Under the rule of the infamous Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, the Cambodian people were forbidden from practicing many of their cultural traditions, including dancing. Close to two million people perished from forced labor, starvation, disease and execution under the Khmer Rouge, and at the end of the regime's rule in 1979, many people celebrated the end of the tyranny by dancing.
Some danced by the roadside, using empty gasoline cans as drums. Others joined provincial arts troupes, which, with tattered cloth for costumes, performed for throngs of onlookers. In the capital city of Phnom Penh, those who had been classical or palace dancers before the Khmer Rouge regrouped and began teaching a new generation of artists.
On Friday, Sept. 25, four individuals who share both a love of dance and the sorrow of having lost close relatives under the Khmer Rouge will join in a performance with the Angkor Dance Troupe, a Cambodian dance ensemble based in Lowell, Massachusetts. The performance, sponsored by the Council on Southeast Asia Studies, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at The Little Theater, 1 Lincoln St., New Haven. Admission to the event is $5 at the door; seating is limited.
Researcher is dancer with troupe. Phim Thavro, who recently came to Yale as a research associate for the University's Cambodia Genocide Program, is one of the four dancers who will perform with the Angkor Dance Troupe. Joining him will be Penh Yom, Sek Sophea and Soeur Soy. Each is the son of an artist, and each lost a father, one or more siblings and scores of other relatives, friends and neighbors under the Khmer Rouge. The four were among the first students of the newly re-established School of Fine Arts in Cambodia, and they all went on to become teachers and lead dancers at Cambodia's Royal University of Fine Arts. They have performed on stages across the world.
The Angkor Dance Troupe was founded in Lowell in 1986 by two teachers and a handful of dancers who learned traditional Cambodian dance in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. Nationally recognized as one of the most accomplished Cambodian traditional arts ensembles performing today, the troupe develops and teaches the traditions of Cambodian performing arts and promotes an understanding and appreciation of Cambodian culture. It has performed at Boston's First Night celebration and the Lowell Folk Festival, and has participated in workshops at Jacob's Pillow, among other places.
Cambodian court and folk dances. The Angkor Dance Troupe's repertoire includes court or classical dance pieces which allude to epic tales and the heavens, as well as folk dances that celebrate the diversity of life in the countryside. Members of the troupe perform in authentic costumes, some of which are so intricate and close-fitting that dancers have to be sewn into them before performances.
Classical dance has been a part of the sacred rituals of Cambodia for more than 1,000 years. During the Angkor civilization, dancers were considered mediators between the royalty and the heavens; by performing sacred dances in the palaces they hoped to please the gods, who would then bless the land and the people. Once reserved for royalty, traditional dancing can now be performed by anyone in Cambodia, where it continues to have a role as a form of prayer, as entertainment and as a symbol of the nation.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Council on Southeast Asia Studies will also host a seminar on "Cambodian Court Ballet, 1925-1995." The speaker will be Eileen Blumenthal, a professor in the theater department at Rutgers University. More on this event will appear in the next issue of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar.
For further information on the Cambodian dance performance, call 432-3431.