The mission of the Angkor Dance Troupe is to

• Preserve, develop and teach the traditions of Cambodian performance arts;
• Promote an increased understanding and appreciation for Cambodian culture through
  educational programs and professional public performances;
• Support the work of Cambodian dancers in the U.S. and Cambodia; and
• Provide in-depth, high quality arts training and leadership development opportunity for inner-city youth.
  

The structure of Angkor's youth programs is based on the premise that Angkor's young people, and the organization itself, are best served when our youth play an active role in the planning and implementation of Angkor's arts and humanities, as well as administrative activities. By engaging our young people in this way, we enhance their capacity to develop problem solving and mediation skills; improve their academic performance and college readiness; reduce teen pregnancy and drop out rates; and improve youth and intercultural relations citywide.

Realizing this objective is at the heart of our artistic, educational and youth development programming goals.

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Through a generous arrangement with the Lowell National Historical Park, Angkor has offices and rehearsal space on the third floor of the Mogan Cultural Center located at 40 French Street in Lowell, MA.

1. Route 3 to 495 North to the Lowell Connector.
2. Take the Thorndike Street exit off the Connector.
3. Following Thorndike Street, go through the first set of lights, past the train station on the left & continue straight under the overpass & through the next set of traffic lights. Thorndike Street becomes Dutton Street.
4. Continue straight through the next traffic light. (The parking lot for the Lowell Historical National Park visitors center is on the right.)
5. Continue straight through the next traffic light at the intersection with Market Street. (Haffners gas station is on the left.)
6. At next light, at the intersection with Merrimack Street, follow the road straight as it bends left then right making an S-curve.
7. At the next light (Tsongas Arena straight ahead), turn right.
8. Go about 1/2 mile past Lowell High School on the right. The next building on the left-hand side is 40 French Street.
9. There is a parking garage at the next corner.

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Since 1986, Angkor has enrolled more than 1,000 young people from the Greater Lowell area, ranging in age from 4 to 18. Currently, Angkor has approximately 70 young participants.

In the book Fractured Identities by Jim Higgins and Joan Ross, Sovann-Thida Loeung, an original member of Angkor, states that she was 15 when she and her family escaped Cambodia for the US. Two of her younger brothers became involved with gangs- one was jailed, the other killed. "I was old enough to have had something beautiful about Cambodian culture to hold on to before the fighting and genocide took everything away. But fighting and killing is all my unfortunate brothers have ever known. This may be why I am able to cope with the feeling of fractured identity and confusion that break so many young people apart."

At a retreat conducted by our collaborator Big Brother/ Big Sister, our young people were asked to identify strengths they possess for resisting the risk factors that affect them. Reiterating some of Thida's comments above, they said:

• Pride in their culture and history, such as the building of the Angkor Wat temple
• Their friends and mentors, including adult and youth mentors
• Safe places to go and hang out with friends, including an anonymous hot line
• Things to do that are fun and interesting, such as the Angkor Dance Troupe

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The Angkor Dance Troupe provides an essential service to the community not met by any other organizations. The Troupe is the only nonprofit cultural group in Lowell, MA, whose sole mission is to preserve the traditions of Cambodian performing arts. The Angkor Dance Troupe develops and teaches Cambodian dance, promotes an understanding and appreciation of Cambodian culture, and provides a positive social and educational outlet for Cambodian youth.

The Drive to Preserve Traditions

The Angkor Dance Troupe was formed in 1986, in Lowell, MA, by Mr. Tim Chan Thou, Angkor's Program Director, along with a small group of dancers who learned traditional Cambodian dance in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. They brought with them to the United States a strong desire to practice and perform Cambodian dance and a passion to teach others.

Dance and its associated rituals and beliefs have become a way for Cambodian people to reconstruct a sense of community and culture, particularly for refugees who have resettled in other countries. Between 1975 and 1979, when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia, more than 90% of the country's artists perished or fled. Today as Cambodia struggles to emerge from decades of war and poverty, the people look to the rebirth and recreation of dance as testimony to the endurance of their culture.

Classical Dance - A Treasured Symbol of Cambodian Culture

Classical or court dance is considered by many to be a universal symbol of Cambodian culture. It is a source of national pride for Cambodians, representing the beauty and spirituality of Cambodian people. The dance form is particularly meaningful for postwar Cambodians as they work to reclaim and rebuild a treasured heritage. Many first practiced or saw the art form in the refugee camps. For children born and raised in the camps or in other countries, it has become a connection to the past and a way to experience revered ancient traditions.

Folk Dance - A Celebration of Traditional Ways of Life

Folk dances are a way for displaced Cambodians to remember their homeland and to teach their children about the regional, agricultural, and social forces that shape the lives of Cambodia's rural population. From folk dances, young Cambodian-Americans learn about geography and the daily life in Cambodia that they have never experienced.

Carrying on the Tradition: Engaging Our Young People

The Troupe holds weekly rehearsals. For four hours every Sunday, members gather to practice. The method of teaching is practiced as it has been done traditionally, by watching, imitation, and assistance from teachers to achieve the correct postures and movement.

Cambodian tradition prescribes a particular relationship between student and teacher, a relationship that is repeated between children and parents, young people and elders. Students are respectful of teachers and of the knowledge they possess. They appreciate the chance to learn and understand their responsibility for carrying on their culture.

The young people in the Dance Troupe, most of whom were born here in the U.S., have increasingly been asking for background on the dances and the history of Cambodia. In the recently-published book Fractured Identities, Cambodia s Children of War, a young Cambodian-American man from Lowell suggests his primary source of information about Southeast Asia has been popular movies:  "I saw Good Morning Vietnam with my uncle two or three times. We don't learn anything about the history of Cambodia in school here. Just Columbus...who discovered America...stuff like that...it just doesn't go in my head."

In response to the clear need for meaningful educational opportunities Angkor's Artistic Director, Phousita Huy, develops and presents workshops on Cambodian culture as part of her ongoing instruction. To encourage attendance and participation by the Cambodian community, these workshops will take place at sites within Lowell's Cambodian-American community. They are publicized via Khmer-language materials and media as well as through traditional forms of promotion.

The Need for Master Teachers

The technical mastery involved in Cambodian dance is considerable. Students must perfect an estimated forty-five hundred basic gestures and movements to perform certain dance pieces. Because of the losses suffered during the Khmer Rouge, the transmission of traditional knowledge is a crucial yet challenging process, particularly in communities that have resettled far from their homeland. Dr. Sam-Ang Sam, a master musician and director of the Apsara Ensemble in Arlington, VA, writes:  "The break in oral tradition has resulted in the loss of more than half of the oldest pieces that had previously been passed from generation to generation. In the US today there is a shortage of professional and knowledgeable artists...this has endangered the preservation of technique, style, and repertory." 

Masters of Cambodian Dance - A Way to Build on Past Successes

Phousita Huy and the other dance masters who work with the Troupe have specialties that allow the Troupe to develop dance forms not currently being taught to performance level. Say Seuar, for example, a professor at the University of Fine Arts, is considered one of the best instructors of the Monkey Dance in the world.

The Monkey is a role in the Reamker, Cambodia's version of the epic Indian tale, the Ramayana, from which many dances are derived. There is one particular dance called Swva Pol, which is performed by young boys. Because of its lively acrobatic style, it is a hugely popular dance at performances. However the lack of students skilled in the dance precludes its inclusion in many of the Troupe s performances. As part of his master residency, Mr. Soy has held a series of classes on the Monkey Dance.

Training by dance master Phousita Huy has greatly expanded the Troupe's technical abilities as well as the dancers' understanding of the spiritual and ritual functions of dance in Cambodian culture. The power of the dance is in its cultural connection and the meaning behind the movement fundamental aspects of the art form which are not always comprehensively taught here in the U.S. Through her years of experience at the University of Fine Arts, Ms. Huy developed high standards of training and performance, as well as extensive knowledge of repertory, dance history, and cultural context.

The Angkor Dance Troupe performed in April 1997 for a large multi-ethnic audience at a Cambodian New Year celebration at the Sheraton in Lowell. Because of the special expertise and teaching of Phousita Huy, the Troupe was able, for the first time, to present a performance of the Apsara Dance. The Apsara is a revered classical dance steeped in spiritual tradition and based on the sculptures that adorn the walls of Angkor Wat. After the performance, Cambodians in the audience approached members of the Troupe to express how deeply moved and impressed they were by the Apsara Dance and how grateful they were to be able to experience this type and caliber of traditional Cambodian dance.

The responsiveness of the community to the idea of partnering with master dancers is evident in the reaction to a major public event sponsored by the Lowell Cultural Council presented by the Troupe in May 1997. The Troupe hosted dance masters from around the US who joined members of Angkor Dance in an elaborate public performance.  The event was enthusiastically received by the community and is still being re-broadcast on Cambodian cable stations around eastern Massachusetts. The Troupe experienced a surge in membership after the performance and, for the first time in its history, had to create a waiting list of young people interested in learning to dance.

For several years, The Angkor Dance Troupe has been selected for inclusion on the New England States Touring Roster, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts to help build support for New England s best performing artists. Additionally, the Troupe was selected for participation in NEFA's Ford Foundation-funded Newcomers Project on the basis of its artistic excellence and its potential for acting as a key Cambodian arts organization among the network of Cambodian communities throughout the region.

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