Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

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Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

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Cambodia’s first contemporary dance company: ‘we were blacklisted for not being Cambodian enough’
18 July 2018
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April is hot in Cambodia, with temperatures regularly hitting the mid-30s. And in the tourist town of Siem Reap, performers at New Cambodia Artists (NCA), the country’s first contemporary dance company, lay down in their studio as they wait for the midday heat to pass.

The power cut doesn’t help. Several industrial fans stand silent and suffering in the oppressive heat. But soon the lights come on, the fans start to whir and rehearsals begin again. The four female dancers glide across the wooden floor, hands and feet disrupting the blazing light pouring through open double doors.

Their improvisation dreams up ancient soldiers and heavenly courtesans like those carved into the stone walls of Angkor Wat’s temples. Then it shifts, powering through centuries, as the dancers move as if riding motorbikes through a modernising city.

The team at NCA are on the keen edge of modern dance in Cambodia. They lobbied the Ministry of Arts and Culture for a year to be certified to perform contemporary dance at public venues. Their main challenge was that certification for contemporary dance didn’t then exist.

“At first, we were only permitted to perform classical dance at public sites like the [nearby] Angkor Wat temples,” says company director Srey Neung. “But now we are the first company to be certified and able to perform contemporary dance in public.”

The Angkor Wat temples and surrounding archaeological park attracted 2.5 million visitors in 2017 – which means that performing for tourists there is a good source of revenue for local dance troupes. But despite their certificate, the Apsara Authority, which manages the park, banned them in 2016. (“Apsara” refers to a traditional Khmer dance dating to the 7th century and featuring more than 1,500 hand gestures.)

“We were blacklisted for not being Cambodian enough,” says dancer Khun Sreynoch. “And they said our costumes were too sexy. They are supposed to be under the ministry, but the ministry hasn’t done anything.”

“Their attitude is very frustrating,” she adds. “Art is supposed to be creative – and if the performers and choreographers are Cambodian, then it’s Cambodian enough.”

Apsara Authority spokesman Long Kosal refused to comment directly on the case, saying only: “Any dance company is welcome to submit a request to perform within the park.”

But the spokesman did address his agency’s concerns over supposed impropriety of troupes’ costumes: “The dance troupes who currently perform at venues within the park, like Kravan temple, are a good example of what is an appropriate kind of performance.” He said that traditional costumes should cover performers’ shoulders and that skirts should hang below the knee...
http://sea-globe.com/cambodias-first-co ... cceptance/
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Re: Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

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Siem Reap: New Cambodian Artists (NCA), a Khmer contemporary dance company, currently produce live shows in Siem Reap on Saturday evenings.
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Re: Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

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Funny that their costumes are considered "too sexy", aren't there lots of naked breasts carved into the walls of the temples? Or am I mistaken?
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Re: Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

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The New Cambodian Artists: a Dance Company Tries to Keep on Going in Spite of COVID-19
Phoung Vantha 09/05/2021 10:59 AM
The few remaining dancers featured in an international online festival in 2021 but are concerned about the future

SIEM REAP--For more than 18 months, two young dancers have been rehearsing every day, waiting for a future now uncertain due to the pandemic. They continue to rehearse even though there is no performance scheduled.

Since COVID-19 has come to Cambodia, the New Cambodian Artists (NCA) dance company has had no income and is getting by on savings, which are dwindling away, and strong support from the German Heinrich Böll Stiftung foundation.

The company, which is based in Siem Reap City, was created in 2012 by Dutch theater director Bob Ruijzendaal and a group of Cambodian women passionate about developing contemporary dance in the country.

NCA has aimed at empowering women through dance, exploring the dynamics of tradition and creativity in Cambodia today.

At first, the group consisted of four young women who had trained in Khmer traditional dance plus a young woman serving as the company manager. One dancer has since left due to the pandemic.

As Khun Sreyneang, the company manager, explained, the group has not been able to perform since early 2020. Moreover, they cannot travel in or outside the country, and going places has always helped the dancers come up with ideas for new works, she said.

“When COVID-19 is over, we want to go back to normal so we can travel to Thailand and other countries where we can learn from artists there, and we can travel to Phnom Penh for performances and meet Cambodian artists to get new experience—things we need as artists,” Sreyneang said.

Keeping on creating even though there are no live performances

Still, during the pandemic, NCA has produced two works: “Snow Whitening Revisited” and “Giant Satrey.”

“Snow Whitening Revisited,” which speaks of the role of women in Cambodian society and the sacrifice they make for their families, was performed during the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival and presented online in January 2021.

Following this dance, NCA created “Giant Satrey,” or giant woman, about women leaders in society who serve as role models, inspiring other women to take on challenges. “Giant Satrey” has not been performed yet due to the pandemic.
Full article: https://cambodianess.com/article/the-ne ... f-covid-19
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Re: Cambodia’s First Contemporary Dance Company in Conflict with Tradition

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

Art - you can do anything you want.
National shrines - you can't do anything you want.
my vote

I prefer traditional ballet, same in the West - but good luck to them.
It must be hard keeping a ballet/dance company on the road at the best of times.
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