A mix of the traditional and contemporary, and photography and dance, will be on the stage for two performances tonight and Friday, in a unique collaboration between Japanese choreographer Akiko Kitamura, photographer Kim Hak and local organisation Amrita Performing Arts.

The project was inspired by Hak’s photographs of abandoned homes in Kep, whose landscape is dotted with the remnants of once grand villas, and was originally performed last year in Tokyo.

In Cross Transit, the ghostly aesthetic, and haunted history, conveyed in the photographs is channelled in dance.

One photograph in particular, of an old home once owned by a woman who has now passed away, especially inspired Kitamura.

“Kim Hak’s photograph was about an old woman who died [who] introduced [her] house to him. It reminded me of Japanese Noh, where the main characters are ghosts,” she said, referring to a traditional musical theatre often distinguished by the performers’ masks.

Hak’s photographs will be projected during the dance, and the text that the photographer wrote will be narrated.

To Kitamura, this project is essentially about creating something new and cross-cultural, especially considering both sides’ unfamiliarity with the other’s art. Among the dancers, four are Japanese and one is Cambodian. The Japanese, she said, tend to be more familiar with contemporary dance, while Cambodian dancers – like Chy Ratana from Amrita – are more rooted in a traditional style.

The challenges arising from unfamiliarity manifest themselves across the board – in grammar, vocabulary, and even the creative process. Kitamura herself prefers a dancing style based in martial arts, something alien to a Cambodian context, where dance tends to be in a softer style.

To Ratana, Kitamura’s technique is wholly new, and through collaborating with her, and in some cases being corrected by her, he says he has found “[his] own feeling” in the performance.

For Hak, the project was also a new direction, forcing him to write as well as photograph. The text he wrote for the performance is in English, Khmer and Japanese.

“At first I didn’t know what I should write about,” he said.

“Akiko asked the dancers to show [their] movements, and I also started to write. Slowly, the piece developed [through] the text and dancers [working together].”

Amrita Executive Director Rithisal Kang, meanwhile, sees this performance as a step forward in terms of artistic possibilities and growth and a genuine “cross transit” of cultures.

“What we love is that when the artists come together, they have challenges, they have problems, because they are so different. But through the creative process, the differences are a way to open the mind,” he said.

Cross Transit will be performing tonight and Friday at 7pm at the Department of Performing Arts. Tickets are $5 and available at the door or in advance at Java Cafe.

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An army of monstrous birds will be clashing with legions of divine monkeys on stage at Beltei International University on Sunday – in an interpretation of Satalong, a mythical battle from the Hindu epic the Ramayana.

Despite being a largely amateur production, the scale of the Lakhon Khol performance – a traditional form of Khmer masked theatre and dance – is massive.

“This performance takes nearly 70 artists on stage. Of all the ones we’ve done before this is the biggest,” says Khon “Mo” Chansithyka, the general manager of the Lakhon Khol Youth of Cambodia.

The group, which has put on a performance about every six months, came together a year and half ago and consists of a collection of mainly student and amateur practitioners of the craft. For the last month and a half, they have been rehearsing on Sundays at an outdoor space at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA).

See the troupe in action:

“They are not professional dancers, but they are free on the weekend and they started learning it,” Mo says.

The 26-year-old is a lead Lakhon Khol dancer in the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, along with his brother Khon “Nan” Chansina, 24. Nan will interpret the role of the monster Satalong and also came up with the choreography for the production. A group of RUFA graduates will play traditional Khmer orchestral music.

“I performed this five years ago, for a RUFA graduation performance, but the technique and dance will be completely different,” says Nan, whose task involved choreographing two armies of 25 dancers each, plus the main characters. Many of those “soldiers” are younger members of the team such as 13-year-old Pheap Sovankakada.

“I’m a small monkey in the army of Rama,” he says. “I have to train hard like a soldier and be speedy and strong to fight the bird monster.” 

Satalong, or The Bird Monster Battle, as the group has titled the show in English, depicts a scene from the Ramayana in which the “evil” Ravana, the King of the Giants who kidnapped the Princess Sita, and Lord Rama do battle through proxies.

Of course, the good guys prevail in the end, but not before multiple epic fights after Ravana sends the “bird monster” to do battle.

Rama, meanwhile, enlists his brother Lakshmana to fight, aided by the monkey god Hanuman and his army.

The performance is free in the interest of promoting the art form, which has seen a steady decline in popularity over the decades since its glory days in the 1940s and ’50s, with only a handful of RUFA graduates pursuing the major each year. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and with private donations, including from Hun Many, one of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sons.

“Most of [our budget] comes from private citizens . . . about 60 percent,” he says. “The volunteers, the artists when we collaborate, we try not to think about the money.”

Satalong is on at Beltei International University on October 29 at 9am and at 4:30pm. Tickets are free but donations are encouraged at the door. To reserve call: 016 505 1682 / 081 552 123/ 098 770 076.

Video by Charlotte Pert

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Once a student and loyal follower of Khieu Samphan, Tran Sab’s passion for books nearly cost him his life under the Khmer Rouge

When a young woman comes to Tran Sab’s hole-in-the-wall bookstore in downtown Battambang in search of a translated Korean novel, the elderly owner begins dispensing his wisdom.

“You read Korean novels, you are supporting Korean writers; you read Khmer novels, you are supporting the writers with the same Khmer blood,” the 79-year-old says.

His shop, just south of Battambang’s Phsar Nath, contains hundreds of old books on shelves and hung on walls – some yellow with age. Above the door hangs​​ a placard that says: Grandpa Apsara – Book Rental Service.

For Sab, books have been the most valuable things in a life turned upside down by the ideological draw of the Khmer Rouge and the regime’s subsequent betrayal.

They are not just a means to make a living but are his life-long friends and teachers.

“My eyes are now too bad for reading, which really upsets me. But, I am still happy I have helped so many people to be able to read books, although they cannot afford to buy them,” he says.

Born in Kampuchea Krom, an area now part of Vietnam that used to belong to Cambodia, Sab is a fierce proponent of Khmer culture. Two years after coming to Cambodia in 1958, he attended Phnom Penh Municipal Pedagogy School with the hopes of becoming a primary school teacher. He soon met Khieu Samphan, the future head of state of the Khmer Rouge, who introduced him to communist ideology and its focus on class struggle.

“I found Khieu Samphan to be a good person and speaker,” Sab says. “He helped me become a communist.”

Sab was quickly embroiled in the politics of the era and even claims he was one of the leaders of a protest at the United States Embassy in 1965 – suspected to have taken place on the orders of then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk – in which thousands of students gathered ostensibly in response to American air attacks and an article about the prince and his wife Monineath in Newsweek magazine.

Sab says his radical politics prevented him from finding a job after graduation in 1963. His only capital at the time was in the books he had collected, so he decided to start a book rental business in Phnom Penh. His stall was located in front of the Chao Ponhea Yat High School, later known as the notorious S-21 prison and interrogation centre under the Khmer Rouge. His stand, he contends, was the first in the capital.

“Book prices at that time were exorbitant,” Sab says. “So my service was popular among students, especially those from poor families or the provinces. I was also happy because I could read books and make money at the same time.”

When the Khmer Rouge came into power in 1975, Sab was among those delighted with the communist victory. In the afternoon of April 17, while Khmer Rouge soldiers were entering Phnom Penh, Sab put on his best clothes, grabbed a white flag and took to the streets to welcome them. His excitement, however, quickly turned to desperation.

“They suddenly forced me to leave Phnom Penh, although I did not have anything on me,” he says. “They forced me to leave thousands of my books, which was the worst event in my life.”

Although Sab was a supporter, the Khmer Rouge treated him like one of the “new people”, who were targeted in purges. Like many others, Sab was moved from one place to another before eventually stopping in Battambang. In every location, he was subjected to hard labour, starvation and the threat of execution.

Yet, despite his ordeal, Sab still views Samphan – who is currently facing charges of genocide and was previously convicted of crimes against humanity at the Khmer Rouge tribunal – in a positive light.“Samphan wanted to do good by the people,” he says.

On his forced journeys, Sab says he would look for books in old houses and bring them along with him. One day, a Khmer Rouge cadre found them and accused him of being an “enemy”.

“They tied me up and wanted to kill me with a hoe,” Sab says. “To save myself, I pretended to be crazy, and performed comedic acts to make them laugh. By that, I escaped my death.”

Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, says the Khmer Rouge viewed books as a symbol of education, and a product of the lifestyle and mindset left over from the era of Lon Nol’s republic. Being caught with them would result in death. “The Khmer Rouge destroyed anything from the previous regime, not only books but also human lives,” he says. “But they created their own.”

Under the Khmer Rouge, the only reading allowed was from Pol Pot’s Little Red Book and the Democratic Kampuchea magazine. After their fall in 1979, Sab learned that all his books in the capital had been burned or repurposed.

“They destroyed my collection, and turned the school where students were my customers into a prison,” Sab says, his voice quivering. “I was wrong to support them.”

He set up shop as a barber in Battambang, but memories of all he had lost never left him.

In 2002, after many years replenishing his book supply, Sab reopened his business in Battambang. Where once he cut hair, he now stands surrounded by books. His obstacle this time was the spread of the internet and a lack of interest in reading.

Today, only four or five people come each day to rent a book, most for less than $1 for a week, whereas before the Khmer Rouge, business was brisk. Despite his financial struggles, he insists this is where he’ll be found until his death.

“Young people today would rather play on their smartphones than read books, which can provide a lot of information and moral value in their life,” Sab says. “But please bear in mind that at one time in history, you could not even look at a book, or you would die.”

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Despite the massive economic gains Cambodia has made since being accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2004, which granted it preferential trade status with major consumer markets, the government has not championed many positive reforms over the past six years.

According to the WTO’s second official Trade Policy Review of the Kingdom, which wrapped up last week in Geneva, the government has failed to significantly improve its export procedures, to strengthen rule of law and good governance, to promote transparency and to tackle infrastructure bottlenecks like high energy costs since last being reviewed in 2011.

While the trade review lauded Cambodia’s strengthening GDP, which since 2011 has grown an average of 7 percent annually, as playing a key role in promoting investment and alleviating poverty, it encouraged the Kingdom to formalise much of its economy.

“The informal nature of a large portion of the Cambodian economy, which is largely based on services followed by agriculture, implies that GDP is significantly underestimated, and that it undermines the effectiveness of government policy,” an executive summary from the WTO said.

The WTO also noted that Cambodia still faces several structural constraints and vulnerabilities which affect economic growth and render the economy and financial system vulnerable to shocks. These include a narrow economic base largely dependent on the garment sector, a high cost of doing business and a highly dollarised economy with underdeveloped financial markets.

While the review mentioned some regulatory gains, citing a slew of draft laws which at least made it to the floor of the National Assembly, the WTO added that “a common theme that pervades most aspects of Cambodia’s economy is the delay in drafting and implementing new legislation.”

The WTO said Cambodia needs to quickly improve business confidence and create an environment more conducive to investment by adopting reforms that address diversification and competiveness.

“These reforms would help Cambodia attain its economic and welfare policy objectives and further integrate into the world trading system,” the WTO said.

Another sore spot on Cambodia’s scorecard was a lack of investment into infrastructure and persistently high logistics costs.

“Cambodia remains characterised by low road and water connectivity as its transport industry continues to face challenges including high merchandise transportation costs – in particular, shipping – and inadequate infrastructure despite an increase in ports capacity,” the review said. “Railway transport remained of limited availability and performance due to slow progress in rehabilitation projects.”

Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak, who led Cambodia’s delegation to Geneva, said the WTO review would help Cambodia strengthen its trade-related policies by identifying its weaknesses. He added that the review process also provides the country an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the economy and identify objectives where it should seek outside technical assistance.

“This review provided us an opportunity to listen to the WTO’s comments and concerns on our trade related policy,” he said. “This review helped us to identify clearly what kind of assistance is necessary to develop a better trade and investment regime in our country.”

However, David Van, executive director of Deewee Management, said that the Cambodian government has little excuse for its performance in the latest review seeing that it has had since 2004 to enact proper policies in line with WTO guidelines.

“Cambodia has fallen way behind on its commitments, especially when it comes to legislation it has been drafting over the last 13 years,” he said. “We are none the wiser as to when exactly [these laws] will sail through parliament, considering nothing will be achieved until after next year’s elections.”

He added that the recent government mandate which promised numerous positive reforms has been over-hyped and lacked meaningful results.

“What would be in store for the next mandate is anyone’s wild guess,” he said, adding that it was unclear if the government had the political will to implement long overdue critical reforms.

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As consumer habits shift and online shopping continues to grow in Cambodia, the need for reliable and timely package delivery services is on the rise. The Post’s Robin Spiess sat down with Leakhena Long, COO and co-founder of local startup Joonaak Delivery, to discuss the importance of delivery services in the changing consumer market that is dominated by small business owners.

What services does Joonaak Delivery provide?
We offer delivery services for online shops and distribute goods like packages, gifts and letters. We also offer fulfillment solutions, which include warehousing and packaging for our clients. Our delivery rates range in price depending on size of the package and distance to delivery.

When did you launch and why did you choose to focus on delivery?
We officially launched in March of 2015. At first, we just wanted to start a business, so we looked at the market to see what type of service would be unique because we didn’t want to start a business others had already started. We noticed that e-commerce is growing in Cambodia and people are starting to buy things online, but the delivery element is still lacking.

Back then, there were only food delivery services, but after a year or so other businesses started to offer the same sort of delivery services as us and now there are maybe 20 in the market. They saw that this was a great business idea because many small businesses operate on Facebook and do not have logistical support. A lot of these businessowners don’t have their own staff, and many run their shops and also work day jobs.

For people who work multiple jobs, this delivery service can help them to sell their products and not have to worry too much about logistics. They can increase their profits by using our services.

We also have business owners from the provinces who sell their products and transport them through us. Phnom Penh is very centrally located, so you can send packages anywhere from here, but it’s very hard to do that from the provinces.

How big is your business?
We don’t make that much in profits yet because we have to reinvest our revenue back into the business. We have 21 staff in total, as well as 15 motorbikes and two three-wheelers for delivery. We only have one warehouse for now, but we just introduced warehousing services last year so we haven’t yet filled the available space. Over the past two and a half years, we have had about 250 businesses use our services to send their packages.

Do you have any plans for expansion?
We’ll be expanding soon, and are about to launch an app which we are tweaking and testing now. We will have the app for merchants and for customers, so customers can check the status of their delivery and merchants can request the pick-up of packages more easily. We are going to expand into other provinces, too. For now we’re only based in Phnom Penh, but we want to expand into one or two new cities soon.

As it is right now, we only offer transfer services to people in the provinces. We usually arrange a taxi or make use of bus services to take packages to people outside of the city, and clients can then retrieve their packages from the taxi or bus station. We charge $1 for the transfer plus the bus or taxi fee, which is normally $1.25 to $2. We can usually get a package to someone in the provinces within 24 hours.

What types of challenges have you faced?
In Cambodia, two houses might have the same address and it’s really hard to find the proper location sometimes. For now, our drivers have our client’s phone numbers and can call them to confirm location. Clients have to be present to receive packages, because we also rely on cash on delivery. We do not yet accept alternative forms of payment.

Also, this is becoming a competitive market. Other businesses like to try to compete on price, but we don’t do that as much. We find other ways to promote our services, like ensuring our high quality and offering add-on services like warehousing. We were one of the very first in the market so people know us, and we have a very good reputation.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Dozens of Cambodian college students gathered at the Royal University of Agriculture on Saturday to participate in an “agri-techathon” that encouraged them to discuss the need for sustainable and smarter technology-based solutions to support the sector.

Organised by the Belt and Road Angel Investment Roundtable, a Hong Kong-based fund that promotes startups, the techathon offered students an opportunity to hear from successful entrepreneurs in the Kingdom and learn to promote their ideas.

Pen Chanda, chairman and CEO of online payment gateway Bongloy, said during a panel discussion that the private sector needs to help push forward new ideas and find funding solutions.

“We look at entrepreneurs as the future of this country,” he said. “[Bongloy] wants to invest in ideas which it can help to push forward. The private sector is going to be crucial to developing technology in the country.”

Christine Zimmerman, chairwoman of the Association for Vertical Farming, spoke about the positive impacts of the technology, which uses less land and fewer resources to produce more food than traditional farming methods.

“We need to produce our food differently and closer to urban areas, where most people live,” she said. “You can make that happen and entrepreneurs are crucial.”

She noted that several Western countries have integrated vertical farming techniques that let farmers measure plant health and calculate the exact amount of pesticides to use.

While she was overwhelmingly supportive of the use of technology in agriculture, she warned against overuse of it.

“I mostly see positive impacts of technology in agriculture,” she said. “But the robotisation of our world is something we should be aware of, and we do have to look critically towards technology.”

Melanie Mossard, director of community at ImpactHub, encouraged the students in the crowd to be proactive about promoting their ideas and seeking help to create viable business plans.

“When you’re an entrepreneur, you have to speak about your big dreams,” she said. “Don’t be shy about asking for help. And remember that if you fail, it’s OK.”

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As widely anticipated, Cambodian and Thai fighters stamped their mark on a spectacular night of kun Khmer at the Olympic Stadium indoor arena Friday in a televised show featuring eight-fight bill in which rivals from US, Russia, Brazil and continental Europe were swept off their feet.

Popular kun Khmer (known as muay Thai across the border) promotion Thai Fight brought its entourage of leading practitioners of this centuries-old fighting style to the Kingdom to provide an unforgettable experience for an eager Phnom Penh audience in the form of Khmer-Thai Fight.

It was a clean sweep for the red corner which threw up all the eight winners on the night as Cambodia’s Pich Mtes Kmang, aka Nath Seak Nin, was the only one to knock out his opponent Jonathans Silva of Brazil in the 56kg inside the first first minute to set the night’s proceedings rolling on a thrilling note.

Following his compatriot to a roaring ovation, SEA Games gold medalist Khun Dima outpointed Dmitri Mordvinov of Russia in the 63.5 kg.

Thailand’s household name Saen Chai faced off American Arthur Sorsor who took the fight all the way before the irrepressible Thai maestro, who is regarded as the symbol of the “Art of Eight Limbs” won a unanimous decision.

Ukranian Oleksandr Moisa went down on points to another Thai fighter of fame Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee while Saensatharn picked up third win on the night for the Thai camp when he overcame Thaigo Goulate of Brazil.

Cambodia’s Lao Jetra won a decision over Kazbek Alisultanov of Russia and Muen Sophea signed off in style winning the nightcap over Muhammad Khalil of Norway.

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Davis Cupper Phalkun Mam, who will be part of Cambodia’s Asia Oceania Group III Campaign early next year in Vietnam, has been pursuing his coaching credentials as well by completing last Friday a 12-day ITF Level II coaching course conducted by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand in Nonthaburi, a suburb of Bangkok. If he succeeds in passing the course, he will be the first ITF Level II certified coach in Cambodia, opening up prospects to strengthen the Kingdom’s coach education programme.

Phalkun was among representatives from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore attending the course directed by Suresh Menon, who after serving the world’s governing body in different capacities for nearly 21 years, is now acting as a consultant for ITF, working alongside the LTAT in conducting coaching courses for levels I and II.

Suresh Menon, who was ITF Development officer in Asia since 1996 decided to give up his post due to personal reasons earlier this year. He had been involved in several developmental projects in Cambodia including the building of the National Training Center in 2010.

Thailand’s Attapol Rithiwatanapong (Level 2 Certified – Asst. Tutor) and Pracharapol Khamsaman (Asst. Tutor) assisted Suresh Menon in running the course along with Level 3 Certified Coach, Quoc Phong Tran from Vietnam.

“The main difference between ITF Level 1 and 2 courses is the content. Level II focuses on strategy and tactics of the game more in depth as well as importance of the fitness and mental side of the game. It was highly instructive and informative” Phalkun told The Post. “The content I was talking about is more suited to advanced tournament players’’, he added.

Apart from Phalkun, Braen Aneiros, Chea Poev and Long Chomnith are currently Level 1 certified coaches in Cambodia with Franck Deville and Long Samneang, who finished their course three weeks ago likely make the grade soon.

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