Led by Master Ieng Sithul, one of Cambodia’s most well-known traditional
singers and performers, The Children of Bassac are a dynamic group of
young dancers. Set up in the park of the National Museum, the sound,
lighting and performance offer the visitor a unique and very special
experience. Undoubtedly one of the most professional dance troupe in
the city, the artists make Cambodian music and dance accessible to their
audience. During last year’s dry season they attracted more than 1300
visitors, among them Sophie Mensdorff who got so hooked that she
decided to volunteer for Cambodian Living Arts: “I saw these colourful
young dancers in that magic atmosphere by night and admired the elegance of their movements. The children present
obviously enjoyed it too – they climbed on the fence to see more, laughing loudly at the sight of the acrobatic monkey
performers!”.
A unique show
Visitors can combine a pleasurable night and a good cause, since all of the proceeds
go to these young artists who come from Phnom Penh’s Bassac slum area and to the
master artists who teach the group. This show give them the opportunity to perform
and earn a living from their art.
Combining arts and a cause
Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) is a non-profit
organization based in Cambodia that
focuses on traditional performing arts
through youth arts and arts service
programs. It was founded in 1998 by
Cambodian-American human rights activist
Arn Chorn-Pond to find and support leading
master artists who survived the genocide
that killed as many as 90 percent of the
artists in Cambodia. CLA offers programs
in the fields of arts education, advocacy
for the arts and promoting the arts, which includes
About Cambodian Living Arts
The Children of Bassac performance. More than 250
students study 16 performing art forms in
Phnom Penh and seven provinces. The students
range in age from nine to twenty-seven years
old, and come from very poor families of
landless farmers or from urban slums.
The program of the Children of Bassac show is an
exciting initiative by CLA to create a sustainable
model of Arts through a weekly performance of
the dance troupe.
Reply to this 
