the 58 meter long SkyBridge, connecting the world’s tallest twin buildings 175 meters above street level, Jessica Minh Anh’s fashion company J Model Management said in a press release.

The event will showcase collections by notable fashion houses including, among others, British fashion leader Paul Costelloe, Dutch celebrity designer Addy van den Krommenacker and Spanish sensation Chula who resides in Vietnam for eight years now.

“I feel honored to become a part of history on the landmark bridge and bring my womenswear collection to Asia. I have been looking into this market and we are so far inspired,” Paul Costelloe was cited as saying in the release.

Jessica Minh Anh said the event chose the Vietnam-based Chula woman brand as it is a unique line of clothing that connects Spanish colors to Asian fabrics.

“I was drawn to Chula’s designs as they seem to have combined architecture, photography, and the graphic arts amazingly well to create unique, very artistic, and exuberant individual looks,” she said.

The fashion show will also give a slot for designs combining the East and West by the Malaysia-based Limkokwing University of Creative Technology as part of its high end collection.

Guests of the show – country ambassadors, brand managers, fashion designers, and the international press – will be brought to level 42 of the towers and seated on both sides of the Skybridge.

Each model will be walking five kilometers during the one hour and a half show.

Jessica Minh Anh earned a fame worldwide with the success of the J Autumn Fashion Show on England’s iconic Tower Bridge last October.

“Many people have asked me if bridges are my thing,” said Jessica.

“I say I’ll host the show wherever my imagination takes me. You gotta dream big!”

source from: thanhniennews