Vietnam’s 218 Dance Crew qualified for Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 last weekend, with the qualifying round airing at 8pm on national channel HTV3 - DreamsTV.

Vietnamese 218 Dance
Crew has qualified for Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 (Photo Courtesy of 218 Dance
Crew)
To qualify for the show, the crew produced a performance combining
the traditional and contemporary, receiving praise from the audience and
judges.
The show was filmed at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands hotel.
The crew was praised for directly taking three judges and the audience to
Vietnam through its dancing performance with LED lights on the background
of Trong Com (rice drum, a traditional bongo-shaped Vietnamese drum)
music.
The ao dai (traditional long dress), ao ba ba (Vietnamese
silk ensemble garment), conical hat, boatman, ho Hue (Hue chantey)
were introduced by the crew, with its fully made combination of music and dance
move.
Anggun Cipta Sasmi, an Indonesian and French singer-songwriter, one of the
three judges, said it was an impressive and unique performance, with every move
performed well.
David Foster, Canadian musician, record producer, composer,
songwriter, and arranger who has won 16 Grammy Awards and one Emmy,
the second judge, said "You have shown us a bit of flavour of Vietnam with a
modern style, a style of 2017 and I am really into this performance.”
Jay Park, the last judge, American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, record
producer, entrepreneur and actor, was dazzled by the performance, "I love the
way you show Vietnamese culture through the popular images of conical hat,
boatman and others. It was so awesome and I like it so much!”
Lead dancer of the crew, Nguyen Chan Tin, said they were flattered to be chosen
by the judges to bring Vietnamese culture to an international competition, "We
hope Vietnamese audience will share this victory with us!”
Asia’s Got Talent is the regional version of the Got
Talent franchise. airing on AXN Asia. It is a talent show that
features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages
competing for a prize of 100,000 USD and an opportunity to perform
at Marina Bay Sands.
The show began airing on March 12, 2015 across 15 countries in Asia. The
show has been aired from October 14 with Vietnamese subtitles on HTV3 –
DreamsTV at 8pm every Saturday.
Source: VNA
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
The Muong group is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam, primarily found in Hoa Binh province. The Muong people in Hoa Binh boast a rich and diverse cultural treasure that reflects the unique identity of this ethnic group. Accounting for over 63% of the province's population, they have created and preserved numerous distinctive cultural values, contributing to their unique identity. Their cultural heritage is an invaluable asset, at the heart of their national identity, and represents a vibrant spiritual life that must be preserved and promoted in today’s modern world.
For generations, the ethnic communities of Hoa Binh province, particularly the Muong people, have preserved vibrant festivals deeply intertwined with the region’s geography, nature, and social traditions. These celebrations enrich Hoa Binh’s spiritual life and cultural identity, reflecting both folk beliefs and the intermingling of ethnic customs. Many of these festivals have endured the test of time, passed down through generations and continuing to thrive today. Among them, the Khai Ha (Going Down to the Field) festival stands out as one of the most significant events of the Muong ethnic group.
Muong calendar, known as sach doi, is an ancient folk knowledge system developed through observations of the movement of the pleiades star. This unique calendar consists of 12 bamboo sticks, each representing a lunar month. Specific days within each month are marked with distinct symbols, guiding locals in determining auspicious and inauspicious days for important activities.