“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.

“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.