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On a stage reserved for the elegant ceremony of Cambodian classical dance, also known as Apsara, New Cambodian Artists (NCA) create a maelstrom of movement, reflecting the dreams of a country that’s quickly modernizing and shaking off the ghosts of the past.
Contemporary dance is rare in Cambodia, where artistic lineages were severed and nearly stamped out in the late 1970s in the Khmer Rouge’s bloody persecution of artists and intellectuals. The arts were mangled and left for dead.
The few dance masters who survived the purges have spent the last three decades trying to revive dance. And while arts funding remains scarce, one could cite NCA’s success as a return to creativity.
在专门为舞姿优雅的仙女舞（Apsara，一种柬埔寨传统舞蹈）表演的舞台上，新柬埔寨艺术舞团（New Cambodian Artists，简称为 NCA）这个舞蹈团体掀起了一场震撼的舞蹈革命，反映出柬埔寨这个国家快速的现代化进程、致力摆脱历史阴影的愿景。
现代舞在柬埔寨并不普遍。 19 世纪 70 年代末，红色高棉政权杀害了许多艺术家和知识分子，当地艺术的传承脉络被狠狠切断，几近是彻底摧毁，导致艺术发展遭受严重破坏，濒临灭亡。
在过去的三年里，少数幸存下来的舞蹈大师们一直试图恢复当地的舞蹈文化，但要筹集足够的艺术基金并不容易。然而，NCA 的出现标志着创意文化的回归。
Founded in 2012 by Dutch artist director Bob Ruijzendaal, NCA is now co-owned by its four female dancers and its director, Srey Neung. It is Cambodia’s first certified contemporary dance company—and such a certification exists only because they spent 2016 lobbying for it at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Art.
Their performances thrive on raw emotionality. Their limbs shake and swerve with the passion of a nation, and their hands unfold like lotus flowers blooming in the mire. It’s a completely new take on contemporary dance: unlike Western styles that grew out of ballet, NCA’s dance is rooted in Apsara.
New Cambodian Artists（NCA）舞团由荷兰艺术总监 Bob Ruijzendaal 创立于2012年，如今由四位女舞蹈家以及总监 Srey Neung 共同经营管理。他们不断向柬埔寨艺术和文化部游说，终于在 2016 年获得认证成为柬埔寨第一家现代舞公司。整个过程最困难的是，柬埔寨当时甚至不存在这种认证。
他们的表演焕发着饱满的原始能量，热烈舞动的四肢宣泄着他们对这个国家的情感，正如同出污泥而不染的莲花灿烂绽放。那是对当代舞蹈的全新演绎，因为与西方那种以芭蕾舞为基础发展的现代舞蹈不同，NCA 的根源深深植于传统的柬埔寨仙女舞。
“Everything is different because of their classical training,” says Ruijzendaal. “In traditional Cambodian dance, the back is hollow. They have grounded toes and their hands are overextended. They do everything they would kill you for in a classical dance class in Europe.”
Khun Sreynoch, one of the dancers, says she’s trained in Cambodian classical dance since childhood. “We still practice the classical movements one or two hours a week to make sure we maintain the correct postures,” she says. “We base all our new movements on the classical style so we don’t forget it.”
“The contemporary style felt new and very crazy at first,” she continued. “We all came from a classical background, so it was uncomfortable at first, but we slowly got used to it. But later on, we ate it all up and we couldn’t stop because it is new and cool.”
“由于她们接受过古典舞蹈的训练，所以一切会非常不同。” Ruijzendaal 说，“传统柬埔寨舞蹈要求舞者的背要凹起，脚趾紧贴地面，双手尽可能往外伸。这与欧洲的古典舞蹈训练是截然相反的。”
其中一位舞者 Sreynoch 表示，她从小就接受柬埔寨古典舞蹈的训练。她说：“我们每周仍然要花一两个小时练习基本动作以确保姿势正确。毕竟我们所有动作都是以这种传统舞蹈为基础设计的，所以我们不能忘记。”
她补充道：“现代舞的风格一开始会感觉挺新鲜，也有点疯狂。我们跳的一直都是古典舞蹈，所以起初跳现代舞会有点不适应，但慢慢的我们开始习惯了。当我们熟悉之后，我们简直不能停下，因为对我们来说这是一种很酷的全新舞蹈体验。”
Cambodian dance legend Sophiline Cheam Shapiro is credited with giving the first contemporary dance performance in Cambodia in 1999, when she interpreted Shakespeare’s Othello using Apsara dancers. It was meant as a message to the old Khmer Rouge leaders, who were then still alive.
“I lost my dad and two brothers [in the Khmer Rouge years] . . . and my country was devastated,” she says. “Othello had to take responsibility for killing Desdemona . . . I wanted to use that story to say that the head of the house, or the leader of a country in this case, has to be held accountable for their actions and decisions.”
It’s a tragic history, and Sreynoch and NCA are mindful of it. Yet in a country where over half the population is under 30, the current mood is to push forward into new creations. Sreynoch is developing a solo in which she performs classical dance moves in red stilettos, an innovation unlikely to please dance traditionalists.
“The conservatives say we can’t touch traditional moves,” she says. “They will say I am destroying Cambodian culture, but I think I’m developing it and making it fresher and more special.”
相传，柬埔寨舞蹈界的传奇人物 Sophiline Cheam Shapiro 在1999年开创了柬埔寨的现代舞蹈表演。当时，她带领仙女舞者用舞蹈演绎了莎士比亚的四大悲剧之一《奥赛罗》（Othello）。这次的表演其实是要向当时尚在世的红色高棉掌权者传递一个信息。
“（在红色高棉时期）我失去了我的父亲和两个兄弟，我的国家也被彻底摧毁。” 她说，“奥赛罗要对他的妻子迪丝狄蒙娜（Desdemona）的死负责。我想通过这个故事来说明，这个国家的领导人，必须对他们的行动和决定负责任。”
Sreynoch 和 NCA 清楚记得这一段悲惨的历史，但是在一个30岁以下青年占去一半人口的国家，更重要的是创新与前进。目前，她正在创作一个独舞，穿着红色高跟鞋来表演传统舞步，但保守的传统舞者可能不太欢迎这种创新舞蹈。
她说：“保守的人会说我们不应该改变传统的舞步。他们会认为我是在破坏柬埔寨文化。但我认为自己是在发展它，让它变得更有新意、更特别。”
Hab Touch, director-general of intangible heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Art, is tasked with protecting and promoting traditional Cambodian art. He says it’s tough to find common ground between conservative elements and those who want to innovate.
“We want to offer modern styles, so we are trying to work with our partners and ask, ‘what is Cambodian contemporary art?’” he says. “It’s a good process and we hope to increase the presence of contemporary art.”
At NCA’s studio in Siem Reap, rehearsals go on well into the evening. Sreynoch is working on her solo, striking poses in her stilettos. Suddenly she discards the shoes and whirls, barefoot, in a series of gymnastic pirouettes and backbends.
She says the performance is about the development of a person’s character. “I use the Apsara movements to show that I am a Cambodian lady,” she says. “I put on the red shoes to show that I can be strong, but then I start to think, Why do I even need the shoes? I am strong enough. So I throw them away.”
文化与艺术部部长 Hab Touch 的职责在于保护和促进柬埔寨传统艺术。他说，要在保守人士和那些想要创新的人之间寻求共同点，并非易事。
“我们想要呈现现代的舞蹈风格，所以正努力与合作伙伴一起探讨这个问题: 什么是柬埔寨当代艺术？这是一个很好的过程，我们当然希望能进一步推广（这里的）当代艺术场景。”
在 NCA 位于暹粒的工作室里，彩排持续到了晚上。Sreynoch 还在排练着她的独舞表演，踩着高跟鞋翩翩起舞。突然，她脱掉了鞋子，赤着脚，就像一名专业的体操运动员旋转趾尖、后仰弯腰。
他们说，这个舞蹈讲述的是一个人性格发展的过程。她说: “我用仙女舞的舞步来说明我来自柬埔寨。我穿上红色的高跟鞋，来展示内心的坚强。但后来我想，既然我已经足够坚强，为什么还需要这双鞋来证明？所以最后我把它们脱掉了。”
Facebook: ~/NewCambodianArtists
Contributor: Nathan Thompson
Photographer & Videographer: Enric Catala Contreras
