Don’t join the circus, it’s too dangerous for you’, my two big brothers warned me – even though they’re both circus students here. That’s what made me want to join, so I could prove them wrong! Since I joined the circus department in 2007, I’ve worked hard to reach the level of my brothers – they have both toured in Asia and around the world. I’ve now performed regularly for a year and a half in the big top, as part of the Bat Kang show. I remember feeling scared and anxious before my first performance. Now those feelings have given way to pride and joy… I want to travel, to become an independent artist, and to learn French. Being a circus artist will be a dream come true.” – Dara
The look on his face is nothing short of priceless. Daubed with paint in bright primary colours, expression two thirds delight, one part that of a champion mischief maker, the young clown gasps at the camera in mock wonder, raven locks bouncing atop his head in two springy bunches. Dara is one of Cambodia’s new generation of circus folk, an extraordinary breed marrying the humour of a comedy master with the physical prowess of a champion athlete. Five generations of performing arts students have now passed through the doors of Phare Ponleu Selpak, Battambang’s revered school of the arts. In new book 20 Years, 20 Portraits ($25), the organisation immortalises those students – and the artistic surge forward that they embody – in a surprisingly moving nod to its 20th year in service. Intimate photographs depict the homes, families and impossibly acrobatic pursuits of these young artists, each accompanied by a brief but poignant first-person testimony from its subject.
WHO: Cambodia’s finest circus folk
WHAT: 20 Years, 20 Portraits book launch
WHERE: Romeet Gallery, #34 Street 178
WHEN: November 25
WHY: “Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.” – David Niven