Sophiline cheam shapiro biography of rory

Sophiline cheam shapiro biography of rory: This paper focuses on

He convinced me to go to the theater school because he thought that as an actor you could act until you're old, but, as a dancer, your career's over when you are 35 or So I followed him the next day to the School of Fine Arts. I passed the exams and so I started at the theater school. At the time, my fascination with performing arts was [with] classical dance, because the dance form is so graceful and elevated and, in many ways, very majestic.

I thought that it was the opposite of my real life. We didn't have a house to live in so we moved in with my uncle. The house that I grew up in burned to the ground, so we didn't have a place to return to. Everybody was just desperate, you know? But everybody was working day and night to rebuild Cambodian culture. ByI switched from the theater school to the dance school.

From in the morning to 11, I learned technique, dance techniques. And then from two to five, I learned general education, like math and history. And then, after dinner, I went to my teacher's home and practiced with her, had a personal training with her, and then got up early, atto come back to school.

Sophiline cheam shapiro biography of rory: A praise dance steeped in traditional

And so this was a daily routine for me and it kept me focused and, at the same time, engaged in something that was elevating my real life and everything I saw around me. Dance gives me a sense of pride: with so much suffering and so much devastation and hopelessness, dance was something beautiful, something that transformed my miserable life.

I saw my teachers and my uncle working day and night to rebuild Cambodian culture after the devastation, and I was taught my learning was an opportunity for me to participate in that rebuilding of the culture. NEA: Were there many other people who took the same path as you? Were there other dancers? Sophiline Shapiro: Yes. At that time, inthere were students in the dance school.

The dance school was composed of classical dance, folk dance, and mass dance. And we were children: we were so hungry for education and structure because it was quite different from earlier. Between andat eight or nine years old kids [you were] supposed to work in the field. My first responsibility was to collect cow dung to make fertilizer and to collect another type of plant, chop them up, dry them, mix them together, and then bring it to the field.

Once that responsibility was done, I'm working like the adults, cleaning up the rice patty, planting, harvesting, building the rice field divider, whatever work that needed to be done. Could you tell us a little bit about how that happened? Sophiline Shapiro: I graduated from high school as part of the dance school, a dance student. I graduated in and then I start teaching at the dance school for three years after that.

After the Khmer Rouge was ousted, she and her surviving family members returned to the capital, Phnom Penh, where they lived with a relative. She did so but later switched to dance. I saw my teachers and my uncle working day and night to rebuild Cambodian culture after the devastation, and I was taught my learning was an opportunity for me to participate in that rebuilding of the culture.

The school also taught academic high school classes, and she graduated inthen began teaching at the school. Inthe dancer married John Shapiro, an American, and moved to Southern California, where she taught dance and earned a degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. The nonprofit institution works to foster the vitality of Cambodian arts and culture.

Four years later, they established a center in Cambodia. She is the founding artistic director of the international arts organization Khmer Arts and has worked with its dance company, the Khmer Arts Ensemble, since She has also created several original dance works. At the age of eight, Shapiro was forced to live in the countryside of Cambodia after her family was evacuated from the city by the Khmer Rouge.

Shapiro's choreography has been credited with infusing the classical form with new ideas. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.

Sophiline cheam shapiro biography of rory: Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was asked to

Download as PDF Printable version. Virginia Prak is a year-old Cambodian American living in Hawaii whose spirit and identity truly reside in traditional Khmer dance. Originally from Lowell, Massachusetts, Virginia began learning to dance at around eight years old and, remarkably, has continued dancing for over 22 years. Virginia shared.

Usually, parents put their kids into these programs because they want their daughter or son to be a dancer, but I chose this as a kid unknowingly and then I just continued to follow it wherever I went. His daughter was the same age as Virginia and the two would always play together, and soon started learning to dance.

Sophiline cheam shapiro biography of rory: Guggenheim Fellow Sophiline Cheam

It was here that Virginia began to foster her love for Khmer dance and her ability to perform. For Virginia, it was dancing that taught her what it means to be Cambodian and connected her to the culture that eventually became inseparable from her own identity. I just feel like for an art form that was almost lost, I was lucky enough to be one of the chosen students to learn and to keep passing it on, which I still do today.

Virginia now serves as a principal dancer and instructor for the Angkor Dance Troupe, and was formerly a board member. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Khmer dance is that the dance itself tells a story in its movements. The hand gestures themselves are kept constant in different performances, and each conveys specific meanings when combined with leg and arm placement, facial expression, and song lyrics.

For those unfamiliar with the gestures, however, there is still a level of appreciation that can be understood simply from observing the dancers and their reactions. They are in fact expressing a story in terms of emotions that we all may relate to. Virginia now has her own students and works to pass the traditions of Khmer dance on to the next generation of Cambodian Americans.

Separation from Cambodian culture and especially language barriers complicated her journey and required great commitment. Virginia feels that using her own background she can serve a special role in bringing Khmer dance to the newer generation more easily and without as many obstacles to entry. I think the passing on of the knowledge is extremely special for me and I enjoy doing it too, because I feel communicating it to other Khmer-American kids is easier than how I learned it from my Master teacher because of the language barriers.

Search Search Search this site. Search Brandeis. Sophiline Cheam Shapiro. Chey Chankethya Photo Credit: courtesy of artist. Chey Chankethya. Mea Lath Photo Credit: courtesy of artist. Mea Lath. Virginia Prak Photo Credit: courtesy of artist.