My early life
Born into a family of artists -- with playwright, ballet dancer, and many orchestral musicians -- I spent much of my early life outside school at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theater, exploring what I could be when I grow up. Though my artistic journey did not lead to a professional career, it still left me with memories I will always treasure.
Fun fact: I first came to the U.S. in 2007, right after Vietnam and the U.S. fully normalized diplomatic relations. I was part of the Vietnam Children’s Choir — the largest group ever approved by the Vietnamese government to visit the U.S. at the time. We perform across many states, including with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square -- singing in the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle. That wonderful experience sparked a dream of returning to the U.S. one day ...
We performed at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake city, Utah, U.S.A.
I cannot remember in what state we were in this picture, but we were glad to be able to meet and perform with many children choir groups in the U.S.; we did not just sing, we also show some traditional dance and play some traditional instruments (that is the reason for why our costumes look so heterogeneous).
I cannot remember in what state we were in this picture, but we were glad to be able to meet and perform with many children choir groups in the U.S.; sometimes we brought out our traditional five-color flag (representing five elements: fire, water, wood, metal, earth).
I was responsible for the drum, so for most of the time during our U.S. trip, I looked like this.
We had a few performances with our traditional instruments, and for some of those I was responsible to play the drum (which is probably the most boring but also the loudest thing on the stage); it was fun!
We were in the U.S. during July 4th, 2007
When I was very young, I participated in children’s opera and ballet performances -- many directed by Prof. Dan Perkins (Plymouth State University/New Hampshire Master Chorale).
I was in the Vietnamese team of eight, participated in the Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO) hosted by Taiwan, 2010; this was my last high school year in Vietnam (11th grader -- junior year).
I was in the Vietnamese team of five, participated in the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) hosted by Croatia, 2010; this was my last high school year in Vietnam (11th grader -- junior year).