So I have this little obsession, not really obsession but something that I haven’t really voice all that much before. I have an addiction for reality television… but not necessarily in the states… in Việt Nam. Quaint isn’t it?
It all started with my love of reality television (Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent and The Voice) and blogging about them. Which is bad enough as it is… then I learned a long time ago (aka a couple of years ago) that there is a version of Dancing with the Stars already on the airwaves in Việt Nam. Well needless to say I tried to figure out a way to watch it… but to no avail. Ah well.
The same goes for the other reality tv competition shows… no way for those Vietnamese-Americans on state side to watch if we wanted to, so off to YouTube we go.
Anyway what drove me to write this post? The following clip that I saw while at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (aka Saigon International Airport):
Bước nhảy hoàn vũ aka Dancing with the Stars Việt Nam:
With two of the three judges coming from DanceSport, all the professionals are all from Russia (or former USSR provinces). So there is always a translator on hand in each of the studios. From what I understand from those that have seen the show, because there is so much communication disconnect the dancing is not at the level of that in the United States (well that kind of depends on perspective but I’ll let that pass).
This particular series had just completed their third season… one season a year sometime between March / April and lasting until early June-ish.
Quick tidbit the human translation is really: Universal Steps while the Google Translator provides Universal Jumps.
Giọng hát Việt aka The Voice of Vietnam
I didn’t realize this show existed until I was chatting with family in Việt Nam and noticed a news article on Yahoo.co.vn site about a contestant on Việt Nam’s version of The Voice… also known as “The Voice of Việt Nam”. Complete with a Facebook Page, “The Voice of Việt Nam” is similar to that of the first two seasons of America’s version of The Voice. The blind auditions, the battle rounds, then the live rounds.
Each judge/coach has to comprise teams of fourteen vocalists from the blind auditions, then during the battle rounds those fourteen are whittled down to seven. As of this past Monday (September 24) the Live Rounds have begun.
The judging / coaching panel includes:
– Thu Minh: Dance, Pop Ballad
– Trần Lập: Rock, hardrock
– Hồ Ngọc Hà: Pop, R&B, Ballad, Dance
– Đàm Vĩnh Hưng: Việt Nam Pop
Unlike the United States version of The Voice, the judging / coaching panel tend to stay more in the similar realms and don’t really stretch out that much.
I have been catching up with the show via YouTube.
Oddly enough the Google Translator provides the translation: Vietnamese Voice.
Thử thách cùng bước nhảy – So You Think You Can Dance Việt Nam
I kind of blame Alex Wong for tweeting this particular tidbit.
Teaching at SYTYCDX now, a performance on tv (will let u know where soon 🙂 China &then to SYTYCD Vietnam! RT @Timothy_C_Lee So what’s next?
So take a stab what else is going to be on my YouTube hitlist? Yup, you guessed it So You Think You Can Dance Việt Nam
Complete with a Facebook Page, this show is still in its infancy with the first season just starting earlier this month. So this is something I will be keeping an eye on.
Right now they are just going through the city auditions held in July at Hà Nội and Cần Thơ then later in August in Đà Nẵng and Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (aka Sài Gòn), these auditions aired in mid-September with the Việt Nam equivalent to Las Vegas Callbacks being held for a week in Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
The 100 dancers will be whittled down to a Top 20 and the live shows would air. The season is expected to run to December 15th.
Google Translator translates Thử thách cùng bước nhảy as: Challenges and Hops.