CULTURAL RENAISSANCE

HRH PRINCE SISOWATH TESSO of Cambodia talks to Zara Zhuang about the past, present and future of Khmer classical dance

HRH Prince Sisowath Tesso of Cambodia cuts a dapper figure as he emerges from his sedan with a broad smile and a generous amount of sampeah, the Cambodian greeting with one’s palms pressed together as if in prayer. Every bit the modern royal in appearance, the 55-year-old is in fact a champion of an ancient South-East Asian tradition, Khmer classical dance, whose history dates back to the first millennium – think reliefs of apsara dancers carved on stone temple walls in Angkor.

In Singapore on a visit to his long-time friend Master Yun Long Zi of Lotus On Water feng shui gallery and to attend the Miss World Singapore 2018 pageant as a special guest, Prince Tesso discussed his role as private secretary to HRH Princess Norodom Buppha Devi, Director of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and a distant cousin of his. Inscribed in 2008 on Unesco’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Khmer classical dance has been performed at royal ceremonies such as coronations, weddings and funerals for centuries, with the dancers acting as messengers of kings to the gods and ancestors. Oppressed during the Khmer Rouge years, this Khmer classical dance has found a stage around the world; the elite Royal Ballet of Cambodia troupe performed in Paris last May and at the Louvre Abu Dhabi last December.

The tradition in arts runs deep in the royal family. A classical Cambodian dancer himself, Prince Tesso grew up in France surrounded by culture: His father, HRH Prince Sisowath Essaro, who was Permanent Representative and Ambassador to Unesco and Director at the Maison du Cambodge in Paris, played the flute, and his mother, HRH Princess Norodom Wathanary, played the piano.

When did you first encounter dance and why did you fall in love with it?

I danced with my sisters when I was young [laughs] and at 17 or 18, I began assisting my father at cultural events in Paris. At the Maison du Cambodge, my father created a dance troupe with the students because our servants knew how to dance, so they taught the students, and I was involved in that. I think culture brings people of different

“If you come from this culture and country, and we can’t speak the same language, how can we communicate? We can speak through arts”

backgrounds together. If you come from this culture and country, and we can’t speak the same language, how can we communicate? We can speak through arts.

When you returned to Cambodia from France in 2004, what did you notice about the state of the country?

The Khmer Rouge regime suppressed everything – religion, culture, identity. We were set back a thousand years. When I returned, I saw that the younger generation didn’t know their identity, because they had been born without one, so they tried to pick up others’ cultures. I met Cambodians who saluted me the way it’s done in Thailand [demonstrates a deep curtsy with palms pressed together and upper body twisted to the side], but the Khmer way is to face the front. They learned that because they saw it on Thai TV shows.

What’s a major challenge facing the Royal Ballet?

Princess Norodom Buppha Devi received this heritage from her grandmother, the late Queen Sisowath Kossamak, who trained her as a dancer. She was trained in the royal palace, and she knows that when you dance, there is a grace and expression that can be gleaned only through training in this environment. And I can see the difference: There are classical dancers at the national universities, but they do only the movements – there is no soul. It’s my regret that there is no one in the royal family after Princess Buppha Devi who has had this training.

Why are you working so hard to preserve the Royal Ballet?

It’s a sacred dance; it’s not just for the pleasure of the eyes. There’s a meaning to it, and the songs are prayers we address to the gods. Since it is now international patrimony, we want to make this art form better known, because it no longer belongs to Cambodia, it belongs to humanity. It’s difficult to maintain this art, because funding is thin, but we don’t want to use that as a crutch. Everything must be done as we used to – that’s the soul of the Royal Ballet.