Кхмерский классический танец: История и традиции королевского балета Камбоджи

Cambodian classical dance

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia (, Robam Preah Reach Trop, ) is a classical Khmer dance renowned for its graceful hand movements and luxurious costumes. The ballet has been closely associated with the Khmer court for over a thousand years and would traditionally accompany various royal ceremonies, including coronations, weddings, funerals, and Khmer holidays. The ballet's repertoire encompasses various ancient Khmer legends. Despite facing significant challenges, including near extinction during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia remains an important cultural heritage of Cambodia. With its sacred and symbolic significance, the dance embodies traditional values of refinement, respect, and spirituality of the Khmer people. 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. 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.

One of the earliest records of dance in Cambodia is from the 7th century, where performances were used as a funeral rite for kings. During the Angkor period, dance was ritually performed at temples. Ancient stone inscriptions describe thousands of apsara dancers assigned to temples and performing divine rites as well as for the public. 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 created at least 150 watercolour paintings of the dancers. He followed the Khmer ballet dancers from Paris to Marseille with their return to Phnom Penh. Rodin interpreted the performance as ballet dance.

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. Though the Royal Ballet originally had no men due to the perception that male dancers did not perform with the refinement of women, contemporary performances include men in livelier roles such as a monkey and Moni Ey Sey.

Under the Sangkum period, Cambodia underwent its cultural and artistic transformation spearheaded by prince (later, King) Norodom Sihanouk. Crowned in 1941 while the country was still a French Protectorate, he witnessed the World War II and subsequent collapse of French colonialism. While supporting neutrality of new post colonial countries during the early Cold War period, he was aware that Cambodia was dependent on foreign aid. As a diplomatic design, he promoted symbols of the country's national culture that had entered the consciousness of people across the world: temples, and the ballet. After Cambodia's independence in 1953, Queen Sisowath Kossamak started revamping the ballet incorporating the tastes and inclinations of international audience. She commissioned new short dance pieces tailored especially for a diplomatic event. They were mostly extracted from long, traditional performances such as, Tep Monorom (Welcome Dance), Apsara, Chhun Por (Blessing Dance), Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso. During these performances, western guests were provided a booklet to explain these in their respective languages. The following year, the cultural ambassadorship programme continued in China under similar name, The Ballet of Khmer Chinese Friendship 1960. When the king visited France in 1964, the dance was performed for the first time at the Paris Opera after colonial independence. Over the years, the ballet performances were important part of the itinerary for international head of states visiting the country. The list included, Indian prime minister Nehru, Indonesian president Sukarno, Yugoslavian president Tito, French president de Gaulle. Other famous figures included, Princess Margaret, and Jacqueline Kennedy. 90 percent of all Cambodian classical artists perished between 1975 and 1979 due to execution, torture, starvation, and exhaustion.

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.

Performed before the dance troupe enters the stage, the Teacher Salute Ceremony is a tribute to the teachers who trained them and is dedicated to the spirit that controls the spirit in each of the characters of the Royal Ballet, bidding them to ensure that their performances are smooth, confident and unobstructed. This ceremony originates from an ancient forerunner when the royal dance troupe had to offer blessings before they took the stage.

ក្រុមចម្រៀង នៃរបាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ The Singing Group of the Royal Ballet of CambodiaThe singing group divided into three 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.

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. For entertainment, performances were often staged inside the pavilions of royal palaces. Tourist restaurants in Cambodia, notably in Siem Reap, also serve as venues for classical dance performances by amateur troupes. Today, some dancers are linked to government and work at the Royal University of Fine Arts and Secondary School of Fine Arts as teachers. Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (Cambodia)'s Department of Performing Arts also engage dancers to perform on state visits. Many dancers work in the tourism, art, and corporate sectors. 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 ). Performances of (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.

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.