Last update : December 5, 2023
Dance is omnipresent in Angkorian iconography and epigraphy. But the dance itself did not exist in ancient times, it was a “total theater”.
> The dance halls of the Bayon era
> The ancient musical instruments through Shiva's dances
The invention of photography, in the middle of the 19th century, then of cinema at the end of the same century, allow us to resume the thread of the history of dance interrupted during the 13th century. The few subjects below, where images and texts of the period confront each other, shed light on classical Khmer dance.
> Khmer classical dance: continuity and change
> King Norodom's actresses and dancers (reign 1860-1904)
> King Sisowath's ballet (reign 1904-1927)
> The ballet of King Sisowath Monivong (reign 1927-1941) (in progress)
> The Royal Ballet of Cambodia in the 21st Century (in progress)
> Her Royal Highness Princess Norodom Buppha Devi (in progress)
> Contemporary dance (in progress)
> Anders Jirås photography - This website is the most complete one about Cambodian dance. It is the work of the photographer Anders Jirås, specialized around this theme. You will find the most beautiful photographs of Khmer classical dance over a decade or 360° images on the work of the late architect Vann Molyvann.