AP Residents Showcase their Creativity in a Collaborative Dance Project - "Dance Made In Cambodia: Revolutions"

The dramatic finale with all the performers coming

together in their final pose.

For the last three months, seven Aziza’s Place residents have been excitedly taking part in a project that challenged them and extended their creativity of dance in ways that they had not experienced before.

‘The Dance Made In Cambodia: Revolutions’ was a collaborative project among three local NGO’s that introduced contemporary dance in a self-chereographed performance, guided by the expertise of dance artist Stephen Bimson. Children from Aziza’s Place, Chibodia Children’s Home and New Future For Children joined together and performed routines that emphasized their creativity and reflected the months of hard work and dedication they had all invested. The three month process taught the children valuable lessons of commitment, working together, empowerment and ownership of the performance as each performer took on a major role for developing the piece.

The performance was very different to traditional Khmer dance that the children normally practice and stretched their skills and imagination with techniques inspired from ballet, yoga and other dance art forms. Stephen’s focus and aim as a dance teacher is to use the art form of dance “as a vehicle through which unheard voices can be vocalised; for participants to gain strength from the sense of pride and accomplishment of a performance; striving to create work for social groups in a manner that is empowering to the performer”.

The performance was made up of four sections that flowed seamlessly from one to another. The dance began with a demonstration of the stretches the dancers would routinely do to build their strength during the three month dance preparation. Each of the NGO groups then performed a routine they had practiced individually. They then all came together in a piece that combined all the dance performers in a dramatic finale. The feeling of achievement from the performers was immediately apparent on their delighted faces as they bowed to their audience at the completion of their final performance at Sovanna Phum, a reknowned venue and organisation focused on the promotion of Khmer arts and performances.

The dance was presented twice, the first night being an occasion for the other children from Aziza’s Place, Chibodia and New Future For Children to see their fellow residents perform, and the second night at Sovanna Phum as an opportunity for the public to enjoy and support the children. Overall the project was a fantastic success. Click here for photographs of the performance.