The circus

Last night I went to Phare - the Cambodian circus which is the forward facing part of an organisation called Phare Ponleu Selpak which was set up in 1994 support and train young people. It started as an arts therapy programme in the Cambodia refugee camps in Thailand during the recent wars and is now a multifaceted organisation supported by UNESCO. It has a school, a child protection programme, a residential home and training programmes including drama, traditional acrobatic circus arts, painting and drawing which have off shoots into graphic arts, design and publishing.

 

The organisation is based in Battembang (across the Tonle Sap lake) and, although they regularly tour internationally, this is their first venture in Siem Reap where, of course, the flow through of tourists provides a constant and appreciative audience. They alternate with two shows - mine was called Chills which was about ghosts interacting with a group of 'schoolchildren'.

 

The ghosts showed incredible skill on the floor and on ropes suspended from the roof of the (small) big top, whilst the school children's parts were full of humour and laughter as they hammed up trying to impress girls! The types of things they did were juggling, the diablo, balancing and tumbling whilst throwing and catching each other with seeming ease. This comes from training for at least eight years. The ticket money ($15) goes to support the organisation which looked like the perfect virtuous circle.

 

 

 

If you would like to know more, their very informative website is www.phareps.org

Posted with Blogsy