HCM CITY — The show "A Night of Ballet", which include works by Vietnamese and French choreographers, will begin at the HCM City Opera House tonight.

The performance will open with the contemporary ballet Duo, a new work by choreographer Nguyễn Phúc Hùng.

“In Duo, I combine ballet, music and visuals to surprise the audience and evoke emotions,” said Hùng, who has choreographed contemporary dances Chạm tay vào quá khứ (Touching the Past) and Đi qua tình yêu (Gone through Love).

Dancers Đỗ Hoàng Khang Ninh and Sùng A Lùng, who won the Gold Medal at the 2016 National Young Choreographer Talent Competition, will be featured.

The night will also include the ballet Carmen Suite created in 1967 by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso to music by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin.

The ballet is based on French composer Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, depicting the tragedy of Carmen, a fiery gypsy, who falls in love with Don José.

The performance will feature Nguyễn Thu Trang as Carmen, Hồ Phi Điệp as Don José, and dancers from the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO).

 “I believe my experience in dance and life will help me play Carmen well,” said Trang, who first played the role when she was 17 years old at the Giai Điệu Mùa Thu (Autumn Melody) Festival in 2012.

She has also performed in The Nutcracker and Coppélia ballets.

The show will end with French choreographer Julien Guerin’s ballet titled Dépaysement, based on the music of Chopin, Satie, Faure, Beethoven, Albioni and Giazotto.

The dance is about a spiritual journey of a young woman who dreams of sharing her feelings with other people.

The work will feature Trần Hoàng Yến and French ballet dancer Chloé Glemot, who was trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School between 1996 and 2003 and has worked as a professional dancer for ballet troupes in the US, Canada and the UK.

Choreographer Guerin began studying dance at the La Rochelle Conservatory in France at aged 9, and completed his training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.

After graduating as a dance teacher from the Centre National de la Danse de Paris in 2005, Guerin joined several ballet troupes, including English National Ballet and the Ballet of the National Opera of Bordeaux.

He has created and choreographed several ballets, including Somnia Vertigo and Baudelairean Souls.

“A Night of Ballet” will begin 8 pm at the Opera House at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the venue. — VNS