Apsara Dance

I wouldn't be an art teacher if I didn't do some form of promotion of arts and culture would I? Here's some information on a form of dance that the region around Cambodia is famous for.

Mr Kamal



Apsara Dance (Robam Tep Apsara) is a famous Cambodia Royal Ballet which is widely seen around Cambodia and other countries such as Thailand, Laos. The Apsara Dance is particularly inspired by the style from around one thousand Apsara statues in Angkor Wat.

Apsara Dance is one of two major forms of Khmer dancing and incorporates parts of the other much older traditional or popular dancing, which has its roots in animism and primitive magic with Hindu forms introduced during the time of Indian influence beginning in the 1st century. The dance draws its inspiration from the mythological court of the gods and from its celestial dancers, the Apsaras. An Apsara, also known as Vidhya Dhari, is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Apsaras are supernatural beautiful girls; they appear as young women of great beauty and elegance who are proficient in the art of dancing.

The dance took on its own unique form adding movements and meaning, during the reigns of Jayavarman II and Jayavarman VII as well as the foundation of Angkor era. By the 13th century, the dance received a Khmer identity rather than Indian, unlike any other dance form in the world. It got a soft movement and a loudly traditional Khmer music during its performance and was exclusively performed for noble classes and royalty.

Khmer classical dancers use stylized movements and gestures to tell a story much like a mime, but in a more vague way as most audiences will probably never understand more than a couple of gestures. Dancers do not speak or sing; they dance with a slight smile and are never supposed to open their mouths.

Gestures in Khmer classical dance are called kbach (style). These kbach are broken down into several categories depending on which body parts are involved. Hand gestures that involve fingers are called cheep which means to pinch. These hand gestures can represent various things from nature such as fruit, flowers, and leaves. When put together in combinations they can have different meanings.

Information extracted from Wikipedia