Sophiline Arts Ensemble

Sophiline Arts Ensemble
Alternative names	Krom Selapak Sophiline; Khmer Arts Ensemble
Type	Arts and culture
Focus areas	Cambodian classical dance; classical music; new choreography; performances; international touring
Subjects	Dance & Theatre; History & Remembrance
City	Takhmao
State / province	Kandal
Country	Cambodia
Founded	2006
Operating status	unverified

Sophiline Arts Ensemble (Krom Selapak Sophiline), formerly the Khmer Arts Ensemble, is a Cambodian classical dance and music company based at the Khmer Arts Theatre in Takhmao, Kandal Province. It develops and performs the choreography of its artistic director, Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro, and others, and produces works of contemporary-classical Cambodian dance. (ASEF culture360, Sophiline Arts Ensemble; Arts Cambodia, performing arts directory; University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)

History

The ensemble grew out of the Khmer Arts Academy, which Sophiline Cheam Shapiro co-founded in Long Beach, California in 2002. The academy was home to the Khmer Arts Ensemble, then a 29-member professional touring dance and music troupe. In 2006 a second center was established in Cambodia. The 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival dates the ensemble's establishment to 2006, while Khmer Times traces it, through a succession of name and format changes, from Long Beach in 2002 to Cambodia in 2006. (National Endowment for the Arts, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Khmer Arts Academy profile; University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide; Khmer Times, The endless dance)

The parent organization, Khmer Arts, has its own theater in Takhmao, about eleven kilometers from central Phnom Penh. The company later took the name Sophiline Arts Ensemble. (ASEF culture360, At home and abroad: The Khmer Arts Ensemble; University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)

Lineage and training

Sophiline Cheam Shapiro was among the first generation of dancers to graduate from the School of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh after 1979. Her primary teacher was Soth Sam On, a star performer of yeak (giant) roles in the palace from the 1950s to the 1970s. (Wikipedia, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; Prumsodun Ok, NATYARASA)

Repertory and works

The ensemble performs classical repertory and new works by Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro, including: (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide; Wikipedia, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro)

Samritechak (2000), a concert-length classical dance adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello (National Endowment for the Arts, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; Khmer Times, The endless dance)
The Glass Box (2002) (National Endowment for the Arts, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro)
Seasons of Migration (2005), including the solo Neang Neak Devi (National Endowment for the Arts, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
Pamina Devi (2006), premiered at Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace Theater for the New Crowned Hope Festival (Wikipedia, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro)
A Bend in the River (2013), with sculptor Sopheap Pich and composer Him Sophy (Wikipedia, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro; University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
Phka Sla (2017), on forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge, with music by Him Sophy (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
Doors (2020), premiered in Phnom Penh, on female migrant workers (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
The Lives of Giants (Khmer Times, The endless dance; ASEF culture360, At home and abroad: The Khmer Arts Ensemble)

Performances and recognition

The ensemble has received commissions from the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process series, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Vienna's New Crowned Hope Festival and UNFPA Cambodia. It has toured four continents, including the Venice Biennale, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Amsterdam's Muziektheater, New York's Joyce Theater, the China Conservatory and Singapore's Esplanade. It created dances for the documentary Pol Pot Dancing. (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide; University of Hawaii Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Cambodia community gathering (2022))

A resident company of the 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (August 2022), with a community gathering and classical dance class (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide; University of Hawaii Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Cambodia community gathering (2022))
Weekly Thursday and Friday performances at Counterspace Theatre, Java Creative Café, Tuol Tompong, Phnom Penh, reported by Khmer Times (Khmer Times, The endless dance)

People

Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro, artistic director and choreographer (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
John Shapiro, executive director and co-founder of Khmer Arts (ASEF culture360, At home and abroad: The Khmer Arts Ensemble)
Dancers listed in 2022: Sot Sovanndy, Mot Pharan, Sao Somaly, Sao Phirum, Long Chanteary, Keo Kunthearom and Phun Pichoudom (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)
Him Sophy, composer of A Bend in the River and Phka Sla (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2022 Asia Pacific Dance Festival guide)

Visiting and participation

The ensemble is based at the Khmer Arts Theatre in Takhmao and has performed in Phnom Penh at Counterspace Theatre. No current official website was found; check current listings before visiting. (ASEF culture360, Sophiline Arts Ensemble; Khmer Times, The endless dance)

Sources