LOCAL DANCE TALENT: Dance piece Mẫu (Mother) by Vietnamese choreographer Hà Thanh Hậu will be presented at the DanzINC Contemporary Dance Festival in HCM City on November 4. Photo courtesy of SCBC

HCM CITY — The DanzINC Contemporary Dance Festival from Singapore will be held for the first time in HCM City on November 3 and 4.

The festival, which was initiated by Singapore-based Odyssey Theatre (ODT) in 2004, has been held in many countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Italy, and Germany.

The event in Việt Nam, co-organised by ODT and the city-based Saigon Contemporary & Ballet Dance Company (SCBC), aims to create a platform for Vietnamese and international choreographers and dancers to meet and share their skills, as well as introduce their new works to audiences in the region and the world.

Danny Tan, DanzINC’s founder and director and ODT’s art director, said the festival was an opportunity for people to reconnect friendships after three years of COVID-19 pandemic. “We have responsibilities to society to inspire, heal and uplift the spirit of the people,” Tan said.

The festival will feature two dance pieces including Paint the Galaxy by Singaporean choreographer Danny Tan on November 3 and Mẫu (Mother) by Vietnamese choreographer Hà Thanh Hậu on November 4.

The Paint the Galaxy reflects the choreographer's understanding of the new world after the pandemic.

Tan said in his work, he questioned life, the meaning of life, dance and what was performance.

“I hope my dance piece is not just the physical body anymore. It’s important for the artist to look beyond the body, and combine mind and body,” he said.

The performance will feature dancers from ODT with support from live music played by two pianists.

Meanwhile, Hậu’s piece Mẫu tells of a person’s journey through life, from infancy to late adulthood.

“I aim at bringing Vietnamese culture closer to audiences in Việt Nam and the world through dance language, so I created Mẫu,” said Hậu, who participated in the DanzINC festival in Singapore in 2018.

He added, “mother is a sacred symbol in people’s soul. I hope audiences can feel love and sympathy and find part of themselves in the piece.”

The dance piece will be performed by dancers of SCBC, and traditional music will be used for the performance.

Talk shows with choreographers and dances will be held as well.

After the performances in HCM Ctiy, the two dance pieces Paint the Galaxy and Mẫu will be brought to the DanzINC festival in Singapore from November 5-11.

The DanzINC festival will take place at 7pm at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, 15 Tôn Đức Thắng, District 1. VNS