Dance in Cambodia (review)

Dance in Cambodia. By Toni Samantha Phim and Ashley Thompson. (Images of Asia.) Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia: Oxford University Press, 1999. [xii, 91 p. ISBN 983-56-0059-7. $19.95.]

Part of a series on Southeast Asia now numbering thirty-one volumes, this modest but expertly written work contributes greatly to our rather limited knowledge of Cambodian dance and theater and their current practice. Intended for a general audience, its style is entirely descriptive, and it includes forty-two black-and-white drawings and photographs and twenty-three color plates. In addition to the five chapters, there is a brief introduction to Cambodian music and a glossary. The authors write with authority based on extensive fieldwork in Cambodia during the nineties and, I suspect, based on personal study of dance as well.

The book is organized into chapters that, following an introduction (chap. 1), cover four genres: shadow theater, court (classical) dance, all-male dance drama, and ceremonial or theatrical dance. The authors approach the subject from historical and contextual perspectives, with relatively little space devoted to technical descriptions. While they are clearly dance specialists, they communicate a broad knowledge of Cambodian history, culture, and other arts, enabling the reader to understand these genres as expressions of Cambodian culture as a whole.

For Cambodians, dance is not merely entertainment or exercise; it is essential to life and to the identity and maintenance of Cambodian culture. That is why so many Cambodians, even many of common origin, sought to learn dance in the refugee camps in Thailand following the disastrous reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge (1975- 79), whose systematic abuse and killing, targeted at educated and artistic persons, caused the deaths of some two million fellow Khmers. In the diaspora, especially France and the United States, these efforts to rebuild the culture have continued, while the situation in Cambodia has returned to relative normalcy. Khmer dance is considered spiritual, and performances are preceded by rituals called sampeah kru, in which "participants ask various gods and local spirits as well as the spirits of deceased dance masters to help guide the artists" (p. 12).

The authors emphasize the central role of the apsaras, heavenly dancing maidens and consorts of the king, who have long dominated the visual arts, appearing especially in temple carvings. Contemporary dancers are seen as living apsaras, and thus Khmer dance is sacred, connected to all of the culture's religious traditions, including animism, Hinduism, and Buddhism; "performance in and of itself is an offering to the gods" (p. 4). The authors chose to omit modern and social dance because these lack the sacredness of traditional dance.

The literature on Khmer dance is not extensive, but Cambodian-Americans Chan Moly Sam and Sam-Ang Sam have contributed a number of fine books and videos on the subject, based mostly on their work in the United States. Some of these materials provide more extensive technical data than the present volume, but none provide as full a statement of current context. In particular, the introductory chapter constitutes a useful discussion of the Khmer arts and their significance in the culture. Although the authors assert a rather modest goal for the volume ("to give the reader a general understanding of the major genres of dance and dance-drama practised in Cambodia today" [p. 11]), what they have written is an up-to-date study derived from in-depth knowledge and sensitivity. Even if it is merely a survey, it can be trusted, for it is based on the firsthand experience of two scholar-practitioners.

TERRY E. MILLER
Kent State University

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