Tini Tinou ["Here and There"]: Cambodia’s circus extravaganza!

Tini Tinou 2008 (Photo: Expat Advisory Services)

Tuesday, 3 February 2009
eTravel Blackboard

Tini Tinou 2009, Cambodia’s circus extravaganza now in its sixth year and bigger than ever, which attracts artists from around the world, will take place in both Phnom Penh (the country’s capital) and Battambang this coming March & April.

The spectacle is arranged and hosted by Phare Ponleu Selpak, whose roots are in the 1980s Thai refugee camps, caused by helpless people fleeing Cambodia as a result of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. Phare’s initial aim was to utilise visual arts to help children and young people overcome the Regime’s and subsequent 20 years of civil war’s torments. Today Phare Ponleu Selpak (meaning Light from Arts) is based in Battambang and goes from strength to strength, now providing fresh beginnings for disenfranchised and disaffected youth.

From March 10 to 26, prior to the festival officially commencing, their will be two weeks of workshops held by professionals and senior artists from around the world, such as France, Canada, Romania and Japan, to train the younger Cambodian artists.

The festival will officially open in Phnom Penh on March 28 with a colourful and exciting parade through the streets of the city, featuring all the invited artists, over 120 from 10 countries. Later that evening in the capital’s Olympic Stadium there will be a stage show, continued the following morning, with a cabaret afternoon; rich moments, unique & unmissable!

The international troupe then moves on to Battambang, where from 2 to 5 April the 12 companies from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Romania, Germany, France, Belgium, Canada and Australia, will entertain the public with feats of acrobatics, juggling, trapeze flying, tightrope displays, contortionists, tumbling, and of course everyone’s favourite the antics of the clowns…

For people wishing to visit Cambodia during this time and experience the lively atmosphere, Asia Adventures Co. Ltd. - a Cambodia tour operator, is putting together a number of itineraries that will allow people to experience the event from start to finish, or just parts of it whilst visiting other destinations in the country such as the magnificent ancient temples of Angkor Wat. ‘This is truly a unique event in South East Asia, and it is a great time to visit Cambodia where not only can you experience the ancient cultural heritage of the country, but also witness the vibrancy of contemporary Cambodia’, explained Mark Ellison, Asia Adventures Managing Director. ‘The work Phare is doing with these youngsters, lifting them off the streets and filling them with hope, seeing how much they enjoy performing, shouldn’t be missed by anyone who is in the country during this time,’ he added.

Fine Arts Troupe to Perform Rare Circus

The Monkey Army (Photo: Amrita)

By Kong Soth, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 May 2008

A group of fine arts performers will put on a rare Khmer circus in Phnom Penh this weekend, showcasing a nearly lost art from recently rediscovered.

“Building the Bridge to Langka” will be performed May 3 and May 4, at the Chenla Theater, from 6 pm.

The performance, a story from the Ramayana, will be told through Khmer circus, organizers said.

Soun Bunrith, program director of Amrita, which was founded in 2001 in the US, said he hoped the performance will remind Cambodians to be more interested in art.

“To make the show of Khmer art, it is our tradition, so they can watch it and not forget it,” he said. “They are used to seeing very modern circuses.”

Nay Narin, director of the national circus, said she was proud to have the Ramayana story told through the art form.

“I am more concerned, if we are talking about the circus, that all Khmer people think it does not belong to us, and think this comes from foreigners,” she said. “Because of war, we have abandoned these for so many years, and they think we are copying from foreign countries.”

Performer Phun Pisy said she has performed circuses for many years, but the “Bridge to Langka” show will be difficult.

“I will perform as a fish known as Nang Sovan Macha, a female fish,” she said. “I have to prepare myself to act as a fish faithful in love with a white monkey, so I have to make my body very soft and very fast, too, to march with the music while performing.”