Divine Dance Depicting Cambodian Legends
"Apsara", which can be translated into English as nymph, are young supernatural beings with angelic beauty and elegance who involve in the art of dancing to the music made by their husbands who are known as "Gandharvas", according to the Cambodian legends.
The objective of these dances is to entertain the Gods and fallen heroes of the history of the nation.
It is also referred to the classical dance "Khmer" that comes from the history of Cambodia being performed in the courts of royal palaces by married couples, relatives and concubines in its won traditional Khmer theatres that take several figures.
Sculptures and images can be observed in many of ancient temples which have been built from the dynasty of Sailendra to the one of Majapahit.
Mostly they are pictured in flying and standing positions spreading flowers or waving their clothes but they are not in decorative patterns but as vital aspects of the story that they perform.
The story demonstrates the theme where the Apsaras are sent to the earth by the God "Indra" to seduce "Ascetics" who are dreadfully powerful even in violent way.
Such themes come from the traditions of Java and Indonesia of the reign of king "Airlangga" in 1030.
To day there can be see a good trend among primary school girls towards Apsara dancing and during selection process of the girls, their bones and graceful limbs are highly considered as the dance should be trained while their bones are supple.
For instance, they are given hand exercises in order to make their fingers extremely flexible to make expected angelic movements.
Movements of the Apsara dances in Khmer performances are considered to be vague and abstract in its style.
The performers do not speak neither sing but with a sight smile without ever opening their mouths which gives an impression of a mime and this ability requires many teary of training from the childhood in order to gain extraordinary flexibility at the limbs.
This traditional dance holds a great reputation in Cambodia and other countries.
During the time when the performances are showcased in the public, it attracts a large number of visitors from around the world who are both keen on witnessing this traditional heritage and other popular Cambodian attractions.
Visitors can opt to stay at a luxury Siem Reap hotel such as Raffles Grand Hotel d´Angkor which is a prominent hotel in Cambodia.
The objective of these dances is to entertain the Gods and fallen heroes of the history of the nation.
It is also referred to the classical dance "Khmer" that comes from the history of Cambodia being performed in the courts of royal palaces by married couples, relatives and concubines in its won traditional Khmer theatres that take several figures.
Sculptures and images can be observed in many of ancient temples which have been built from the dynasty of Sailendra to the one of Majapahit.
Mostly they are pictured in flying and standing positions spreading flowers or waving their clothes but they are not in decorative patterns but as vital aspects of the story that they perform.
The story demonstrates the theme where the Apsaras are sent to the earth by the God "Indra" to seduce "Ascetics" who are dreadfully powerful even in violent way.
Such themes come from the traditions of Java and Indonesia of the reign of king "Airlangga" in 1030.
To day there can be see a good trend among primary school girls towards Apsara dancing and during selection process of the girls, their bones and graceful limbs are highly considered as the dance should be trained while their bones are supple.
For instance, they are given hand exercises in order to make their fingers extremely flexible to make expected angelic movements.
Movements of the Apsara dances in Khmer performances are considered to be vague and abstract in its style.
The performers do not speak neither sing but with a sight smile without ever opening their mouths which gives an impression of a mime and this ability requires many teary of training from the childhood in order to gain extraordinary flexibility at the limbs.
This traditional dance holds a great reputation in Cambodia and other countries.
During the time when the performances are showcased in the public, it attracts a large number of visitors from around the world who are both keen on witnessing this traditional heritage and other popular Cambodian attractions.
Visitors can opt to stay at a luxury Siem Reap hotel such as Raffles Grand Hotel d´Angkor which is a prominent hotel in Cambodia.
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