The premier of the cultural show Xin Chao! performed to a packed house on Friday at the Circus Tent, 2 Pham Ngu Lao Street in Ho Chi Minh City\'s District 1.

A scene from the cultural show Xin Chao! at September 23 Park in HCMC’s District 1.

The show that attracted both local and foreign audiences received mixed reviews from media both before and after the event.

The program, created and directed by Laura Burke, is a combination of circus, dance, martial arts, telling stories from Vietnamese history.

For any of the audience that was expecting performances of the caliber of Cirque du Soleil, they walked away disappointed. According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, the much anticipated show did not live up to the audiences’ expectations. The storyline, performed by 50 performers and some of the country’s top acrobats, martial artists and traditional/contemporary dancers, was too difficult to understand for the foreign audience, and even the Vietnamese in the stands couldn’t work out what was happening, despite the explanation in the brochure.

The review in the national paper, Tuoi Tre, was critical of the way that characters such as Au Co and Lac Long Quan were portrayed in modern costumes using modern ways of speaking, and the scenes were far too short for the audience to understand the legend, in which Lac Long Quan and Au Co were father and mother of Vietnamese people.

Laura Burke, who has 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry and eight years in Vietnam, said the scene was meant to be brief as most tourists here already know a lot about Vietnamese culture. She also said she would add more information to the brochures to make it clearer.

The review in Thanh Nien newspaper, however, was very positive saying the show was ‘just for fun’ with lots of action and color to create the legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co in act one. The second act showed the grit and courage of the Vietnamese women by telling the story of the Trung sisters who led an uprising in 39 AD. The sisters’ rebellion is known by almost every Vietnamese. Thanh Nien said the third act presented modern Vietnam as a young and dynamic nation.

Saigon Tiep Thi was neutral in its comments of Xin Chao!, just saying that the show was another addition to the city’s tourism products and nighttime entertainment options. The paper quoted Augustus Greaves, co-producer with Burke for the program, saying that the show is one of must-see cultural events for foreign tourists to HCMC that is both entertaining and educational.

Whether good or bad the show represents a great effort by troupe and the American director who loves Vietnamese culture and history enough to want to introduce it to foreigners. Tourists get another venue to visit and learn more about their host country while they are there.

According to the reviews, the organizers had described the production as the same genre as Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus show that has enjoyed a global following with popular shows in Japan and Macau; Voyage de la Vie in Singapore and Siam Niramit Cultural Show in Bangkok, but it is not at that level at this stage.

Xin Chao! will be performed daily at September 23 Park at 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday and at 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission includes a brochure with a brief description of the program in four languages - Vietnamese, French, Japanese and English.

For more information, contact (08) 3920 7990, web: www.xinchaosaigon.com.