The Royal Ballet of Cambodia presents its new show this weekend!

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia, also known as Khmer classical dance, will perform its new production this weekend, January 18–19, at the Chaktomuk Theatre in Phnom Penh from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Tickets are still available through the Ballet's partners, online via Last2Ticket, or at the French Institute of Cambodia until Friday from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and on Saturday all day except between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. The troupe will present its new show titled Neang Watthana Devi, choreographed by the former prima ballerina and current director of the Royal Ballet, Princess Norodom Buppha Devi.

A renaissance

The first prima ballerina in the history of the Royal Ballet drew inspiration from French artist Auguste Rodin, who witnessed the performance in 1906, and his work Psyche. The context is drawn from Greek mythology. In Neang Watthana Devi, a young woman, portrayed as Psyche, the main character, is "beautiful and innocent." Her radiance provokes love, conflict, and fear between two Hindu deities, the god Samiddha and the goddess Raki, corresponding to Eros (Cupid) and Aphrodite. At the press conference held at Raffles Hotel in Phnom Penh last December, Princess Norodom Buppha Devi stated that the most experienced artists of the troupe would participate in this performance.

Rediscovering identity

During this press briefing, the princess expressed her desire, through the Royal Ballet, to "restore to Cambodians the feeling of being 'Khmer,' as many of them have already been influenced by foreign cultures." Historically, this troupe has been shaped by inspirations from beyond its borders. According to Anne-Décoret Ahiha, a researcher at the Department of Heritage, Audiovisual, and Publications at the National Dance Center (CND), King Ang Duong, father of Norodom I, during his reign (1841–1860), opened the doors of Khmer art to neighboring influences. He advocated for the gestures and attitudes of Vietnamese opera and integrated Thai culture into the royal family's stage entertainments. His son allowed the Royal Ballet, over a millennium old, to evolve by incorporating works from Filipino musicians or artists from Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, China, and Vietnam.

However, this has not always been the case. Recently, Princess Kossamak Sisowath, mother of King Norodom Sihanouk, made efforts, particularly in the 1960s, to eliminate external influences and recreated "Robam Tep Apsara," the famous dance of the Apsaras, emphasizing the heritage and Khmer values portrayed.

In this new production, Ballet Director Norodom Buppha Devi once again draws from global excellence, here within French art and Greek mythology. But it's not so much the international influence of the essence of the performance that matters, but its internal radiance—the interest of Khmers in their own artistic culture. Proeung Chheang, choreographer of the Royal Ballet, even spoke of a "duty" when he mentioned, at the Raffles press conference, the support that Cambodians, especially the younger generation, could provide to any form of national art, particularly the Ballet.

On Saturday afternoon, a performance reserved for Khmer students from Phnom Penh universities is organized, perhaps in this direction.  

Thibault Bourru