Dust cover photo: Anders Jiras
Preahm Toe
Stephanie Burridge:
...A special aspect of Sovannahong was the introduction of a new character that had never been seen before. When Princess Keth Soryong turns herself into a man to search for her lover, she is accompanied on her travels by a character with a new movement vocabulary that is revived from the 1920s. It is the role of a giant that transforms into a human. The role requires comparatively free movement that includes turned in feet, small jumps, upper torso spinal movements and whole arm, circular sways reminiscent of Western contemporary dance with flowing movement initiated from the centre of the body. Nevertheless, contextually a gulf exists between the traditional style of restrained Khmer classical movement and the buffoonery of this character. There was a mix of laughter and applause from both the dancers (at the dress rehearsal) and the audience as they found the role unfamiliar and the style of movement unusual and surprising...
"Beyond the Apsara", p 10-11.
Celebrating Dance in Cambodia
Edited by Stephanie Burridge, Fred Frumberg
ISBN: 978-0-415-56445-8, hardback, Routledge India, 2009, 242 pages:
http://www.routledge.com/books/Beyond-the-Apsara-isbn9780415564458
Dust cover photo: Anders Jiras