Angkor Sacred Dancers set for capital premiere

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Harriet Fitch Little

The Sacred Dancers of Angkor will be holding their debut public performance in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, presenting epic poem the Reamker in its entirety at the recently renovated Chaktomuk Theatre. The troupe is made up of dancers from the villages surrounding Angkor Wat’s Damnak Pagoda, and holds the dual honours of royal patronage from Princess Buppha Devi and international backing from UNESCO.

Later this year, the dancers will embark on a three-month tour of Europe – their longest stint abroad to date. The troupe’s founder, Swiss-Khmer Ravynn Karet-Coxen, said on Thursday that the hastily organised performance had come about when she realised she was running out of time to present the Reamker to a local audience before it went on tour.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/angkor-sacred-dancers-set-capital-premiere

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Every time the BBC has a 5 minute space to fill, it runs their piece on the resurrection of the Khmer Classical dancers, led by Princess Buppha Devi after the genocide of the Khmer Rouge.

Why does Thai classical dancing look so much like it?