Khmer classical dance has endured over a millennium in Cambodia, surviving even the brutality and mass killings of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. But today, dancing masters worry about waning interest among young people. Though at least some Gen Z dancers are determined to carry on the tradition.
00:00Classical Cambodian dance master Peng Yom keeps a sharp eye on the movements of these teenage students.
00:09Each subtle gesture must be perfect.
00:12As the students practice, she corrects every detail, from hair to toe.
00:17This delicate, millennium-old art form of the Cambodian court was nearly killed off in Peng Yom's youth.
00:23In the 1970s, the murderous Khmer Rouge regime specifically targeted artists for death.
00:30Now age 78, she has determined the work she and other survivors have done to save her country's heritage won't be for nothing.
00:38But she worries that time is running out. Her body isn't what it used to be.
00:44Now I'm worried that classical dance will disappear, so I keep coming to help students so that this art form will remain.
00:50I keep telling these students to try their best because I barely raise my hands and legs now.
00:55For another thing, there's the fact that interest in classical dance seems to be waning among young Cambodians.
01:03The Secondary School of Fine Arts, where Peng Yom teaches, is free, but the training must start at a young age.
01:10And this year, only 39 eight-year-olds signed up, just over half the usual enrollment.
01:19A high dropout rate during the demanding nine-year course is common, as students' focuses shift to educational demands and helping parents with money.
01:29In the end, it's likely that just 15 of this group will become dancers.
01:33Still, the trainers here battle on.
01:38As teachers, we are worried.
01:40At any cost, we will continue to train so that they will know the stance,
01:45because now it is the modern era, and everything is on a smartphone.
01:56But smartphones may end up helping this art form pull through.
02:00Tolatina is 18 and finishing her last year at the school, and she knows the power of social media.
02:10Because of my passion, I want to be your next dancer and to preserve this culture.
02:15This culture is really beautiful, and I love it.
02:18I want to continue and preserve it.
02:20That's why I've been training this dance so far.
02:23Her Facebook page, where she posts her performances, has over 20,000 followers.
02:28This budding Gen Z master says classical dance won't die out if she has anything to say about it.
02:35Klein Wong, John Van Trieste, and Eric Gao for Taiwan Plus.
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