SACRED DANCERS US TOUR

Ravynn Coxen reports from New York that her ground-breaking but logistical nightmare tour of the US by her Sacred Dancers of Angkor kids is going full steam ahead.

“Boston and Lowell was a tremendous success,” she reports. “The workshop with the Boston Ballet was a huge hit as the artists and teachers were received as equals demonstrating and exchanging their respective disciplines. Our first ever performance on stage at Lowell captivated everyone and ended with a long standing ovation .

“Unplanned was an invitation from the Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan to share a cultural presentation which generated a lot of interest and support. In New York, the children from parents who suffered the hardship of the Pol Pot era managed to dedicate a historical and moving spiritual blessing in remembrance of all who lost their lives at 9/11. It was a case of Year Zero to Ground Zero. We also had a blessing ritual for the Big Apple at Times Square in a mesmerising and incredible moment we called “from the bas relief of Angkor to the buzz of Time Square.’

“The Cambodian American communities, the pagodas and the Buddhist clergy are unanimously very supportive and incredibly happy to have for the first time such spiritual and devoted dedication. The children are all spoilt and feted by the generosity and the warm and large hearts of our compatriots who are so happily surprised and impressed by the discipline and behaviour of our troupe.

“Rushing again, hardly touching ground let alone the pillow, but next is the workshop and exchange with Jacques d’Amboise and his New York National Dance Institute, and our fundraiser at Asia Society in Park Avenue on Sunday.”

SHOW SOME HEART

Angkor Hospital for Children, in recognising World Heart Day, has launched a ‘Show Some Heart’ campaign to raise funds for its heart surgery program and operating theatre.

The hospital hopes to raise $70,000 from now until December. To attract international donors it will post a series of successful surgery stories online, plus a short informational video, a social media photo competition, and locally, it held a fun event for patients on launch day last Saturday.

The free hospital has performed major surgery on 1,100 children so far this year, and the target is for 2013 is to provide surgery to 1,400 children. Plus there are 1,500 young heart patients, and the $70,000 is sorely needed to continue helping these kids.

BIKE FOR SIGHT RIDE

The Brunei branch of London-based multinational banking and finance company Standard Chartered will be sending three representatives from Brunei this month to participate in a 700 kilometre seven-day ‘Bike for Sight’ ride from Angkor Wat to Vientiane.

According to the Brunei Times, the ride is part of the bank’s involvement in ‘Asean Celebrates Ten Transforming Communities’ month, and 'Seeing is Believing,’ is a Standard Chartered flagship world initiative to tackle avoidable blindness and visual impairment.

The ride takes place from October 13-19 and hopes to raise $50,000 – all money raised by the three riders will be matched by Standard Chartered Bank.

The three riders from Standard Chartered Brunei are Pg Aki Ismasufian Pg Hj Ibrahim, head of corporate strategic initiatives; Edmund Teo, senior relationship manager of corporate and institutional banking; and Md Hamdillah Hussin, operations assistant.

The riders will also participate in “community improvement activities” in villages they ride through.

JANET CHECKS OUT

Popular hotel identity Janet Chan finished in her job at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor last Friday. Janet’s been in Siem Reap for three and a half years and before Raffles she worked at Hotel de la Paix. Her next port of call and job is at the Vomo Island Resort in Fiji.