Organization
Cambodian American Heritage
Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc. (CAHI) is a nonprofit in Fort Washington, Maryland, that has taught and performed Cambodian dance and music since 1980.[1][2] Its dance troupe and music ensemble are the center of its work, and its classes are free to students.[1][3]
History
From 1975 to 1979 the Khmer Rouge regime put Cambodia's classical and folk dance at risk. The organization estimates that 90 percent of the dancers and teachers of the Royal Ballet, and of the students and faculty of the University of Fine Arts, died in those years.[1] That loss moved a group of Cambodian Americans to found Cambodian-American Heritage in 1980, to preserve Cambodian arts and culture in the United States.[1]
By its own count, the organization has spent 45 years teaching successive generations of Cambodian Americans, mostly through classical and folk dance.[3] In 1998 its dance director, Madam Sam-Oeun Tes, received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, which recognized her as a heritage fellow for preserving and performing Cambodian dance in the United States.[1][3] Tes has said the award belongs to every member of the troupe who has performed since 1980.[3]
Programs
The organization trains Cambodian Americans in their language, literature, music, dance and history. It also holds workshops, seminars and presentations on Cambodian culture and tradition, and it shares the arts of Cambodia through performances and exhibitions.[4] Its aims also include helping Cambodians adjust to life in America. It works with public and private agencies to assist Cambodian refugees and creates chances for Cambodian Americans and the wider American community to meet through culture.[4]
Instruction in Cambodian music and in classical and folk dance is free.[5][3] Lessons are held on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Arlington Mill Community Center, where parking is free.[6]
Performances
The troupe performs selections from the Cambodian classical and folk repertoire. With the music ensemble, it has appeared at the Smithsonian Institution's 150th anniversary, the National Gallery of Art, the Freer Gallery of Art, the American Red Cross and presidential inaugural events.[1][3] It has also played folk art and heritage festivals across the Baltimore and Washington area and the organization's own Cambodian New Year observance each April.[1][3]
Colleges and universities have invited troupe members to lead or join workshops, among them Hunter College in New York City, the College of Connecticut, the University of Maine, the University of Hawaii and Towson State University in Maryland. Videotapes of the troupe's performances have been used to teach college dance courses.[3] The organization calls its troupe one of the premier Cambodian dance troupes in the United States.[3]
Funding
The organization relies on individual donors and on corporate and government grants from local, state and national programs.[3][5] Donations pay for costumes, production materials and teachers' fees, and none of its officers receives a salary or other pay.[5] Its listed sponsors include the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Council for the Traditional Arts and Arlington Arts.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 cambodianheritage.org, The Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc
- ↑ GuideStar (Candid), Cambodian-American Heritage Inc
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 cambodianheritage.org, Accomplishments - The Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc (2015-12-15)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 cambodianheritage.org, Engage Your Visitors! (2015-12-15)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 cambodianheritage.org, Sponsors
- ↑ cambodianheritage.org, Contact