Like other extraordinary creatures, the Apsaras were born from the churning of the Sea of Milk, an event drawn from one of the most important and ancient myths of Hindu cosmology.

From myth to reality...

Frozen in the stone of Angkor Wat, they were very much alive, in the sacred imperial City...

Arriving from India fifteen hundred years ago, "Those who glide upon the water", in Sanskrit, are described by legend as nymphs of great beauty, emerging from the waters to seduce men. Their graceful silhouettes became embedded in Khmer architecture at a time when the city of Angkor was an imperial capital and, frozen in the stone of the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, some of them continue to charm many visitors...

Angkorian civilization knew countless Apsaras who were very much alive, as hundreds, even thousands of young girls, chosen for their beauty, were trained in this art to become messengers of the kings to the gods and ancestors. Evolving over the centuries, their discipline became classical Khmer dance and, in 2008, the Royal Ballet of Cambodge was inscribed by UNESCO in the intangible heritage of humanity.

From love to hatred...

Apsara dances are renowned for conveying the entire spectrum of human emotions and comprise more than four thousand positions to be memorized. Nine to twelve years of demanding training are necessary before a young girl can be considered a "Celestial Dancer".

In 1942, young King Norodom Sihanouk married the prima ballerina of the Cambodian Royal Ballet, Neak Moneang Phat Kanhol, and from this union, Princess Norodom Bopha Devi was born the following year. The child was chosen from the beginning of her life by her paternal grandmother, Queen-Mother Sisowath Kossamak, to become an exceptional dancer. Named prima ballerina at the age of fifteen, the young girl received the title of prima ballerina three years later. She then traveled the world with the Royal Ballet, which previously had never performed for audiences other than royalty, at ceremonies intended to honor the gods and dynastic ancestors.

The very particular condition of these dancers did not, however, protect them from the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime. From 1975 to 1979, a third of the country's population, primarily artists, Buddhist monks, and intellectuals, were eliminated.

The return to life and building a future...

Chap Chamroeun Tola, Prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet of Cambodge / Phnom Penh Post.

In Phnom Penh, in the early 1980s, the University of Fine Arts of Cambodge, as exsanguinated and devastated as all the country's institutions, nonetheless returned to life and, thanks to a few rare survivors from previous generations, reopened its doors to new students. Twelve more years were necessary before witnessing the renaissance of the Royal Ballet of Cambodge, notably thanks to the tireless work of Princess Bopha Devi.

(**) Princess Norodom Bopha Devi (Photo by James Wendlinger, Hong Kong 2017)

Princess Norodom Bopha Devi, who took refuge in Paris to escape the genocide, was appointed Minister of Culture from 1998 to 2004. Prima ballerina at age fifteen (*), she continues to closely follow the Apsaras of the Royal Ballet of Cambodge (**) and will undoubtedly symbolize eternally the entry of an ancient art into the twenty-first century and posterity...

An interview with Princess Norodom Bopha Devi and other contributors to the Royal Ballet of Cambodge during a tour in Hong Kong can be found, along with the final photo, in an article (in English) from the Post Magazine of September 2017.

On this blog, also discover the story of the fabulous destiny of another princess of the Khmer kingdom, who became Her Majesty the Queen-Mother of Cambodge.