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[加拿大新聞] Vietnam set to wow with bigger displays in Celebration of Light (with video)
Vietnam set to wow with bigger displays in Celebration of Light (with video)
Vancouver skies to come alive tonight
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Vietnam+with+bigger+displays+Celebration+Light+with+video/7003713/story.html#ixzz221QgSxjx
As the red Vietnamese flag waved aboard the fireworks barge in English Bay Friday morning, members of Team Da Nang crouched over colourful packs of pyrotechnics and put the final touches on preparations for their international debut.
The group’s plans for the first night of the Honda Celebration of Light have been closely guarded, but in the last day before the big reveal, Da Nang says they’ve brought their hearts to Canada with a patriotic display that shows off Vietnam’s rich culture.
“I think that’s the difference between our team and the other teams,” said Bui Chi Duc, Da Nang’s choreographer, who spoke through translator Thuy-Anh Nguyen. “We’d like to bring the typical cultures of our nation to the show.”
This year, the Vietnamese will benefit from the festival’s new barges. The vessels, which are about 25 per cent larger than the old barges, have wider, flatter platforms that give teams more space to work. The groups work on a main barge lined with sand pits packed with myriad explosives, while a smaller service barge close by stores fireworks for the upcoming shows and collects garbage from the displays. Both barges contain about six tonnes of fireworks for all three shows.
Unlike past years when teams had limited space in which to arrange their supplies, the bigger barges allow for wider displays.
“I think it’ll help with the quality [of the show],” said Patrick Brault, a pyrotechnics producer whose company, Sirius Pyrotechnics, is responsible for setting up displays with the international teams. “We might not have to angle things so much to distort some of the fireworks. It’s new for everyone so we’re going to try some stuff.”
The fireworks, which will feature Brazil Aug. 1 and Italy Aug. 4, begin at 10 p.m. and last for 25 minutes. After the final spark is lit, Brault’s team will wait 30 minutes before boarding the barge and checking that all cannons and mortars — vessels that contain fireworks — are empty.
“Once that’s over, the night crew comes over and they clean the whole thing out and put in a whole new slate for the morning, for the next country to work with,” said Brault.
The Quebec native has been involved with pyrotechnics for 27 years, and has worked on the annual festival since its first show in 1990. Brault says no one expected fireworks to be so popular with Vancouverites, but half a million people descended on the downtown that year.
“I was sitting down, thinking to myself, ‘They’re all waiting for me to press the button! I’m more popular than Mick Jagger!’ ” said Brault, who also worked on the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
This year marks the first time in six years that Canada will not be competing in the festival — a strategy implemented to bring new talent to the competition.
“If everything goes well, we’ll have nine countries [competing in total] over this year and the next two years. And the winner of every year will compete in the fourth year,” said Brault.
Come sundown, Bui Chi Duc will have his eye on that champion title. The Vietnamese designer said audiences should keep close watch on the water around the barges for a special effect never before seen in Vancouver.
“I want to bring the highest prize to our team, and we want to bring the highest prize to show our pride [in] the nation of Vietnam.” |
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發表於 2012-7-29 06:31
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