Dance: The Royal Ballet of Cambodia, BAM, NYC, May 2, 2013

As Princess Buppha Devi explained during her interview and introduction to traditional Cambodian dance (April 30th at NYPL for the Performing Arts), the dancers are "performing for the deceased" and their movements are dignified to be "in harmony with the gods." Tonight I saw the company perform "The Legend of Apsara Mera."  The dancers were scintillating in their glittering costumes, performing with myriad and minute gestural detail in a landscape of slow motion, balance and restraint.  They reminded me of stars in a night sky: an alignment of flickering lights moving slowly across a field of space and time, invested profoundly with significance but distant from human emotions or needs.  - dp