Birthday Belle

Belle, center, taking the plaudits at a previous Dansez Roam! performance

Happy birthday Belle, though as a gentleman, I couldn't possibly disclose her age. Cambodia's leading contemporary dancer celebrates her birthday today but has no time to relax as she's been in rehearsals preparing to perform this coming Friday and Saturday at the Chenla Theater as part of the Dansez Roam! series of events. This week will see the presentation of Suites, where seven Cambodian choreographers will interpret their impressions of the first three cello suites of JS Bach through their contemporary style. Belle has warned me to be prepared to see something very different from the norm. A French cello virtuoso, Vincent Courtois, will accompany the dancers live during the performances. They are at Chenla Theatre on 12th and 13th February, starting at 7pm. Tickets are available at the French Cultural Center and at Amrita's offices on Sothearos Boulevard.

This Saturday (13th) at 4pm, the Bophana Center (Street 200) will host a screening of The Continuum: Beyond the Killing Fields, directed by Ong Keng Sen, in Khmer but with English subtitles. In 2002, The Asian Theatre Journal described The Continuum as:
‘a moving exploration of the ability of traditional art forms to speak to new realities. Continuum is part documentary and part experimental performance about Cambodia’s recent past and the process of four Cambodians using their art to come to terms with that past today....The Continuum weaves together stories of life and death under Pol Pot as told by three classical dancers and one shadow puppeteer with excerpts from the classical Cambodian dance repertoire, dance training exercises, shadow puppetry, evocative music by Japanese musician and composer Yen Chang, and documentary video by Noorlinah Mohd. The performance features the extraordinary artistry of master dancer Em Theay, her daughter Thong Kim Ann, principal dancer for the Royal Government of Cambodia Kim Bun Thom, and shadow puppeteer Mann Kosal.’

Yesterday Cambodia launched its Red List of Cambodian Antiquities at Risk at the National Museum in Phnom Penh, in a bid to assist museums, collectors, art dealers and law enforcement officials in recognizing objects that may've been looted and illicitly exported from Cambodia. You can read more about the Red List and download a copy at devata.org.