![\"CamBallet01\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CamBallet01.jpg\")
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Photos courtesy of Thomy Keats.<\/em><\/p>\n The last time the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, a troupe of classical Cambodian dancers who had almost been eliminated by the Khmer Rouge regime, had been in Long Beach was in September of 2001, shortly after the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n Though Devi will not be touring this time around, Her Royal Highness has choreographed a classical Cambodian dance that was inspired by her grandmother, Queen Kossamak Nearyrath.<\/p>\n \u201cLike the Queen Kossamak, the Princess has dedicated her life to dance and the arts,\u201d said Prince Sisowath Tesso, cousin and assistant to choreographer Devi. \u201cShe went to the Thai border during the resistance to try to find dancers who survived and, with them, she created dance school for refugees.\u201d<\/p>\n Princess Buppha Devi\u2019s work did not stop after that: after the UN election, she returned to Cambodia to in 1991 to create the University of Fine Arts, using funds from varying countries\u2014including Japan\u2014to build classrooms. This came after the many dancers and teachers of the classical dance form were annihilated during the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Dancers, honoring and sustaining a tradition that spans over a thousand years, were associated with everything the regime stood against: independence, enlightenment, and tradition.<\/p>\n The Princess\u2019s work did not go unnoticed, as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) deemed the Royal Ballet of Cambodia as part of the \u201cIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity\u201d in 2003. Differing from Western ballet, which focuses on foot positioning and seamless movement, classical Khmer ballet focuses heavily on hand gestures\u2014some 4,500 gestures are thought to exist\u2014and slow movements, along with four characters (Neang the woman, Neayrong the man, Yeak the giant, and Sva the monkey) to tell a story provided by a female chorus.<\/p>\n According to to Tesso, the Princess has selected the best musicians and singers to interpret traditional Mohori songs along with dancers that have been personally trained by the Princess Herself.<\/p>\n![\"CamBallet03\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CamBallet03.jpg\")
Princess Buppha Devi (\u201cGoddess of Flowers\u201d) was solicited to bring her troupe at the time to alleviate the sadness that had overcome Americans and now, Her Royal Highness has had her troupe return to the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at Cal State Long Beach to show off her latest choreography.<\/p>\n![\"CamBalley02\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CamBalley02.jpg\")
\u201cEssentially, Her Royal Highness single-handedly revived the Royal Ballet and organized the troupe\u2019s first trips, which were in Europe,\u201d Tesso said. \u201cNow the Royal Ballet can perform more often in many countries like Monaco, Morocco, Barhein, Italy, Portugal\u2014and most recently, she presented Apsara Mera in New York during their Season of Cambodia.\u201d<\/p>\n