The Moment You Have All Been Waiting For…

For those of you who have read my other post on Apsara dancing, this is the moment you have all been waiting for…

As another Backstreet Academy activity, we did Apsara dancing. We arrived at the Plateau association, where we would learn how to this traditional Cambodian dance. We met our backstreet facilitator who translated for us and Sam, the assistant director.

Sam told us that there are three different categories in Apsara:

1. Folk
2. Social
3. Classical

In the folk category, there are many different dances such as the Coconut shell dance, the Cardamom picking dance, a Catching tree ants dance and a Cat rain dance.

The classical category is the most important. This style was recognized by UNESCO and is only performed in a royal palace.

Sam also told us that before, the dancers were usually girls from ages 10-18. They played almost every role:

– Girls are played by girls
– Boys are played by girls
– Giants are played by girls
– Monkeys are played by boys

Monkeys are played by boys because there is a lot of movements that are not appropriate for girls to do.

Once we learned all about Apsara dancing, we were ready to begin training. Since Apsara is only for girls, my dad didn’t participate. The first step was to put on our kbens. A kben is a long piece of coloured nylon that you wear like pants. They are used as part of a training outfit. Here are 6 steps to make your own kben.

You will need:

– 1 long piece of material such as a bed sheet
– a belt

Step 1- Get a long piece of material and hold it up behind your waist in the middle.

Step 2- Bunch up two small parts of it from the front, one on each side and tie a knot.

Step 3- Hold it like a skirt and ask someone to twist the front all the way.

The lady is twisting it for Mikhaila

The lady is twisting it for me

The lady is twisting it for my mom

Step 4- Put it between your legs and tuck the long twisted piece at the back.

Step 5- Put on a belt, un-tuck the long twisted piece and re tuck it in behind the belt.

Step 6- Dance!

It might sound difficult to make, but once you have made it once, it is really easy to do!

Once we had on our outfits, we were ready to start the training. The two girls taught us a dance from start to finish and guided us through each step. It was so much fun! It was really hard, especially because we were supposed to bend our fingers back for most of the dance! Lucky for my mom, she is double jointed in her fingers, so it was super easy for her.

While we danced, musicians sang and played the drums and xylophone.

Here is what our dance looked like:

Apsara dancing is a lot harder than it looks. When I first saw it at the dance and dinner, I knew it was hard, but I didn’t think it was this hard. To do the hand and foot movements really slowly and controlled, is probably the hardest part. Well, I guess if one has been doing it for almost 10 years it gets a little easier.

We had a great time learning and experiencing Apsara dancing, and now I think we could have our own dance recital with all of the different types of dances we have learned!