Beyond Revival and Preservation: Contemporary Dance in Cambodia

Abstract

Cambodian classical dance is very much alive thanks to the efforts of the few artists who survived the genocide either by sheer luck or by hiding their true identities. There are 20 forms of Cambodian dance, theatre and music, most of which were represented by the small community of surviving artists, all of whom were obviously committed to resurrecting the remnants of their particular area of expertise with little or no resources, within an infrastructure that was in utter shambles. Amrita Performing Arts has been an active player in helping to lay the groundwork for the delicate process in the ongoing dialogue on the development of contemporary dance in Cambodia. Chey Chankethya is a young master of the female role and a teacher at Phnom Penh’s Secondary School of Fine Arts. Kethya was part of a three-month dance management programme at UCLA in 2006 and since then has emerged as one of the strongest leaders in Cambodia’s dance community.