By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic
The traditional dances of Cambodia are vibrant spectacles. Considered both spiritual and artistic in nature, they feature dancers richly attired in bright brocaded gowns and gold headdresses as they perform very graceful, highly stylized moves.
Alhough she was born in the U.S., and usually favors the casual sports attire many of her Franklin High School cohorts wear, 16-year-old Rina Kheav is also comfortable wearing those elaborate costumes and performing those elegant dance moves.
Rina has been involved with the Rainier Vista Cambodian youth-dance group since she was 4 years old. And with other members of the troupe, she is an eager participant in an original dance-theater piece, "Angkor/America."
Presented by the Rainier Valley Youth Theater, as part of its long-running SummerSTAGE program, the show combines Cambodian dance, mythology and music with oral histories of local Southeast Asian immigrants, and original music by noted Seattle composer Wayne Horvitz.
A Rainier Valley resident himself, Moore had for years been interested in dramatizing the immigrant sagas of his Southeast Asian friends and neighbors, in a community he calls "one of the most ethnically diverse in the country."
The opportunity arrived when Maria Glanz thought it was time the Rainier Valley Youth Theater, which she directs, create a play that focused on the local Cambodian community. (The youth-drama troupe, composed of middle-school and high-school students, has earlier presented shows that delve into African-American, Latino and other cultures).
"We couldn't be doing this particular production without the Rainier Vista (dance group)," says Glanz. "They've been so involved in the whole process, and the kids from that group are doing amazing work in the cast."
Cambodian Americans constitute a small percent of the overall Asian-American population in the U.S., but the Seattle area boasts one of the largest Cambodian communities in the country. As Moore discovered, their history of settling here is rife with tragedy and drama.
Like many fellow immigrants, Rina's parents were refugees from the genocidal violence of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, who in the 1970s led one of the most murderous insurgencies of the 20th century. During that period, more than a million Cambodians perished (from war, starvation and torture), while many fled the country in fear.
"My mom came here with relatives, and she has told us about how hard it was to escape from Pol Pot," says Rina. "When Todd interviewed me, I talked to him about what my mom went through."
Moore says he also injected some fairytale elements into "Angkor/America" because many of the personal stories he gathered "were so bleak and painful. People told me that they lost many, many relatives to the Cambodian 'killing fields.' I'm using that information both as testimony and metaphor."
But to keep the show family-friendly (it's recommended for those ages 12 and over), and to balance it, Moore has tried "to theatricalize things in a way that's poignant but not graphic. And I'm also looking at why some people survived such terrible things. Much of it was luck, but gumption and smarts and other traits also helped."
The Southeast Asian folk tale Moore is using to frame the piece "is about a hunter who saves his land from blight ... He goes on to try and do more and more on behalf of his people, but in the process starts making human sacrifices.
"It's a good parallel with the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. They started out with some good ideas, but then got wildly out of control."
Though many of her elders have bitter memories of their homeland and have faced economic hardship and cultural challenges in this country, Rina is proud of her ancestry and wants to stay linked to it.
"I'm very close to my Cambodian heritage," declares the Franklin High junior, who hopes to become an architectural engineer someday. "If I don't continue the heritage, it probably won't go on to the next generation."
Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com
Coming up
"Angkor/America" plays 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and Aug. 2-5, at Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska, Seattle,$3-$7. 206-725-7169.
"The performance is a documentary about the Cambodian immigrant experience, interwoven with a fairytale," explains Todd Jefferson Moore, the adroit Seattle actor-writer who is creating the show with a cast of Cambodian, African-American and Caucasian adolescents.
Seattle Times theater critic
The traditional dances of Cambodia are vibrant spectacles. Considered both spiritual and artistic in nature, they feature dancers richly attired in bright brocaded gowns and gold headdresses as they perform very graceful, highly stylized moves.
Alhough she was born in the U.S., and usually favors the casual sports attire many of her Franklin High School cohorts wear, 16-year-old Rina Kheav is also comfortable wearing those elaborate costumes and performing those elegant dance moves.
Rina has been involved with the Rainier Vista Cambodian youth-dance group since she was 4 years old. And with other members of the troupe, she is an eager participant in an original dance-theater piece, "Angkor/America."
Presented by the Rainier Valley Youth Theater, as part of its long-running SummerSTAGE program, the show combines Cambodian dance, mythology and music with oral histories of local Southeast Asian immigrants, and original music by noted Seattle composer Wayne Horvitz.
A Rainier Valley resident himself, Moore had for years been interested in dramatizing the immigrant sagas of his Southeast Asian friends and neighbors, in a community he calls "one of the most ethnically diverse in the country."
The opportunity arrived when Maria Glanz thought it was time the Rainier Valley Youth Theater, which she directs, create a play that focused on the local Cambodian community. (The youth-drama troupe, composed of middle-school and high-school students, has earlier presented shows that delve into African-American, Latino and other cultures).
"We couldn't be doing this particular production without the Rainier Vista (dance group)," says Glanz. "They've been so involved in the whole process, and the kids from that group are doing amazing work in the cast."
Cambodian Americans constitute a small percent of the overall Asian-American population in the U.S., but the Seattle area boasts one of the largest Cambodian communities in the country. As Moore discovered, their history of settling here is rife with tragedy and drama.
Like many fellow immigrants, Rina's parents were refugees from the genocidal violence of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, who in the 1970s led one of the most murderous insurgencies of the 20th century. During that period, more than a million Cambodians perished (from war, starvation and torture), while many fled the country in fear.
"My mom came here with relatives, and she has told us about how hard it was to escape from Pol Pot," says Rina. "When Todd interviewed me, I talked to him about what my mom went through."
Moore says he also injected some fairytale elements into "Angkor/America" because many of the personal stories he gathered "were so bleak and painful. People told me that they lost many, many relatives to the Cambodian 'killing fields.' I'm using that information both as testimony and metaphor."
But to keep the show family-friendly (it's recommended for those ages 12 and over), and to balance it, Moore has tried "to theatricalize things in a way that's poignant but not graphic. And I'm also looking at why some people survived such terrible things. Much of it was luck, but gumption and smarts and other traits also helped."
The Southeast Asian folk tale Moore is using to frame the piece "is about a hunter who saves his land from blight ... He goes on to try and do more and more on behalf of his people, but in the process starts making human sacrifices.
"It's a good parallel with the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. They started out with some good ideas, but then got wildly out of control."
Though many of her elders have bitter memories of their homeland and have faced economic hardship and cultural challenges in this country, Rina is proud of her ancestry and wants to stay linked to it.
"I'm very close to my Cambodian heritage," declares the Franklin High junior, who hopes to become an architectural engineer someday. "If I don't continue the heritage, it probably won't go on to the next generation."
Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com
Coming up
"Angkor/America" plays 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and Aug. 2-5, at Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska, Seattle,$3-$7. 206-725-7169.
"The performance is a documentary about the Cambodian immigrant experience, interwoven with a fairytale," explains Todd Jefferson Moore, the adroit Seattle actor-writer who is creating the show with a cast of Cambodian, African-American and Caucasian adolescents.
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