“The Lives of Giants”: Cambodian dancers hit the stage for first OnStage performance of the season

When watching a piece performed by the Khmer Institute, co-founded by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, it’s easy to become tantalized by the graceful dance and melodic atmosphere that the Cambodian dance creates. Enjoying the performance is easy, but it is difficult to write a review.

The talent and grace of the Khmer Institute is undeniable and even someone with an untrained eye, such as myself, could tell that I was viewing years of practice and tradition. I cannot critique the performance further than to say it was a beautiful visual and auditory experience that left me with a sinking feeling of regret for the characters and a deep curiosity of Cambodian culture.

What struck me about this performance were two facts that seemed contradictory: the first was that this was a Cambodian dance ensemble, and the second was that they were performing a Hindu story. The little I remembered learning about Cambodia involved the Khmer Rouge, a terrible era in Cambodian history from 1975-1979 in which an estimated 1.7 to 2 million people were put to death in the “killing fields.