Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Come one, come all! The circus is in town

Come one, come all! The circus is in town

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Students from the Secondary School of Fine Art’s circus and acrobatics program will perform at the Circus Centre in Phnom Penh on Saturday. photos courtesy of the Secondary School of Fine arts

Come one, come all! The circus is in town

Because of the decreasing number of students enrolling in its circus program, as well as dwindling crowds, the Secondary School of Fine Arts (SSFA) has decided to host more acrobatic and circus performances to spark a renewed interest in the craft.

Located in front of the National Assembly, the Circus Centre seats about 1,000. There have been a lot of empty seats of late, but the SSFA hopes the presence of its hard-working and talented students will bring in the crowds at 9am on Saturday as it gives a free public performance.

Phok Narin, SSFA director and the show’s artistic director, said the hour-long performance will feature students of various ages. “In total, we have about 17 performers who take part in 10 different routines, “ she says.

Narin says she hopes the free acrobatic performances will boost public interest and increase enrollment.

“Our purpose is to promote a type of Khmer art and culture that not many of the younger generation have seen or known.

“Moreover, as our school has fewer students to pursue the acrobatic and circus fields, we also want to put on a performance that will help spark interest,” Narin said.

She says that other cultural activities have supplanted circuses as a form of entertainment. And as attendances have dried up, so has the applause, leading to a lack of motivation from her students.

Content image - Phnom Penh Post

Part of the decline in attendance, she says, is that there doesn’t seem to be an awareness that the circus is a traditional Cambodian art form.

“Some people aren’t aware of this at all. They ask: ‘Does Cambodia really have an acrobatic tradition of our own?’ And the younger generation especially prefers K-Pop,” Narin says.

“I can assure you that acrobatics and circus performances really are part of Khmer culture. We have evidence as seen on stone carvings at the Bayon Temple.”

Want to support SSFA’s young artists? Come to the Circus Centre across from the National Assembly at 9am on Saturday.

Entrance is free. For more information call 093832552 and 016811576.

Content image - Phnom Penh Post

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • Ministry orders all schools, public and private, to close for SEA Games

    From April 20 to May 18, all public and private educational institutions will be closed to maintain order and support Cambodia's hosting of the 32nd SEA Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games, said a directive from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Cambodia will host the

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to