Funding: Khmer Dance Project funded by Anne H. Bass Foundation.
Date: Copyright date: 2012
Biographical/Historical: Funded by a grant from the Anne Hendricks Bass Foundation, the KDP began in 2008 when the Center for Khmer Studies partnered with the Jerome Robbins Dance Division to interview and film the three generations of artists - including dancers, musicians and singers, as well as embroiderers and dressers - who kept dance alive during and in the wake of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Performers: Sim Muntha, interviewee ; Suppya Nut, interviewer.
Venue: Recorded 18 July 2008 Chatomukh Theatre, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Acquisition: Khmer Dance Project is a program created by Anne H. Bass in conjunction with the Center for Khmer Studies and the Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Language: Khmer and English, with English titles, credits, and subtitles.

Physical Description

Extent: 1 videocassette (DVCam) (53 min.) : sound, color ; 1/4 in.
There are no subtitles from ca. 40-42 min.

Abstract

The video opens with footage of women embroidering. Suppya Nut introduces the interview in English. Sim Muntha talks about her background and training; how she came to be in charge of props and costumes. What ballets she performed, differences in methods of teaching and schedules of performance before the Khmer Rouge; Queen Kossomak's involvement in supervising rehearsals, creating ballets, changing costumes. She talks about how ballets have been shortened and adapted over time, and about the occasions when dance was performed in her youth: festivals, ceremonies, delegations. Muntha shows embroidery and talks about how the Queen helped to preserve classical dance during the French regime, and about the long-houses that were built for artists to live in. Starting around 28 min., Muntha and Nut look at archival photographs and Muntha identifies dancers. She talks about the make-up worn by dancers in the past, dressers in the past, and her opinion of current students. Muntha discusses the cost of costumes, jewelry and headdresses, and changes in how headdresses were made. Finally, Muntha talks about books recording ballets and song lyrics, what happened to them, and how books were bought from Thailand and translated into Khmer to replace those lost.

Languages

Central Khmer
English

Identifiers

NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b19944667
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 9f53cff0-0821-0131-ca51-3c075448cc4b

Rights

The New York Public Library holds or manages the copyright(s) in this item. If you need information about reusing this item, please go to: http://nypl.org/permissions

Type Of Resource

Moving Image

Cite this item

MLA format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Sim Muntha, 2008-07-18" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 2008. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9f53cff0-0821-0131-ca51-3c075448cc4b

APA format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (2008). Interview with Sim Muntha, 2008-07-18 Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9f53cff0-0821-0131-ca51-3c075448cc4b

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Sim Muntha, 2008-07-18" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed December 12, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9f53cff0-0821-0131-ca51-3c075448cc4b

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9f53cff0-0821-0131-ca51-3c075448cc4b | title= (moving image) Interview with Sim Muntha, 2008-07-18 (2008) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=December 12, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>