Cambodian classical music and dance
In several Southeast Asian countries and Indonesia, no artistic medium is more intensely practiced or central to national identity than the dance drama derived from the ancient Ramayana. Ornately dressed and rigorously trained dancers perform highly controlled, stylized movements expressing a narrative theme. The dance drama is accompanied by a small orchestra comprised mainly of sets of tuned gongs and instruments such as drums, xylophones and oboes. In Cambodia, the terror of the Khmer Rouge holocaust of the mid-1970's devastated the primary institutions that supported dance drama, the royal court and the University of Fine Arts. The tradition was uprooted as dancers and musicians who survived the genocide fled to the United States along with large numbers of their compatriots. Fortunately, some of the surviving artists were determined to keep their heritage a living part of Cambodian life in the United States. One of these master artists is Sam-Oeun Tes. Madame Tes was raised on the Cambodian Royal Palace grounds, and at the age of 14 was invited to study with her aunt, a palace dancer. She came to the United States in 1971. In 1998, she was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship for her artistry and outstanding work as a teacher of this venerable and exquisite art form. Madame Tes has assembled an extraordinary group of master dancers and musicians to perform at this year's National Folk Festival - an ensemble of six musicians and nine dancers from all around the nation. Words cannot do justice to the breathtaking beauty of Khmer classical dance. Festivalgoers can look forward to what might well be a once-in-a-lifetime experience - a rare ensemble performance by the very finest Cambodian classical dancers in the world.