Not sure if members here know of the Phare Circus project in Siem Reap. I first came across it in an article in one of the free gay magazines in BKK (such as Thai Puan, can't remember which one it was though). It is a project that helps with the education of local kids and getting them off the streets through arts and circus. I have visited the show in their actual circus tent in Siem Reap in March 2018. Great project, great show and great guys (and girls), excellent performance. 

Read about them here https://phareps.org/the-organization/ and https://phareps.org/our-history/  and much more there.

Of course Covid has thrown them in crisis financially and they try everything to raise funds. I have already donated some in 2020. This weekend they do an attempt at a Guinness Book of Records record for the longest continuous circus show (24 hours plus 1 minute) and will stream it live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY9jOQisUt8.

As part of that they host a virtual gala at two different times (to cater to different global time zones) on Sunday (10am and 8pm Asian time). 

Info: https://phareps.org/2021/02/12/phare-into-the-future-join-our-virtual-gala-and-circus-world-record-on-march-6-7/

 

If you have time, tune it and watch the show and the gala (all free) and possibly consider a donation (I will donate again). I think it's a worthwhile cause and we actually get to ogle super fit guys performing.

Disclaimer: this is not a gay project, but that doesn't matter to me. I still out it in "gay Cambodia" as it's the only dedicated Cambodian sub forum.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Im glad that i did get to enjoy their performance too when i visited siem reap. Will let my friend knows about this too. 

Given the horrific near recent history of Cambodia, I think its great that a company like this is not only creating employment but offering training to young people and helping keep alive some of the country's culture. I will watch and will donate.

exactly my thoughts, great project after the Khmer rouge horrors

*reminder*

this is steaming live now 

 

I did watch most of the hour long show last night. I felt a mixture of happiness that this company is trying hard in developing their skills and creating jobs in the country and continuing its culture. It was a reasonable start.

But I also felt some sadness that it clearly has a long way to go. So let me humbly make a few suggestions. More could be done to provide links between the various sections. Any comparison with Cirque du Soleil would be horribly unfair, but this was the first thing I noticed when seeing my first touring Cirque show, Alegria about 25 years ago. It was not merely a series of superb acrobatic and comedic acts. Each was linked with the appearance of characters who appeared throughout the show. No dialogue as in all Cirque shows - merely stock characters in great costumes. I believe it would help Phare's development to work on this. Cirque du Soleil has certainly never performed in Cambodia but there are videos available of many of their shows.

Overall presentation and lighting could be worked on to develop a more professional look (or was this mostly bad TV lighting, I wonder?) A bit more drama could also be injected into some of the individual items. Circus has a long tradition in China and some of its companies are world beaters. It would probably help Phrae if they could work out some sort of loose relationship with one of these Chinese companies. 20 years ago I saw the company based in Shenyang which is one of the most professional and dazzling companies. Not only were the individual acts almost breathtaking - one boy slowly balanced one hardback chair slantwise on another and then another and so on until he was actually balancing on about 12 chairs without any safety net -  they  were obviously starting to learn from Cirque du Soleil through more innovative lighting, music, drama and linkage of acts.

Still, the injection of additional monies will no doubt help the company develop into a much stronger performing unit. Hopefully many who watched will give them that encouragement.

As a long time fan of Phare Ponleu Selpak non-profit school and their social business extension Phare Circus, please allow me to respond to PeterRS.

Phare Ponleu Selpak is a local, grass-roots non-profit association founded by guys who were refugees during the Khmer Rouge. In the refugee camp, an art teacher from France used drawing as therapy. After the war, they opened the school together to use art therapy to heal the community. Art therapy is still at the core of the association, but it has grown to provide other arts related experiences, education and opportunities. The students come from unimaginably difficult social and economic backgrounds: abject poverty, subsistence farming, broken homes, etc in an impoverished country still recovering from near genocide. They discover and develop talent at the school, and some go on to careers at Phare Circus that didn't even exist in the country before.

The world-class entertainment organizations you mention certainly set the global standard for circus arts, but the comparison with Phare is apples to Rolex. Chinese circuses are enormous productions with equally enormous budgets. Performers are recruited from all over the country. Cirque du Soleil is equally big-budget and recruits top circus performers from around the globe, including one from Phare who was in the production "Volta" before the pandemic closed them down.

Phare performances are nothing like those you mention in terms of technical perfection and budget, but Phare performers bring something not seen anywhere else. They share their own life experiences in the performances. They create the stories themselves drawing from recent Cambodian history and modern Cambodian society. It's from their hearts because it's their life. The big top is intimate and the artists are within arms length. You make eye contact and see them sweat. They might even end up on your lap. It's an experience unlike any other.

It's even more moving when you consider where they came from and what they have accomplished. Many had never left the rice field or their small village. They may have never had money to buy land or build a home. Now they shine on stage and earn a good living, literally transforming their lives.

If you have 30 minutes to learn more, Al Jazeera did a documentary called "Cambodia: Circus of Hope". It's perhaps the best 30-minute sharing of the Phare story and it's impact on lives.

 

Thanks!

Thanks ResponsibleTourism for bringing out some issues I was not aware of. Please be assured I was not comparing Phrae to Cirque du Soleil or the famous Chinese Acrobatic troupes. As I pointed out, such a comparison would be "horribly unfair". After all, a Cirque show in Las Vegas usually takes three years during conception, evolution, rehearsal and construction of special theatres.

I will certainly watch the Al Jazeira programme. I do think, however, that given everything you say all performing artists from whatever background have somewhere deep inside them a desire for a form of perfection. It is perfectly possibly to maintain the core values of the company and the acts/scenes based on their personal experiences when at the same time bringing in a little more experience in terms of, for example, lighting. You don't need lots of light units. Just a little more creativity which enhances the performers.

After all, this is precisely how the Chinese acrobatic companies developed over time. From small touring groups on minuscule budgets with a minimum of presentation, they looked at what others were doing in other parts of the world and gradually developed a whole new set of skills. Phrae is clearly ambitious. Hence the desire to be in the Guiness book of Records. So why not have a much longer term goal that embraces training, local culture, history, individual stories and skills, and quality of presentation? Just my thoughts.

I remember when I was in Siem Reap, I was taken to a silk factory where girls from dirt poor families were trained in all the skills of silk making from cultivating mulberry leaves to weaving the finished products. They could have produced an average quality of silk and no doubt the public would have purchased it at local markets. But the foreigner who had set up the factory believed these girls deserved better and higher wages. He was determined that they have an environment where they could develop their skills to the point where the silk produced compared to the best almost anywhere in Asia. It was wonderful quality and I bought quite a lot.