HUẾ — Nine out of 13 prizes for the most outstanding performances at the International Circus Festival 2016 were awarded to Vietnamese teams.

The festival wrapped up last weekend in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.

Golden prizes were presented to performances titled Chuyện Tình Romeo và Juliet (Love Story of Romeo and Juliet) by the Vietnam Circus Federation, Những Thiên Thần Đen (Black Angels) and Thăng Bằng Trên Dây (Balance on Rope) by the Việt Nam Circus and the Variety Arts School. The other two golden prizes went to performances by the Laos and the Cambodian circus teams.

In addition, Vietnamese performers received six silver prizes, while the rest were awarded to the teams from Laos and China.

The organisation board also presented awards under the audience choice, the best director and the best coach categories.

According to Hoàng Minh Khánh, chairman of the arts council of the festival, the performances this year were of various types and performing forms. “The professionalism in most of the performances and the results that the circus artists achieved made the festival a success and helped it reach high artistic quality,” he said.

The festival, the fifth of its kind, was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Performing Arts, the Việt Nam Theatre Artists Association and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The one-week event featured 32 performances by five circus troupes from Việt Nam and six troupes from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Ukraine, as well as Thailand and China. Their performances included magic shows, juggling, sport and swinging acts, as well as roller skating, acrobatics and acts by clowns. — VNS