Our Cambodia director Narla and his wife had the pleasure of attending the Myanmar National Symphony Orchestra, Le Quatuor Des Équilibres and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia’s performance at Angkor Wat …
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Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Narla had the opportunity to enjoy the traditional dance, music and light show that was held at the Ancient Ankorian temple last week. Showcasing some of the best artists of the region, the Fondamentus show was a celebration of cultural milestones in the area — the 10th anniversary of the classification by UNESCO of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia as Intangible Cultural Heritage, the 20th anniversary of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor, and in Myanmar the 65th anniversary of French-Burmese relations. This event represents the first time that the Myanmar national orchestra has traveled abroad. Here he recounts his take on this unique experience.
It’s not very often I get the opportunity to see Angkor Wat at night time with these of the special performance.
It was amazing; the light system and atmosphere were absolutely romantic. The stage was very well set up to match a corner of Angkor Wat and I could not believe my eyes that they did that.
The music was a mix of Cambodia traditional music and western (they played Violin, Viola and Cello). I liked it very much because it’s something that I never hear. Also being at Angkor Wat — it made it more special.
Apsara dancing is the first group on stage and they performed the Golden Mermaid, Robam Tep Monorom (The Dance of Heavenly Gods and Goddesses for Happiness).
The Golden Mermaid tells the story of three students, Moni Mekala, Ream-Ea-So and prince Vora-chhun, who received lessons from one teacher, Moni-Ey-Sey. After giving each of them a specialized weapon to continue on their path, Ream-Ea-So turns dark and kills the prince for his gift. He goes after the beautiful Ms. Moni Mekala for her weapon, but she outsmarts him returning harmony in his defeat.
The Dance of the Heavenly Gods is a typical Khmer classical court dance depicting matching pairs of gods and goddesses moving in unison in order to express that the heavens are in harmony. As they dance they also court each other. When all is well in heavens, rains come on time and the land is fertile, bringing prosperity to the people.
These are great dances with deep meaning that express our culture with every single movement.
Being able to watch this show felt incredible! The King was there and I felt like it was an amazing moment to see this concert “with the king”. Also, I felt proud to be part of the host because it’s not only me as Cambodian to join, others nationalities came to this concert as well.
I felt like I was in somewhere peaceful and I will never forget this moment of my life. The audience acted very quiet and respect the performer, to me look like they are all enjoy and loved it as much as I did.