Angkor Dance Troupe
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About
In Cambodia, during the Khmer Rouge holocaust of the mid-1970s, more than 90% of the country’s artists perished or fled. Dance and its associated narrative dramas, rituals, and beliefs became a 
way for Cambodians to reconstruct a sense of community and culture, particularly for refugees who resettled in other countries. Many came to the United States, to places like Lowell, Massachusetts and metropolitan Washington, D.C., determined to maintain their Cambodian cultural heritage.
The Angkor Dance Troupe was formed in Lowell in 1986 by Tim Chan Thou, Angkor’s founding program director, along with a small group of dancers who learned traditional Cambodian dance in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. They brought with them a strong desire to practice and perform Cambodian dance and a passion to teach others, establishing a regular schedule to rehearse the correct postures and movements.
Classical or court dance is central to Cambodian national and cultural identity, a source of pride that represents the beauty and spirituality of Cambodian people. The dance is particularly meaningful for postwar Cambodians as they work to reclaim and rebuild a treasured heritage. Many first practiced or saw the dance drama in refugee camps. For children born and raised in the camps or in other countries, it is a connection to the past and a way to experience revered ancient traditions. Folk dances, meanwhile, enable displaced Cambodians to remember their homeland and teach their children about the regional, agricultural, and social forces that shape the lives of Cambodia’s rural population. As Cambodia struggles to emerge from decades of war and poverty, traditional dance stands as a testimony to the endurance of Khmer culture.
The Angkor Dance Troupe will be accompanied by an all-star ensemble of Cambodian musicians from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The ensemble is led by master musicians Song Heng and Chum Ngek, a 2004 recipient of the Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
