HCM CITY — A special performance featuring Vietnamese contemporary music and dance works will be held at the HCM City Opera House on May 19.

The programme will open with Sài Gòn – Thành Phố Tuổi Thơ Tôi (Sài Gòn – The City of My Childhood), a new symphony by Vĩnh Lai.

The song features the composer’s memories of Tết (Lunar New Year) in HCM City when he was a child.

Lai, 78, graduated from the Việt Nam National Academy of Music, and studied at the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig, Germany.

He has composed numerous songs and symphony works which have been broadcast both on radio and television, and has performed on big stages, including Niềm Tin (Faith), Mùa Nắng Quê Hương (Sunny Season in Homeland) and Tiếng Lòng (Inner Voice).

The work will be performed by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) led by conductor Trần Nhật Minh.

The second part of the programme will highlight contemporary dance performance Chạm Tay Vào Quá Khứ (Touching the Past) by two young choreographers Nguyễn Phúc Hải and Nguyễn Phúc Hùng.

The dance piece, which premiered in 2013 and was highly acclaimed by media and audiences, depicts the feelings of young generations born after the war.

The performance will feature young dancers of the HBSO Ballet.

Choreographer and ballet dancer Hải, head of the HBSO Ballet, has choreographed and performed many dance pieces, including Anh Em (Brother), Zig Zag, Chuyển (Motion) and Đi Qua Tình Yêu (Gone Through Love).

Hùng, a graduate in choreography from the Fontys Dance Academy in the Netherlands, is the producer for all of HBSO’s performances.

Both choreographers presented their first dance piece Những Mảnh Ghép Của Giấc Mơ (Dream Puzzles) in 2012, which received a warm welcome from local and foreign audiences.

The performance will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square, District 1. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/booking-hbso-ticket or www.ticketbox.vn. — VNS