Founded in 1994 by eight former Cambodian refugees, Phare Ponleu Selpak, Khmer for ‘the brightness of the arts,’ is a social centre and
art school in Battambang, Cambodia’s second largest city. Phare Ponleu
Selpak circus is now reaching world fame.
PARIS- Their names are Dina, Sothea, Sovanna or Vanthan. These young
men are all in their early twenties. They generally share the same
difficult background: no parents, poverty. But they are all animated
with the same will of achieving a new life through art. But they are
currently travelling through France with a spectacular show, a mix of
theater review, dances and circus performances. They all share the dream
of Phare Ponleu Selpak, one of Cambodia’s most innovative cultural
institutions.
Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) -in Khmer language “the
brightness of art”- is indeed a cultural organisation based in
Battambang, Cambodia, that offers young people a training to become
professional artists and performers. The idea emerged in 1994 by young
Cambodians returning from the refugee camps following the Khmer rouge
trauma which annihilated centuries of culture and almost succeed to make
the Cambodian society vanishing…
For Phare Ponleu Selpak,
reviving arts and teach them to young generations was seen as the best
way to evacuate Cambodia’s dark past under the Khmer Rouge and connect
back to vernacular traditions. “We looked back at all the cultural
elements influential in shaping the Cambodian psyche. We educate young
people in fields as varied as circus skills, theater performance, music,
dances or painting”, explains Det Khuon, Artistic Director and Founder of PPS. For some of the poorest kids, PPS also proposes general education teaching. “This is a way for us to make a living and contribute to our society. We generally start very early, around the age of 13”, says Dina Ngai, a young athletic acrobat.
Located
in Battambang city, PPS campus welcomes some 450 kids and young adults.
Best of it: their circus performances are now turning into one of the
most striking shows to be seen in Cambodia. “We perform every night
in Siem Reap where of course we can reach a lot of tourists. But people
are also welcome to visit our school in Battambang where they will see
the training. We also perform regular shows four times a week. We now
think of opening a further venue in Sihanoukville”, tells Det Khuon.
PPS
Shows combine traditional arts with new creative and innovative genres.
The show currently on tour in France is called “Sokha”. This is the
story of a war child who is haunted by visions of the atrocities carried
out during Cambodian Civil War and the destruction after the Khmer
Rouge regime. Sokha’s memory is mixed with tales and surreal stories
through acrobatics and dances. A daunting but joyful energetic show
which found the favours of a large public.
PPS throws also a
positive image – or just an image- of Battambang. Cambodia’s second city
still suffers of an image deficit compared to other destinations such
as Siem Reap/Angkor but also Phnom Penh or Sihanoukville. The presence
of the circus is a major asset for the city. But so far it seems that
local authorities have not seized the opportunity to capitalize on PPS
presence. “The support of Battambang municipality for our campus and our shows remain very limited”, admits Det Khuon. “We
do not get any financial help from the city or even from the government
and can only rely on the generosity of private companies or foreign
help”, he adds.
In Cambodia, tour operating company Asian Trails is a fervent supporter of PPS, organizing private shows where the school’s young artists are performing.
As
Cambodia is very keen to highlight its cultural heritage, the
government should maybe think back again and provide more support to one
of its emerging institutions, which shows that Cambodia art scene is
very alive again. And that creativity linked to generosity are not
unknown notions in the Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment