Ballet Master Class

A ballet master class was taught by the Battery Dance Company at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet with approximately 20 students participating. The teacher was very impressed with their technical proficiency and Jonathan was complimented by the VNOB administrators and teachers afterwards on the warm attitude and generosity of BDC’s teaching artists. The implication seemed to have been that some previous visiting artists had shown a more formal, less giving approach.

Modern Master Class

A modern master class/workshop on contemporary dance was conducted with Together Higher, a hearing-impaired group led by Le Vu Long & Luu Thi Thu Lan, both of whom have been to New York under the auspices of DTW. The participants were wonderful – they approached every challenge with good spirit and effort, and succeeded admirably. The BDC teaching artist dealt with the new experience of working with disabled dancers quite well and forged a good rapport with the participants.

Hanoi Opera House Performance

Before the Hanoi Opera House Performance, welcome speeches were given by John Boardman, Chargé d’Affairs, U.S. Embassy; and Nguyen Van Tinh, Vice Director in the International Relations Department of the Vietnam Ministry of Culture and Information. The welcome was followed by a full program of 4 works by BDC and 2 works by the VNOB. The Opera House was relatively full and the response was excellent. Lou Lantner, Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy, commented afterwards that the applause was more prolonged and hearty than any program he had attended at the Opera House since arriving in Vietnam. Ambassadors of Spain, Mexico, the EU and various other diplomats attended the performance; however, the audience was predominantly Vietnamese.