Traditional Khmer dance is not merely dance but is also meant to convey a story or message. There are
four main modern genres of traditional dance: 1) Classical Dance; 2) Shadow theater; 3) Lakhon Khol
(all-male masked dance-drama.); 4) Folk Dance. As evidenced in part by the innumerable apsaras
(celestial dancers) adorning the walls of Angkorian temples, traditional dance has been part of Khmer culture
for well more than a millennium. Yet there have been ruptures in the tradition over the centuries, making it
almost impossible to precisely trace the source of the tradition. Though much modern traditional dance was
inspired by Angkorian-era art and themes, the tradition has not been passed unbroken from the age of Angkor.
Most traditional dances performed today were developed in the 18th through 20th centuries, beginning in
earnest with a mid-19th century revival championed by King Ang Duong. Subsequent kings and other royals
also supported the arts and dance, most particularly Queen Sisowath Kossamak Nearireach in the mid-20th
century, who not only fostered a resurgence in the development of Khmer traditional dance, but also helped
move it out of the Palace and popularize it.
Many traditional dances including most Theatrical Folk Dances were developed and refined from the 1940s-
60s under the patronage of Queen Kossamak at the Conservatory of Performing Arts and the Royal
University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. Queen Kossamak trained her granddaughter Princess Bopha Devi in traditional dance from early childhood, and she went on to become the face of Khmer traditional dance in the 1950s and 60s both in Cambodia and abroad. Like so much of Cambodian art and culture, traditional dance was almost lost under the brutal repression of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, only to be revived and reconstructed in the 1980s and 90s due, in large part, to the extraordinary efforts of Princess Bopha Devi.
Classical dance, including the famous 'Apsara dance,' has a grounded, subtle, restrained, yet feather-light,
ethereal appearance. Distinct in its ornate costuming, taut posture, arched back and feet, flexed fingers
flexed, codified facial expressions, slow, close, deliberate but flowing movements, Classical dance is uniquely
Khmer. It presents themes and stories inspired primarily by the Reamker (the Cambodian version of the
Indian classic Ramayana) and by the Age of Angkor.
Folk Dance come in two forms: ceremonial and theatrical. As a general rule, only Theatrical Folk Dance is presented in public performances, with Ceremonial Folk Dances reserved for particular rituals, celebrations and holidays. Theatrical Folk Dances such as the popular Good Harvest Dance and the romantic Fishing Dance are usually adaptations of dances found in the countryside or inspired by rural life and practices. Most of the Theatrical Folk Dances were developed at RUFA in Phnom Penh in the 1960s as part of an effort to preserve and perpetuate Khmer culture and arts.
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