February 28, 2019 | 06:46 pm PT

Vietnam welcomes Kim Jong-un with traditional music, dance show

Vietnam welcomes Kim Jong-un with traditional music, dance show
Bao rehearses for the program prepared to welcome Kim Jong-un. Photo acquired by VnExpress

Vietnam is making a song and dance of its welcome for the North Korean delegation. Literally.

'Spring Sunshine', conducted and performed by the Vietnam National Music Song and Dance Theatre, is meant to give Kim Jong-un and his party a taste of Vietnamese culture.

Hoang Xuan Binh, deputy director of the theater, said the artists had started rehearsing more than a month ago.

The show is expected to be of 90 minutes duration and have three parts.

The first part will feature art forms recognized by UNESCO as world heritages like the Hue Royal Court Music, Quan ho Bac Ninh (Bac Ninh folk music) and Tay Nguyen Gong Culture.

The second part will be about the solidarity and friendship between the two countries and feature performances that have won awards at national dance festivals and international events.

Vietnamese artists will sing North Korean songs in praise of that country’s leaders. Traditional North Korean dances will also feature.

The third part will feature artists who have won awards at Korean music and dance festivals: like singers Quang Tho and Thai Bao.

Tho has performed four times in North Korea and in 1989 won the gold medal in the Pyongyang Music Festival. Bao won a silver medal in the 2012 Pyongyang Music Dance Festival.

Binh, who has taken troupes to North Korea several times, is a fan of that country’s music and dancing.

The Vietnamese artists have been putting in a lot of effort to deliver a matching performance, he said.

After the summit with U.S President Donald Trump on Wednesday and Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will pay an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong on Friday.