The adorable Srey Mao

Srey Mao takes a well-earned breather after her dance performance

Srey Mao was one of the teenage dancers who performed at the book launch of Denise Heywood's Cambodian Dance: Celebration of the Gods at Monument Books in Phnom Penh this evening. She was radiant in her shimmering green bodice and sampot, ornamental bracelets and anklets and her gold head-dress known as a mkot, topped with fragipani flowers. One of the dancers from Angkar Sangkruos Komar Borey Bakheng, where all the performers and musicians were in their teens, she trains for a couple of hours each day to hone her dancing skills. She isn't in the top echelon of dancers that perform with the likes of Cambodian Living Arts or Amrita Arts as she is still learning her art but her admirable performance this evening was full of promise and she could easily go onto join one of the top troupes with a little luck. She is also a beautiful girl in the classic Khmer tradition and in the golden age of classical dance would've been whisked off into the royal ballet and the King's harem. Here's some more photos of Srey Mao strutting her stuff in demure fashion.

Full of movement, Srey Mao is backed by a youthful pinpeat orchestra

No smile, her gaze is fixed, she is in the zone

Srey Mao follows the lead of her dance colleague in gold and yellow

Hours of practice and stretching makes perfect

Framed by her fragrant flowers, Srey Mao is a study in concentration

Srey Mao, a radiant beauty

The end of the dance, the end of the performance