UC dancers wow Vietnam carnival audience

THE University of Cebu Dance Company wowed the audience at the Ha Long Carnival 2011 in Quang Ninh, Vietnam recently.

The group performed after being invited by Gov. Gwen Garcia in line with Cebu province’s commitment to the East Asia Inter Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) to human and cultural exchanges among member provinces.

They awed the audience with their presentation depicting the festivals of Cebu capped with a Sinulog dance.

EATOF members include the provinces of Cebu, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Gangwon in South Korea, Jilin in China, Primorsky Territory in Russia, Quang Ninh in Vietnam, Sarawak in Malaysia, Tottori Prefecture in Japan, Tuv in Mongolia and Yogyakarta Special Province in Indonesia.

The show in Vietnam was the third international exposure of the group with Cebu Province.

The first was in South Korea in September 2009 during the EATOF Summit in Gangwon province and the International Travel Fair and Tourism Festival in Busan, where UC brought home the Best Folklore Performance Award, besting 47 other countries.

The second was in Guanzhou, China where they performed for the International Tourism and Cultural Festival in September 2010.

The 17-member UC dance group was accompanied by their head Rudy U. Aviles, artistic director engineer Patricio Primor, choreographer Victor Cuenco and Mary Grace Paulino, project coordinator and liaison officer of Cebu Province.

UC president Augusto Go and UC Chancellor Candice Gotianuy provided counterpart funding for the transportation of the delegates.

The Ha Long Carnival is part of the Ha Long Tourism Festival in Ha Long City in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.

The carnival featured street dances, impressive martial art and circus performances and a fireworks display.

The festival titled “Ha Long Sparkling with Colors” opened with a special music performance by 3,000 professional and amateur artists.