Danses des Cambodgiennes

This film was given to the AMNH by the estate of Anne Morgan, J. P. Morgan's youngest child. This is probably one of several French Government films which she owned. In this film, the Royal Cambodian Ballet performs a traditional dance on an elaborate covered patio. With articulated fingers and hyper-extended elbows, the female dancers create postures said to be similar to stone-relief sculptures on the walls of Angkor Wat. The dancers wear silk costumes, which they have been sewn into (a two to three hour process), and elaborate jewelry. A piphat (orchestra) accompanies the dancers; men play a roneat (a circle of brass gongs) and a tro-u (a stringed instrument with a soundbox made from a coconut). Before 1970, the Royal Cambodian Ballet was the personal property of the royal family of Cambodia. Young dancers from the upper classes were selected for the troupe by the king. Once chosen, they lived in a dormitory with their instructors and other dancers.