Madrid | Cambodian dancers in Peter Sellars opera

Four Amrita Performing Arts dancers from Cambodia, Chumvan Sodhachivy, Khon Chan Sithyka, Nam Narim and Sam Sathya, feature in performances of Stravinsky’s opera PERSEPHONE directed by Peter Sellars at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain, January 14-29, 2012.

The Dancers are all graduates of the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh Cambodia and have trained since childhood in Cambodian classical court and masked dance. These dancers represent a new generation of artists born out of the revival and preservation of a performing arts heritage that was nearly annihilated by the purges of the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 – 1979. Over the past few years, the dancers have been exploring contemporary creativity through cross cultural exchange programs with collaborators from Europe, America, Australia and throughout Asia. These workshops have led to a new generation of Cambodian contemporary dance with repertory that has been presented around the world. All of the dancers remain faithful to their traditional dance heritage but are also eager to further develop as contemporary Cambodian dancers and choreographers. Read more about Amrita Arts and see the rehearsal pictures on the blog Not in Madrid? You can buy a ticket to view the performance on 24 January 2012 in direct digital transmission through the Teatro Real's Palco Digital (information in Spanish only - check timing carefully if in a different time zone!)