Published: 1st January, 2012
PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Dancing is a form of physical activity that provides some surprising benefits such as increased muscle tone and coordination. It can also keep regular dancers slim. But what motivates professional dancers who dance for a living? Boy, the head of a four-member dancing team, said he danced neither to keep slim nor for the money. "But it’s my favorite job," he said.
"Dancing requires self-practice as well as observing the teacher’s techniques in dancing clubs. When studying, we have to practice or we'll get nothing."
Boy says the income from dancing is so low that he "almost couldn’t earn a good living" due to the absence of contracts with companies.
Despite the lack of stability, he has been working as a dancer for 10 years and says he still enjoys it since he's talented. Nevertheless, he says he won't be a dancer forever since he's unlikely to be hired as he gets older.
Another dancer, a woman who asked not to be named, said she was encouraged by a friend to work as a dancer at Phnom Penh concerts.
She considers it a temporary job even though, like Boy, she has been working as a dancer for 10 years.
"I wanted to be a makeup artist but I don’t have enough money so I decided to be a dancer," she said, adding that she earned between $100 and $140 a month.
Charithy, a program manager at TV5, said the station employs six male and six female dancers on a part-time basis. They earn $35 a week and are required to practice three to four hours every day for three days before a concert.
Sophal, the director of Rithy Vong Art School, is a former dance teacher whose school focuses on acting, action, modeling and both Khmer and international dancing.
"I faced difficulties managing dancing teams, especially when the dancers were qualified enough to work at concerts since they'd be invited to dance for other companies. For this reason, I stopped teaching," he said.
"Dancing requires self-practice as well as observing the teacher’s techniques in dancing clubs. When studying, we have to practice or we'll get nothing."
Boy says the income from dancing is so low that he "almost couldn’t earn a good living" due to the absence of contracts with companies.
Despite the lack of stability, he has been working as a dancer for 10 years and says he still enjoys it since he's talented. Nevertheless, he says he won't be a dancer forever since he's unlikely to be hired as he gets older.
Another dancer, a woman who asked not to be named, said she was encouraged by a friend to work as a dancer at Phnom Penh concerts.
She considers it a temporary job even though, like Boy, she has been working as a dancer for 10 years.
"I wanted to be a makeup artist but I don’t have enough money so I decided to be a dancer," she said, adding that she earned between $100 and $140 a month.
Charithy, a program manager at TV5, said the station employs six male and six female dancers on a part-time basis. They earn $35 a week and are required to practice three to four hours every day for three days before a concert.
Sophal, the director of Rithy Vong Art School, is a former dance teacher whose school focuses on acting, action, modeling and both Khmer and international dancing.
"I faced difficulties managing dancing teams, especially when the dancers were qualified enough to work at concerts since they'd be invited to dance for other companies. For this reason, I stopped teaching," he said.
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