CAMBODIA, April 22, 2014: Her Royal Highness Princess Norodom Buppha Devi, head of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, is pleased to announce the company’s upcoming tour of Theatre of Shadows. The show, featuring 23 dancers and ten musicians, combines elements of the Ream Ker, the Cambodian Ramayana, with Sbek Thom, traditional Khmer shadow theater. Renowned for its graceful hand gestures and stunning costumes, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, also known as Khmer Classical Dance, has been closely associated with the Khmer court for over one thousand years. Infused with a sacred and symbolic role, the dance embodies the traditional values of refinement, respect and spirituality. Its repertory perpetuates the legends associated with the origins of the Khmer people.The gestures and poses, mastered by the dancers only after years of intensive training, evoke the gamut of human emotions.
The Royal Ballet practically ceased to exist under the repressive rule of the Khmer Rouge, who eliminated almost all master dancers and musicians. Immediately after Pol Pot’s defeat in 1979, dance troupes re-emerged and performances of the ancient repertory resumed. The ballet has regained its former splendor but still faces numerous difficulties such as a lack of funding and suitable performance spaces, competition from modern media.
The troupe will perform on May 3 and 4 in France, May 6 and 7 in Portugal and May 10, 2014 in Venice, Italy.