Royal Ballet of Cambodia

"Khmer classical dance" redirects here. For similar genera of performing arts, see Lakhon Khol and Lakhon pol srey.

Royal Ballet of Cambodia
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country	Cambodia
Domains	Performing arts
Reference	553
Region	Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	November 07 2003 (18th session)
List	Inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2003)

Royal Ballet of Cambodia (Khmer: របាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ, Robam Preah Reachtroap) is a dance company of the Kingdom of Cambodia, famous for its luxury of costumes, accessories, gold and silver, accompanied by a beautiful soft dance. It should be criticized that it looks like the dance of the devas, which leads to a higher level of dance, which we can assume as the king of dance.
(Royal Ballet Dance) is a dance that the Khmer royal family created as a special treasure to show the high dignity of Khmer dancers, the work of Queen Sisowath Kosamak Neary Rath Serey Vathana, created from Khmer traditional dance. During the reign of King Norodom, this dance was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on November 7, 2003.

Teacher Salute Ceremony in Royal Ballet

File:Royal Ballet teachers salute ceremony.jpg

Royal Ballet teachers salute ceremony

The Teacher Salute Ceremony is a tribute to the teachers who trained and dedicated to the spirit that controls the spirit in each of the characters of the Royal Ballet before the dancers go out to show the audience what makes Their performances are smooth, confident and unobstructed. Salute to the teacher has been around since ancient times when the royal dance troupe had to offer blessings before they took the stage to perform as a spiritual aid and encouragement through the souls in each character. To help them, the performance ends smoothly and well.

The Journey of Cambodia Royal Ballet

Auguste Rodin Painting Cambodia Classical Dance 1906

The choreographed troupe reflects "Auguste Rodin"s special encounter with the beauty of Khmer dance that he discovered during the official visit to France of the King Sisowath of Cambodia. In 1906, rode and followed the Khmer ballet dancers from Paris to Marseille with their return to Phnom Penh. later he painted at least 150 paintings by Cambodian dancers, copying and interpreting them as ballet dances, with a keen interest in his and his partner's work, mostly watercolour paintings in diversity. Of this rare refinement. An unpublished illustration of an unpublished piece of dance on the part of Rodin's work, which is not known to the public, this particular book is the fruit of the Franco-Cambodian collaboration, showing the joy of both cultures.

Royal Ballet of Cambodia Friendship Dance

Royal Ballet of Cambodia During Queen Sisowath Kosamak's visit to the United States to bring Khmer classical dance to the national culture of Khmer-American Friendship Ballet, First called The Ballet of Khmer-American Friendship 1959. Later in 1960, Khmer traditional dances continued to be performed in China countries, participating in the culture of Khmer-Chinese friendship under the same name, The Ballet of Khmer-Chinese Friendship 1960. During the same 1960s, the popularity of royal dance spread to the world as well as to the (European Union) through him Norodom Bopha Devi. Must be the granddaughter of the Queen Sisowath Kossamak and she is the daughter the King Norodom Sihanouk to appear as a dancer in the form of Khmer classical dance. The Royal Ballet originally had no men, because the gentleness of the male dance could not be danced to the level of women. but the present Some men could be included to increase the life with the dance mean such as the role of the monkey and the role of Moni Ey-Sey.

The Three Group of Cambodia Royal Ballet

Four main types of roles exist in Khmer classical dance: neay rong (male), neang (female), yeak (ogres or asuras), and the sva (monkeys). These four basic roles contain sub-classes to indicate character rank; a neay rong ek, for example, would be a leading male role and a neang kamnan (or philieng) would be a maiden-servant. The sub-classes of the four main roles all perform in the same type of dancing style of the class they belong to. However, the yeakheney, or female ogre, is performed with a feminized dancing style of the male counterpart. Other female character types, such as the apsara, kinnari, or mermaid, follow the same dancing style as the neang role but with subtle differences in gestures; the main difference being costume. The ngoh character type, although male, is presented with a different dancing style than the neay rong.

Most roles are performed by female dancers, but the role of monkeys was transferred to men under the guidance of Queen Sisowath Kosssamak. Other roles performed by men include hermits and animals such as horses and mythical lions.

The first group is called the cast

The cast is divided into 2 forms, Neang as the female character and Neay Rong as the male character which is described as follows: Royal Ballet of Cambodia

Neang Character

Neang or Female Character

Neang character represents a woman who is divided into 8 categories: Neang Phi Leang is a cast of the waitress. Neang Komnan is a cast Mistress a woman (other than the man's wife) having a sexual relationship with a married man. Neang EK is a cast of the protagonist the cast leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc. - deities, queens or princesses (e.g. Sita and Robam Moni Mekhala) Neang Mother character Neang Sovannmacha is a cast of Mermaid character. Neang Kinnorey character is a cast of the angels becoming or the bird character with haft humans - the mythical Kenorei living in mountain Hem Pean in (Khmer language) mean in the deep forest Mountain Himalayas (e.g. Robam Kenorei) Neang Neak is a cast of Naga or Dragon character with haft humans character. Neang Yeakheney - ogresses, yakkhini (e.g. Surpanakha)

Neay Rong Character

Neay Rong or Male Character

Neay Rong character represents a men who is divided into 11 categories: Neay Rong Bav Preav is a cast of the waiter. Neay Rong Pol Sena is a cast of bodyguards or the army battle. Neay Rong Sena Ek is a cast of Battalion Commander or Army general character. Neay Rong Ek is a cast of the protagonist the cast leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc. deities, kings, or princes (e.g. Rama) Neay Rong Father character Neay Rong Moni Eisey is a cast of the teachers of the character magical. Neay Rong Garuda character and mythical birds haft humans (e.g. Jatayu) Neay Rong Chao Ngoh character is a cast represents a character with a memory problem and a person with an ugly body Neay Rong Asura character is a cast of demon or giants group of army battle. (e.g., Ravana) Neay Rong Monus Sva character is a cast of Monkey haft humans character represents the monkey commander and the army of the monkey army.(e.g., Hanuman) Neay Rong Animal characters is a cast of Animal characters represent various secondary characters such as characters, horses, deer, etc.

The second group is called the Pin Peat Musician Band

ភ្លេងពិណពាទ្យ

Pin Peat Musician

Vong Phleng Pin Peat or Pin Peat Musician has 34 Track in the Royal Ballet, which are divided into 2 types. The first is the Mohoari Orchestra (Small drum style) and the second is the Royal Theatre (Big drum style) Main article: Pinpeat The music used for Khmer classical dance is played by a pin peat ensemble. This type of orchestra consists of several types of xylophones, drums, oboes, gongs, and other musical instruments. The chorus consists of several singers who mainly sing in the absence of music. The lyrics are in poetry form and are sung interspersed with the grammatical particles EU [əː], Eung [əːŋ], and Ery [əːj] in various patterns.

Musical instruments

• Roneat ek : The lead xylophone with bamboo or teak wood keys
• Roneat thung : A xylophone with bamboo or teak wood keys; low
• Roneat dek : A metallophone of brass keys
• Roneat thong : A metallophone (now rarely used)
• Kong thom : A set of 16 gongs arranged in a circle
• Kong toch : Like the gongs above, but smaller
• Chhing : A pair of finger cymbals
• Krap : A pair of wood clappers (now rarely used)
• Sralai : A type of shawm; there are two sizes
• Khloy : A type of flute made from bamboo (now rarely used)
• Skor thom : A pair of drums played with a percussion mallet
• Sampho : A type of drum played with the hands

Music pieces

Khmer classical dance uses particular pieces of music for certain events, such as when a dancer enters or leaves a scene, or performs certain actions, such as flying or walking. These musical pieces are arranged to form a suite. New pieces of music are rarely created.

Below is a select list of music pieces used in the repertoire:

• Sathukar : (សាធុការ) a song of blessing used for propitiation, often used to commence a performance
• Krao nai : (ក្រៅណៃ), also known as santheuk knong (សន្ធឹកក្នុង), overture of the yeak (ogre) characters, a display of power as they go into combat or battle
• Smaeu : (ស្មើ) used for the introduction of a character or a group of dancers in a scene
• Lea : (លា) used to present a character's departure from the scene; leaving the stage
• Cheut chhing : (ជើតឈិង) lit., euphonic chhing; music characterized by the constant percussion of drums and small cup-shaped cymbals; used to present an action such as commencing a journey or flying
• Lo : (លោ) music used in tune with aquatic recreation (e.g. dancers miming the action of rowing a boat)
• Long song mon : (លងស៊ងមន) lit., "royal bathing of the Mon"; a song used to represent a character dressing up their appearance
• Phya deun : (ផ្យាឌើន); also known as ponhea daeur (ពញ្ញាដើរ), a music piece used to present dancers marching (e.g. the beginning of robam tep monorom)
• Klom : (ក្លុម) used to show the grace and beauty of a character wielding his weapon
• Sinuon : (ស៊ីនួន) - lit., "cream color", in reference to complexion, a soft and slow feminine melody
• Salamar : (សលមារ) - a music characterized by the sralai, often used for certain actions such as combat, but not limited to such
• Preah Thong (ព្រះថោង)
• Bao Lut (បោលុត)
• Sarak Burong (សរៈប៊ុរង)
• Balim (បលិម)

The third group is called the Singing Group

ក្រុមចម្រៀង នៃរបាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ	The Singing Group of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia
File:Body Language of Cambodia Classical Dance.jpg	The Singing group divided into 3 forms, Women singing to Neang as female character and Men singing to Neay Rong as male character singing along the activities of the Royal Ballet, the third forms is a teams singer of the chorus of the song. all singer singing including with the Body language of the dancer of the Royal Ballet .

Etymology

A mural depiction of Indra and his dancers, Silver Pagoda, Cambodian Royal Palace.

Western names for this dance tradition, such as Cambodian court dance, often make reference to the royal court, as the tradition was performed and maintained by attendants of the royal palaces. As a performing art, it is formally referred to as the Royal Ballet of Cambodia (le Ballet royal du Cambodge in French) by UNESCO, Cravath, Brandon, and others in the academic field, although this term may also refer to the National Dance Company of Cambodia. The term Khmer classical dance is also used alongside "Royal Ballet of Cambodia" in publications by UNESCO and the above-mentioned authors.

In Khmer, it is formally known as Robam Preah Reach Trop (របាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ, lit. "dances of royal wealth") or Lakhon Preah Reach Trop (ល្ខោនព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ, lit. "theatre of royal wealth"). It is also referred to as Lakhon Luong (ល្ខោនហ្លួង, lit. "the king's theatre"). During the Lon Nol regime of Cambodia, the dance tradition was referred to as Lakhon Kbach Boran Khmer (ល្ខោនក្បាច់បូរាណខ្មែរ, lit. "Khmer theatre of the ancient style"), a term alienating it from its royal legacy.

Khmer classical dancers, as a whole, are frequently referred to as apsara dancers by laymen; this usage would be incorrect with the modern form of the dance, as the apsara is just one type of character among others in the repertoire. Regardless, the tradition's romanticized affiliation with the apsaras and devatas of the ruins of Angkor still persists.

History

Angkor and pre-Angkor era

One of the earliest records of dance in Cambodia is from the 7th century, where performances were used as a funeral rite for kings. In the 20th century, the use of dancers is also attested in funerary processions, such as that for King Sisowath Monivong. During the Angkor period, dance was ritually performed at temples. The temple dancers came to be considered as apsaras, who served as entertainers and messengers to divinities. Ancient stone inscriptions describe thousands of apsara dancers assigned to temples and performing divine rites as well as for the public. The tradition of temple dancers declined during the 15th century, as the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya raided Angkor. When Angkor fell, its artisans, Brahmins, and dancers were taken captive to Ayutthaya.

Royal dance troupe of King Sisowath, early 1900s.

French colonial era

Dancers of the court of King Sisowath were exhibited at the 1906 Colonial Exposition in Marseilles at the suggestion of George Bois, a French representative in the Cambodian court. Auguste Rodin was captivated by the Cambodian dancers and painted a series of water colors of the dancers. George Groslier, the French-colonial director of the Phnom Penh Musée Sarraut (today the National Museum), had 're-invented' large parts of the ballet through his studies of the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat.

Post-independent Cambodia

Queen Sisowath Kossamak became a patron of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. Under the Queen's guidance, several reforms were made to the royal ballet, including choreography. Dance dramas were dramatically shortened from all-night spectacles to about one hour in length. Prince Norodom Sihanouk featured the dances of the royal ballet in his films.

The dance tradition suffered setbacks during the Khmer Rouge regime, during which many dancers were put to death in the genocide. Although 90 percent of all Cambodian classical artists perished between 1975 and 1979 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, those who did survive wandered out from hiding, found one another, and formed "colonies" in order to revive their sacred traditions. Khmer classical dance training was resurrected in the refugee camps in eastern Thailand with the few surviving Khmer dancers. Many dances and dance dramas were also recreated at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia.

In 2003 it was inducted into the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

Performance

Princess Buppha Devi performs a propitiation dance (c. 1965) as a neang rong. Note the dancers of lower ranks (philieng) in obeisance.

File:Royal Ballet of Cambodia Monimekhala Dance.png

Royal Ballet of Cambodia performing Robam Moni Mekhala

During the era of the French Protectorate of Cambodia and before, it was customary for guests of the royal palace to receive a performance of the royal ballet. In propitiation ceremonies (បួងសួង, buong suong), it was performed at Wat Phnom and the Silver Pagoda and Throne Hall of the Royal Palace. For entertainment, performances were often staged inside the pavilions of royal palaces. In Phnom Penh, the Moonlight Pavilion was built for and is still used occasionally for classical dance performances. Nowadays, venues for performances by the Royal Ballet include the Chenla Theatre and the Chaktomuk Conference Hall, designed by architect Vann Molyvann during the Sangkum Reastr Niyum era. Tourist restaurants in Cambodia, notably in Siem Reap, also serve as venues for classical dance performances by amateur troupes.

Stage and props

The traditional stage for classical dance drama performances contains a table with a decorative pillow, sometimes laid on an Oriental rug or carpet. This table of low stature, called a krae (គ្រែ, lit. "bed"), is constant throughout the performance and thus is used as a prop that represents many places and things (a bed, a throne, living quarters, etc.).

In many dance dramas, characters often wield weapons such as bows, swords, staves, and clubs. In some dances, dancers hold items such as flower garlands, fans, and gold and silver flowers as a tribute (see bunga mas). Performances of robam makar (the makara dance) entail devas dancing in leisure and using fans to represent the scales of the mythical makara while the goddess Manimekhala leads the mimicry with her crystal ball of magic.

Movement and gestures

Khmer classical dancers use stylized movements and gestures to convey meaning and tell a story. These gestures are often vague and abstract, though some may be easily understood. Dancers do not sing or generally speak, except in some dance dramas where there are brief instances of speech by the dancers.

Hand gestures in Khmer classical dance are called kbach (meaning "style"). These hand gestures form a sort of alphabet and represent various things from nature such as fruit, flowers and leaves. They are used in different combinations and transitions with accompanying movement of the legs and feet to convey different thoughts and concepts. The way gestures are presented, the position of the arm, and the position of the hand relative to the arm can affect their meaning. Gestures are performed in different manners depending on the character type.

Costume

Classical dance costumes are highly ornate and heavily embroidered, sometimes including sequins and even semi-precious gems. Most of the costumes are thought to be representative of what divinities wear, as reflected in the art style of the post-Angkor period. Various pieces of the costume (such as shirts) have to be sewn onto the dancers for a tight fit.

Female costume

The typical female, or neang, costume consists of a sampot sarabap (or charabap), a type of woven fabric with two contrasting silk threads along with a metallic thread (gold or silver in color). The sampot is wrapped around the lower body in a sarong-like fashion, then pleated into a band in the front and secured with a gold or brass belt. In the current style, part of the pleated brocade band hangs over the belt on the left side of the belt buckle, which is a clear distinction from Thai classical dance costumes where this pleated band is tucked into the belt to the right of the belt buckle. Worn over the left shoulder is a shawl-like garment called a sbai (also known as the robang khnang, literally "back cover"); it is the most decorative part of the female costume, embroidered extensively with tiny beads and sequins. The usual embroidery pattern for the sbai these days is a diamond-shaped floral pattern, but in the past there were more variations of floral patterns. Under the sbai is a silk undershirt or bodice worn with a short sleeve exposed on the left arm. Around the neck is an embroidered collar called a srang kar.

Jewelry for the female role includes a large, filigree square pendant of which is hung by the corner, various types of ankle and wrists bracelets and bangles, an armlet on the right arm, and body chains of various styles.

Male costume

Male characters wear costumes that are more intricate than the females, as they require pieces, like sleeves, to be sewn together while being put on. They are dressed in a sampot sarabap like their female counterpart; however, it is worn differently. For the male, or neay rong, the sampot is worn in the chang kben fashion, where the front is pleated and pulled under, between the legs, then tucked in the back and the remaining length of the pleat is stitched to the sampot itself to form a draping 'fan' in the back. Knee-length pants are worn underneath, displaying a wide, embroidered hem around the knees. For the top, they wear long-sleeved shirts with rich embroidering, along with a collar, or srang kar, around their neck. On the end of their shoulders are a sort of epaulette that arches upwards like Indra's bow (known as inthanu). Other components of the male costumes are three richly embroidered banners worn around the front waist. The center piece is known as a robang muk while the two side pieces are known as a cheay kraeng; monkeys and yaksha characters wear another piece in the back called a robang kraoy.

Male characters also wear an X-like strap around the body called a sangvar; it may be made of gold-colored silk or chains of gold with square ornaments, the latter being reserved for more important characters. Males wear the same ankle and wrist jewelry as females, but with the addition of an extra set of bangles on the wrist and no armlets. They also wear a kite-shaped ornament called a sloek po (named after the bo tree leaf), which serves as a center point for their sangvar;.

Headdress

There are several types of crowns that denote characters' ranks. Commonly worn by female characters of the lowest rank is the kbang; it is also worn by Brahmin characters with ornaments around a bun of hair. Divinities and royal characters of the highest ranks wear a tall single-spire crown called a mokot ksat for male characters and a mokot ksatrey for female characters. The panchuret (Groslier romanizes this as panntiereth), reserved for princes and generals (sena), is a circlet-like crown with a faux knot in the back. The rat klao is worn by princesses and often by maidens of significance in a dance if they happen to not be of royal rank. Some characters' headdressings include ear ornaments as well as earrings. Characters such as ogres and monkeys wear masks. Ogres and monkeys of royal rank wear masks with a mokot attached.

Floral adornments

Dancers are traditionally adorned with fragrant flowers, although sometimes fresh flowers are substituted with faux flowers. The floral tassel is traditionally made of Jasminum sambac strung together with Michelia flowers, being either Michelia × alba or Michelia champaca. The neang (female) role wears a rose above the right ear and a floral tassel attached to the left side of the crown while the neay rong (male) role wears a rose on the left ear and a floral tassel to the right side. Sometimes, dancers will wear jasmine garlands fit for the wrists. The apsara role is most often adorned with the flowers of either Plumeria obtusa or white cultivars of Plumeria rubra; sometimes plumerias are tied along the back of their hair.

Repertoire

According to The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre (1997), the Royal Ballet's repertoire contained approximately 40 dances and 60 dance dramas. Since the restoration of the Royal Ballet in the 1979, some of the old repertoire was recreated and several new dances were also created, most notably robam monosanhchettana by the late Chea Samy. As of recent years, new dance dramas have been created by the Royal Ballet, such as Apsara Mera. Sophiline Cheam Shapiro has also introduced new repertory to Khmer classical dance, although they are not part of the traditional royal repertoire and mainly have been performed in Western venues. Her works include dramas such as Samritechak, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello and Pamina Devi, an adaptation of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Dance dramas

The repertoire of dance dramas (រឿង, roeung) consists of a myriad of stories, unlike the lakhon khol, which is limited only to the Ramayana. Many of the dance dramas have analogs in the lakhon nai dance genre of Thailand but do not share the same choreography or exact storyline. During the time of Queen Kossamak, several dance dramas were re-choreographed and shortened such as Roeung Preah Thong-Neang Neak; this drama, among others, would be recreated in 2003.

The plots of many dance dramas often concern a male character who rescues a damsel in distress or destined love presented with obstacles. The traditional repertoire portrays mythology or traditional tales and may sometimes include religious concepts such as karma.

A dance of tribute used in a dance drama titled Preah Ket Mealea, circa 1965

Select repertory of dance dramas

• Reamker (Ramakerti, រាមកេរ្តិ៍): Ramayana
• Preah Sothon-Neang Monorea (ព្រះសូធន-នាងមនោហ៍រា): Sudhana-Jataka, formerly referred to as Kailas (កៃលាស), recreated in 2003
• Krai Thong (ក្រៃថោង)
• Inao (ឥណាវ): Panji
• Kakey (កាកី): Kakati-Jataka
• Preah Anoruth-Neang Usa (ព្រះអនុរុទ្ធ-នាងឧសា): Aniruddha
• Sopheak Leak (សុភលក្ខណ៍): Chitralekha
• Preah Samot (ព្រះសមុទ្រ)
• Sovannahong (សុវណ្ណហង្ស)
• Preah Sang (ព្រះស័ង្ខ)

Dances

In contrast to the dance dramas are shorter dances known as robam. They can serve several purposes, such as honoring, ritualistic functions (e.g. securing the kingdom's fortune and prosperity), and blessing. Spanning several minutes or so, not all these dances have storylines, although many robam are indeed excerpts from dance dramas such as robam mekhala-reamso and robam sovan macchha (the latter being from the Reamker).

The 'apsara dance' of today was created under the guidance of Queen Kossamak Nearireath. Its costume is based on the bas-relief of apsaras on temple ruins but much of it, including its music and gesture, is not unique from other classical Khmer dances that probably do not date back to the Angkor period.

Select repertory of dances

• Robam Apsara (របាំអប្សរា)
• Robam Tep Monorom (របាំទេពមនោរម្យ)
• Robam Chun Por (របាំជូនពរ)
• Robam Makar (របាំមករ)
• Robam Sovann Maccha (របាំសុវណ្ណមច្ឆា)
• Robam Moni Mekhala or Mekhala-Reamesor (របាំមណីមេខលា)

Glossary

kbach (ក្បាច)

(lit., "style" or "motif") referring to a pose or gesture used in Khmer classical dance

lakhon (ល្ខោន)

(lit., "theatre"; also romanized as lakhaon and lkhaon), referring to different genres of theatrical performances

lakhon preah reach trop (ល្ខោនព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ)

(lit., "theatre of royal wealth") the Khmer name for the main classical dance drama of Cambodia; the royal ballet of Cambodia, in this case, the term lakhon may be substituted with robam

robam (របាំ)

(lit., "dance"), a term used to refer to dances and in some contexts, all classical dances

robam kbach boran (របាំក្បាច់បូរាណ)

(lit., "dance of the ancient style") a term referring to classical dance that is used in the genres of theatre including lakhon khol, lakhon pol srey, and lakhon preah reach trop. Not to be confused with the term devised in the Lon Nol era.

roeung (រៀង)

(lit., "story"); referring to dance dramas

yeak (យក្ខ)

yaksha; a class of characters representing asuras and ogres, commonly translated as "giants"

Media

Gallery

• 
  Princess Buppha Devi performs a dance in Cambodian Royal Palace.
• 
  SIta and Ravana performs in a scene of Reamker dance drama.

External images
Two dancers perform as a garuda and kinnari couple. (1928)
A pair of dancers sit on a krae. (1931)
Ravana with Sita in his captive. (1928)
A dancer sits on the krae above two servants. (1928)
A dance of propitiation depicting the sea goddess Manimekhala. (2006)
Dancers perform for King Sihamoni's coronation. (2004)

Non-fiction

• Cravath, Paul (2008). Earth in Flower - The Divine Mystery of the Cambodian Dance Drama, DatAsia Press
• Groslier, George et al. (2011). Cambodian Dancers - Ancient and Modern, DatAsia Press
• Heywood, Denise (2009). Cambodian Dance Celebration of the Gods, River Books
• Loviny, Christophe (2003). The Apsaras of Angkor, Sipar: Jazz Editions

Fiction

• Meyer, Charles (2009). Saramani: Cambodian Dance, DatAsia Press
• Lee, Jeanne M. (1994). Silent Lotus, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Lord, Michael (2006). Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin, Lee & Low Books

Selected discography

• Musical Sources – Royal Music Of Cambodia (1971) by Jacques Brunet; contains a condensed recording of the Buong Suong dance drama featuring the goddess Manimekhala
• Homrong: Classical Music From Cambodia (2004) by Chum Ngek; contains music pieces and suites used by the royal ballet

See also

• Theatre of Cambodia
• Dance in Cambodia
• Robam Apsara
• Robam Moni Mekhala
• Robam Sovann Maccha
• Dance in Thailand
• Earth in Flower
• Khmer shadow theatre
• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists

References

Bibliography

• Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theater, Cambridge University Press
• Becker, Elizabeth (1998). When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution, PublicAffairs
• Bois, George (1913). Les Danseuses cambodgiennes en France, Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient
• Bowers, Faubion. (1956). Theatre in the East, New York T. Nelson
• Brandon, James R. (1967). Theatre in Southeast Asia. Harvard University Press
• Cravath, Paul (1968). The Ritual Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of Cambodia, Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 179–203
• Fletcher, Peter (2001). World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures, Oxford University
• Jacobsen, Trudy (2008). Lost Goddesses: Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies
• Sasagawa, Hideo (2005). Post/colonial Discourses on the Cambodian Court Dance, Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 42, No. 4, March 2005
• Falser, Michael (2013). From a colonial reinvention to postcolonial heritage and a global commodity: performing and re-enacting Angkor Wat and the Royal Khmer Ballet, International Journal of Heritage Studies, May 2013

Notes

Notes in this section are referenced from the bibliography above.

Unverified notes

Notes in this section reference material produced by laymen or reference material not generally considered a legitimate source on the subject matter at hand. They are unverified and not peer-reviewed.

External links

General information

• Cambodian Classical Dance by Chamroeun Yin
• Nginn-Karet Foundation Teaches Sacred Dance at Banteay Srey
• The Language of Khmer Classical Dance | The Cambodia Daily
• The Near Extinction of Cambodian Classical Dance | UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies
• The Khmer Dance Project
• NY Times | Auguste Rodin and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia
• Khmer Arts | Founded by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro

Image galleries

• Anders Jiras | Photography of Cambodian dance performances
• Earth in Flower | Photo gallery of 186 Cambodian dance photos arranged by chronology and topic
• Cambodian Dancers | Historical info and 169 original etchings from George Groslier's 1913 book Danseuses Cambodgiennes