• The performers in Phare, The Cambodian Circus, have broken the cycle of poverty, but the help they give others to do the same is at risk with its shows on hold
• Every acrobat has a story to tell – of not having enough to eat selling snacks as a child, or of scavenging at a city dump and foiling their mother’s suicide

 

With a madcap show featuring uproarious acrobatics accompanied by raucous music, Phare could be described as Cambodia’s answer to Cirque du Soleil, and not long ago it was playing to packed houses in the town of Siem Reap night after night.

 

All the performers have a story to tell. Drawn from among the country’s beggars, orphans, victims of human trafficking, and drug addicts, they have developed skills and found new purpose in life. Phare has also been the prime source of funding for 1,200 students at an arts school – Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) – in the city of Battambang
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read more https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3087979/lifted-poverty-cambodian-cirque-du-soleil-acrobats-find

Definitely worth a visit if you are in Siem Reap. I have seen many shows during my 6 years of visiting Siem Reap and the shows regularly change. Although described as "Phare, The Cambodian Circus" there are no performing animals. I have also visited the school in Battanbang where potential acrobats and artists are trained, also the teaching of poor children. Accommodation is provided. The art school is fascinating and you can by unique individual paintings by the students. Another source of income is the production of advertising posters for businesses. First photo - show in Siem Reap, second photo - the school for younger poor children at the complex in Battambang and third photo - older students learning to become performers, also at Battambang.

 

 

 

 

Best story I have read for a long time.  Cambodians need a few Cambodian superheroes to give them hope for the future.  A lifted spirit is a spirit without limits...