Cambodia's gay dance troupe

[reader]

From Khaosod English

 

 

BANGKOK — Wearing a glittering golden crown, a male dancer in a purple sarong sways gracefully in an ancient Khmer routine. A necklace hangs from his neck, and bangles adorn his wrists, arms and ankles like the ancient temple dancers whose movements he evokes.

 

Especially stunning are the bare-chested men personifying female characters in a performance that signifies a leap forward for Cambodia’s once-invisible LGBT performing arts community.

 

At a Friday performance of the Prumsodun Ok and Natyarasa dance company, it wasn’t the dancers’ sexual identities that made for a captivating performance, but their command of traditional Khmer dance, which communicates beauty through every curved back and synchronized movement.

 

Apart from their expressiveness, the audience at Thonglor Art Space could clearly sense the dancers’ dedication, accompanied by the dignity of representing their sexuality, being accepted and supporting themselves by doing what they love.

 

Artists and academics were all but exterminated in the Khmer Rouge genocide four decades ago. Efforts were made to revive traditional Khmer dance afterward, but it remains in a vulnerable state today.

 

Ok said the ancient dance is seen as a mirror of heaven, reflecting society’s highest expressions of beauty, identity and order. If one looks at that reflection and doesn’t see LGBT people, it means that they don’t exist. That lack of representation, Ok said, contributes to them being stigmatized and misunderstood.

 

“Giving these gay men a place in this artform is really stretching and re-choreographing the image of heaven and the order it represents,” said Ok, the troupe’s founder and artistic director. “What we’re giving to the tradition is new voices, new ideas, new approaches of where to grow and expand into the future and also allowing young gay men to be heard, seen and to be valued.”

 

Before the troupe was formed, Ok received threats from those afraid and angry that he’d destroy or distort the traditional artform. He compared the situation to a story in which the Hindu Lord Shiva held poison in his neck to save the world.

 

 

“I really learned how to transform poison into nectar,” he said. “Beyond them, there were young Khmer people who wrote to me saying that they love what I’m doing. Also, I learned to see the love all around me from teachers, friends, strangers who came talk to me.”

 

Eventually, negative criticism faded as his works proved their quality and began transforming traditional dance into a contemporary context.

 

Ok said LGBT rights are improving in Cambodia, but a lot of work remains, such as ending workplace discrimination, harmful media portrayals and family acceptance.

 

Continues with video and pics

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/arts/2017/06/06/gay-cambodian-dance-co-upholds-tradition-as-it-breaks-barriers/

[santosh108]

Thank you so much for your posting.  You are giving me another good reason to visit Phnom Penh.  They have a nice web site in English: www.prumsodun.com.  They have been performing in their studio in PP twice a month.  Hope they are still active next March when I plan to make my first visit.  

 

And if you happen to go to Siem Reap, don't miss the Phare Cambodian circus!   pharecircus.org

[monsoon]

 

oops, finger slipped while scrolling, can't find a delete button now

[vinapu]

oops, finger slipped while scrolling, can't find a delete button now

welcome to the forum anyways