DANCE ORIGIN: Cambodia GENRE: Classical-Khmer ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Charya Burt First Appearance in SF EDF: 1999 Website:www.charyaburt.com
Classical Cambodian dance can be traced to court
rituals from the Khmer Angkorian Period more than a thousand years ago. In the
1970s, the Pol Pot Regime banned performances, education, and religious
ceremony as elitist activities. Artists who survived the killing fields
resurrected classical dance. It is now honored as an egalitarian art form—a
stylized form of prayer, prophecy, and kingship that defines the legacy and
spirit of the Cambodian people. The ancient Cambodian pin peat orchestra
traditionally accompanies court dance, shadow theatre, dance-drama, and temple
ceremony. Songs differ, but standard motifs accompany entrances, exits, and
movements like flying or walking.
Charya Burt Cambodian Dance was
established in 1994 by Artistic Director
CharyaBurt to promote and
preserve traditional Cambodian dance through instruction, performance, and new
works. Chayra Burt studied the repertory of Cambodian classical dance with
dance masters at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, and then served on faculty.
Dancer Chamnan Renz studied at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia and
now studies with Charya Burt. Julie Nuth, is a Khmer
Arts Academy
dancer based in Long Beach
under the direction of Sophiline Shapiro. All dancers have trained with Charya
Burt since 2006.
Villeer Chruar Knear
(Intersections Through Time) explores a dancer's journey from isolation as an
American immigrant into a world of newfound possibilities. Chayra Burt's choreography is based on classical form and vocabulary,
and she has chosen four musical pieces to reflect her personal transformation
as an artist.
First, Olo Sralai
expresses the isolation of the immigrant artist. Next, a pin peat orchestra
piece describes a wondrous, colorful garden to symbolize the New
World:
Oh beautiful
spring/With endless blossoming flowers Steeped in a heavenly garden/Aromas that fill my heart with delight/Creating
sweet sanctuary/As my sorrows ease away
Then a combined sampo and sralai symbolizes transformation;
and—to evoke new possibilities in America—a pin peat orchestration
interprets Pat Metheny’s "Above the Treetops."
The dancers wear traditional royal Khmer attire:
tight-fitting shirts (which dancers are sewn into), sequined sashes, elaborate
jewelry, golden belts, and kbag headdresses. The fans symbolize a balance
between Cambodian and American culture.
Classical Cambodian dance can be traced back to carvings, inscriptions, and complex court rituals from the Khmer Angkor period. Stone carvings in the 12th century Temples of Angkor Wat, depict over 2,000 celestial dancers—the apsaras—wearingornate headdresses,gesturing gracefully with raised arms, pointing toes in a lively dance. This is the group's first public presentation of the traditional Robam Apsara—presenting a traditional pin peat ensemble from the acclaimed Khmer Arts Academy.
Long ago, gods and demons churned a great sea of milk—by pulling at opposite ends of a divine serpent coiled around a submerged mountain. From this churning sea, the apsaras were born. One apsara, Mera, made love with the hermit, Kampu, and gave birth to the nation of Kampu-Mera or Kampuchea. In Robam Apsara, Mera and her maids are sent down from heaven. As the dance begins, the apsaras are frozen in time. Gradually, under the influence of earthly music, the ancient Angkor Wat sculptures come alive. They dance in an earthly garden, and these words echo the voices of the heavens:
Charya Burt dances Mera, dressed in white to represent purity. The dancers, all women, carry golden flowers to symbolize happiness and well being of Cambodian people. Cambodian dancers are sewn into elaborate handmade costumes, a process which can take two to three hours. They are then adorned with neckpieces, belts of silk brocade, delicate jewelry, and finally, elaborate golden headdresses.
The Khmer Arts Ensemble is an internationally acclaimed classical dance and music troupe. Co-founder and Artistic Director Sophiline Cheam Shapiro graduated from Phnom Penh’s University of Fine Arts and taught there from 1988 to 1991. She is a choreographer, dancer, vocalist and educator whose original works—giving new life to Cambodian classical dance—have been performed worldwide. Today's pin peat musicians are Cambodian performing artists who studied and served as faculty in Cambodia's National Department of Performing Arts, Phnom Penh’s National School of Fine Arts, and Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace.
Pka Kolab Khiev (Blue Roses), is an innovative new work inspired by the character of Laura from the Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie. Blue Roses explores the life of a Khmer princess who masks her unhappiness by surrounding herself with familiar things – her “glass menagerie.” She yearns to break out of her safe world to experience a new life, but becomes frightened by the unknown. Despite the promise of a new world, the princess retreats back, as the pull of tradition is too strong.
Symbolically this piece explores the counter tension between new social expectations and traditional values. Like other Asian women in the United States, many Cambodian women are able to have professional careers and live independently, yet feel compelled to follow more traditional norms. The cultural constraints of living in immigrant communities can make the adoption of contemporary ways remarkably difficult.
Pkaa Kolab Khiev is made possible in part by funding from the Dance: Creation to Performance program and by the James Irvine Foundation, and is administrated by Dance/USA. The music is supported by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, with funding from the California Arts Council, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
2006 PERFORMANCE
TITLE OF
PIECE: Forever My Ancestors CHOREOGRAPHER: Charya
Burt DANCERS: Charya Burt, Sokny Hin, Chamnan
Renz
Charya Burt’s Classical Cambodian Dance Company performs
Forever My
Ancestors which is a new piece honoring Khmer ancestors. The dance
is an offering and
tribute to the dance ancestors who carefully preserved and
passed down the precious
Khmer tradition. Similar to royal ceremonial dress,
the fabrics, jewelry and headwear
is made of golden metals, and the headdress,
shaped like a Buddhist shrine,
symbolizes a mountain at the center of the
universe. Before each performance, dancers
are sewn into their elaborate
costumes, which can take up to two hours.
2005 PERFORMANCE
TITLE:ROBAM CHHOUY
CHHAY CHOREOGRAPHY: Queen Kossamak
Nearyrath, mother of
King Norodom Sihanouk MUSIC: Pin Peat Ensemble
Charya Burt performs the
lyrical Robam Chhouy Chhay, which was originally
choreographed under the
guidance of Queen Kossamak Nearyrath, mother
of King Norodom Sihanouk, in
the 1950's, depicting the spirit
and character of a young princess'
blossoming beauty. This dance
was created for the King's daughter, and
praises her composed
demeanor and immense beauty. The movements demand
flexibility, balance,
spatial precision and control. Charya learned it in
the 1980s as part
of the repertoire taught at the Royal University of Fine
Arts where
she graduated and taught.
The
Pin Peat, a
Court-style orchestra, accompanies the dance. This type of
orchestra is largely
percussive and is considered the oldest and most
revered type of musical formation.
The costumes, all hand-made, are
adorned with silk and metallic brocade. The style
reflects images of
divine beings descending from heaven to bless the earth with peace
and
prosperity.
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