Arts for Cambodian Children & Teens at Champey

The  start of a new chapter in 2013: Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA)

January 2013  marks  the start of a new chapter in our efforts to bring the joys, discipline and pride of culture of traditional  Cambodian arts and  dance    to underprivileged  children. Expanding upon our previous project of Summer Arts Camp , several of the teachers and staff formerly with our old Apsara program  are  continuing to  work with us on our new project the    Champey Academy of Arts ( CAA). CAA   started dance classes  at our new location  this month in  Phnom Penh. Champey is the  Cambodia name for the tropical  plumeria flower.  Our new location is centrally located and is  just a  short walk of one block to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Royal University of Fine Arts.

Our inaugural class includes a group of approximately 20  young girls age 9 to 16  from a shelter for abused and formerly trafficked children in Phnom Penh.  They are  attending classes twice a week. We are receiving a strong expression of interest from other groups who serve disadvantaged children and we are looking forward to  building a robust and diverse  year round roster of activities for our students as our funding permits.

Activities which our program hopes to  include, is to offer year round enrichment programs in  traditional Cambodian dance, music instruction on traditional Cambodian musical instruments and instruction in a variety of Khmer arts and in Khmer culture and  history for children who might otherwise grow up with little or no knowledge of their nation’s rich cultural history.

We are looking forward to bringing you more updates as our new program unfolds.

Update on Summer Arts Camp 2012  and planning for 2013

Summer Arts Camp  took  an unexpected turn  in 2012 as unusual conditions converged.  Reports of an unspecified serious  illness  sickening  children in Cambodia prompted us to place our usual gathering of dozens of children for Summer Camp  from across the city on hold.   Instead we organized   other activities  for  groups of  children and brought  dance and arts activities to disadvantaged  children, such as weekend dance  lessons for the children on site  at the Phnom Penh  Municipal Orphanage.  

Our history continues

For  the past 14 years we have sponsored youth  arts  programs to encourage pride of culture through knowledge of traditional Cambodian drawing,  dance and music and our Summer Arts Camp has been a part of this effort for the past several years.  

Arts for youth programs  will  continue

Yes, it has been a challenging summer. And  now,  due to a variety of other  factors beyond our control, including the city’s plan to build a drainage canal through our former  school site as part of an ongoing  flood control construction project, we are starting a new school  on December 1,2012 , in  a new location in central Phnom Penh. 

Our new school will be staffed by  faculty  and graduates  of our former program.  Now accomplished dancers, our  newly graduated students  from our original program will bring the joy and discipline  of traditional Cambodian dance to disadvantaged children in our new arts for youth programs and  also serve as great peer  mentors to new students.

We are grateful for your continued support of our efforts as we open our new school and begin plans  to continue our Summer Arts Camp program .