An International Festival of Theater Schools-Asian Pacific Region will be held in Ho Chi Minh City for the first time from September 5-10. The event is being organized by the International Exchange and Training Center of Stage Performance of the My Phat Company, with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, HCMC Stage Association, HCMC Dance High School and 5B Theater. In all, 120 delegates and students of 15 drama theater and stage schools will participate in the event, including Australian National Theatre Drama School; University of Wollongong in Australia; China's Shanghai Drama Institute; China's National School of Drama; Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta; Korean Hoseo University; Korea National University of Arts; Malaysian Sians University; National Drama Theatre of Mongolia; LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore; China's Taipei National University of the Arts; The Faculty of Arts Chulalongkorn University; the Philippines' Ateneo Drama … [Read more...] about City to host Festival of Theater Schools-Asian Pacific Region
University of wollongong
Ancient Indonesian cave paintings rewrite history of human art
Scientists said on Wednesday they used a highly precise method to determine the antiquity of the paintings. They found the artwork was comparable in age to the oldest-known rock art from Europe, long thought to be the cradle of the early human cultural achievement embodied by cave painting. "It was previously thought that Western Europe was the centerpiece of a symbolic explosion in early human artistic activity such as cave painting and other forms of image-making, including figurative art, around 40,000 years ago," said dating expert Maxime Aubert of Australia's Griffith University. The fact that people in Sulawesi were doing the same things as contemporaries in Europe indicates cave art may have emerged independently at about the same time around the world, including Europe and Southeast Asia, added archeologist Thomas Sutikna of Australia's University of Wollongong. "Rock art is one of the indicators of an abstract mind of the past human, the onset of what we might consider to be … [Read more...] about Ancient Indonesian cave paintings rewrite history of human art
The Return Of “Blond-Haired Thi Mau”
Her first encounter with the Vietnamese tuong (traditional theater) and cheo (northern opera) happened while she was a student at the university of performing arts in Wollongong, Australia. A demonstration of the ancient art by a Vietnamese Australian artist named Ta Duy Binh had a tremendous impression on Eleanor. She was completely captivated by the graceful dancing and singing and its uniqueness seemed to be "haunting" Eleanor days after that. So much so that she was determined to grasp the essence of this ancient art, despite Ta Duy Binh's warning of its complexity even for a Vietnamese. … [Read more...] about The Return Of “Blond-Haired Thi Mau”
China is playing hardball on the diplomatic front
The Varyag's launch comes at a fraught time. China's armed forces are modernizing and after a decadelong charm offensive in East and Southeast Asia, Beijing has begun taking a more aggressive stand on territorial disputes. The last time the aircraft carrier once known as the Varyag generated this much concern, it was for fear it might sink. The ship was one of the Soviet Union's last naval commissions, but construction at the Black Sea shipyard of Mykolaiv was abandoned in 1992 after the U.S.S.R.'s breakup. The Varyag languished as an unfinished hulk until 1998, when a Chinese company, based in Macau and with ties to the Chinese navy, bought it from Ukraine, ostensibly to take the ship to the gambling enclave as a floating casino. … [Read more...] about China is playing hardball on the diplomatic front
Australian singer set to impress with Vietnamese traditional songs
Australian singer Eleanor Clapham, or Hoang Lan, is the first foreigner to master the ancient art of tuong and cheo. She has returned to Vietnam to release her debut album "‘The Awakening" this June. In 2006 Eleanor Clapham, 23, attracted a wave of attention when she performed a one-woman show broadcast across Vietnam that showcased her mastery of ancient Vietnamese song, dance and acting. In this midst of her sudden success, Eleanor completely disappeared from the music scene, leaving people wondering where she had gone. Four years later she has returned to Vietnam to release her debut album "The Awakening." On June 26, 2010 she will perform at the Hanoi Opera House, demonstrating an exciting mixture of ancient and modern sounds, costumes, music and dance. She describes her album as "what I always set out to create, a perfect fusion of contemporary pop music and ancient Asian traditions," but just who is Clapham and what’s the story behind her unique journey? Clapham … [Read more...] about Australian singer set to impress with Vietnamese traditional songs