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A Dirt Lot + A Cambodian Exile + Cain and Abel = “Expulsion”March 23rd, 2010A family torn apart by war only to be reunited in a far away land. A brother’s jealously leads to the death of another. A dirt lot in the City of Long Beach plus the creative minds of the Collage Dance Theatre and Khmer Arts Academy equals modern day story of those two tales: Expulsion. [...] |
A family torn apart by war only to be reunited in a far away land. A brother’s jealously leads to the death of another. A dirt lot in the City of Long Beach plus the creative minds of the Collage Dance Theatre and Khmer Arts Academy equals modern day story of those two tales: Expulsion.
And if you’d like to see the rest of the photos from Expulsion, you can find them here!
A Tale of the Monkey and the MermaidDecember 14th, 2009Hanuman and Sovann Macha (The Monkey And The Mermaid) “The monkey general Hanuman was a very close aid of the Prince. When the Prince’s lovely wife Sita was kidnapped and taken prisoner, the Prince asked Hanuman to help him rescue her. Hanuman didn’t hesitate. He called the monkey army together and devised a plan. First [...] |
Hanuman and Sovann Macha (The Monkey And The Mermaid)
“The monkey general Hanuman was a very close aid of the Prince. When the Prince’s lovely wife Sita was kidnapped and taken prisoner, the Prince asked Hanuman to help him rescue her. Hanuman didn’t hesitate. He called the monkey army together and devised a plan. First they would construct a bridge across the ocean. Then they would cross waters to the land where the Princess was being held, fight off her captors, and bring her safely home. One-by-one, the monkeys started lifting heavy boulders, and placing them on the sea. They would heave one huge stone after the other, and put them all down close together to form a causeway. But, as they were working, they noticed something strange. After struggling to move a big stone into place, the monkeys turned around to get another boulder. When they returned with the next stone, the one they had just left had disappeared. This happened again and again, until, finally, they went to inform Hanuman, their leader.”
-As retold by Toni Shapiro from The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies Website
So if you’ll recall from my last entry, the Art’s Council of Long Beach asked The Coral Youth Institute to produce a commercial for use as a promotional tool for The Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach, CA to encourage the Cambodian Youth of Long Beach to learn more about their culture. The first part of the shoot covered the story of Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso, which was the subject of my previous entry here. The second part of the shoot was a simple taped interview session of several of the students in full costume. And once again, since getting the kids dressed up for the shoot was a major undertaking, several of the parents from KAA wanted me to capture some portraits of the kids once the commercial filming was done. So here’s a few shots from the shoot. Enjoy!
Btw, if you would like to find out how the story of Hanuman and Sovann Macha ends, you can visit The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies Website here for another rendition retold by Toni Shapiro.
The Story of the Godess of Lightning and the God of ThunderNovember 28th, 2009Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso (The Goddess And The Giant) “There is a Cambodian legend that, once, a long time ago, there lived a goddess and a giant who were studying with the same teacher. A wise and powerful hermit who lived deep in the forest, the teacher possessed a magic ball, which he wanted [...] |
Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso (The Goddess And The Giant)
“There is a Cambodian legend that, once, a long time ago, there lived a goddess and a giant who were studying with the same teacher. A wise and powerful hermit who lived deep in the forest, the teacher possessed a magic ball, which he wanted to present to one of his devoted students. However, it was difficult for him to judge which of his star pupils, the goddess Moni Mekhala or the giant Ream Eyso, both of whom were just completing their studies with him, was more deserving of the ball. He decided to offer his pupils a challenge: The two were told to collect the morning dew. The first of them to present the hermit with a glassful of this liquid would be the winner. And the winner would receive the magic ball.”
-As retold by Toni Shapiro from The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies Website
So a few weeks ago the Art’s Council of Long Beach asked The Coral Youth Institute to produce a commercial for use as a promotional tool for The Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach, CA. The commercial is being made in an attempt to encourage Cambodian youth, both male and female, throughout the Southern California region to learn more about their culture and tradition through the long standing art of Cambodian Classical Dance. At the same time, several of the parents from KAA wanted me to capture some portraits for them after the commercial filming was done since that was one of the few times outside of a performance in which the kids would be dressed up in full costume. And just as an FYI, it takes multiple dressers an average of an hour to literally sew one dancer into one of the costumes that you’ll typically see on my blog, gallery, and site in general. And when I mean sew, the dressers actually do sew the dancers into costume just as it has been done since the very beginning of Cambodian Classical Dance during the Angkor period. So since getting the girls dressed up for the shoot was a major undertaking, it only makes sense to kill two birds with one stone as the old saying goes. But that’s enough from me for now so enjoy the photos!
Oh and one last thing before you go. If you’re interested in reading more about the story of Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso you can visit The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies Website here for a rendition as retold by Toni Shapiro. And for more pictures of the actual dance shot live during a performance by Khmer Arts Academy you can visit my Moni Mekhala and Ream Eyso gallery here.
National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships ConcertOctober 7th, 2009Every year, the National Endowment for the Arts awards a one-time-only National Heritage Fellowships for master folk and traditional artists. The fellowships recognize the recipients’ artistic excellence in an effort to support their continuing contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage. One of the recipients this year was Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, a Cambodian Classical Dancer [...] |
Every year, the National Endowment for the Arts awards a one-time-only National Heritage Fellowships for master folk and traditional artists. The fellowships recognize the recipients’ artistic excellence in an effort to support their continuing contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage. One of the recipients this year was Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, a Cambodian Classical Dancer and Choreographer from Long Beach, California. You can visit Sophiline’s profile here at the National Endowment for the Arts website for more information about the Fellowships and her contributions towards preserving Cambodian Classical Dance for the future generations.
Now, Sophiline also happens to be Julie’s dance instructor and when she found out that they were asked to perform at the Fellowship Concert, I instantly knew that I wanted to be there to cover it. Fortunately I was given the okay to do so by John Shapiro, Sophiline’s husband, and before I knew it September 24th rolled around and I was winging my way east to Washington, DC for this special occasion. I can honestly say that it was an honor to see Sophiline Cheam Shapiro perform in person at such a special event and I will be forever grateful to have seen it.
Anyways, on to the photos. As you’ll see, I’m only posting the photos from Sophiline and Khmer Arts’ performance of “Shadow” during the concert here on my blog. The rest of the photos from the entire concert will be available at my online at my client print gallery here at the NEA Heritage Fellowships Concert Gallery. And as always, enjoy!
Event: National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships Concert
Date: September 24, 2009
Venue: The Music Center at Strathmore
Location: North Bethesda, Maryland
