Organization

Cambodian American Resource Agency


The Cambodian American Resource Agency (CARA) is a San Jose, California, nonprofit that supports Khmer cultural programs for Cambodian Americans in the Bay Area.[1] Cambodian American professionals and community members founded it in 1998 to bring the local Khmer community together, and it works to start and support community events that raise awareness of Khmer culture.[1] Its programs began with young Cambodians in the low-income neighborhoods of East San Jose, where their parents had resettled after fleeing the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s.[2]

History

In 2012 advanced students of CARA's dance troupe, led by the artistic director Savary Dean, traveled to Long Beach to study, dance and live with the musicians of master musician Ho Chan's pinpeat ensemble. The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA), which funded the trip, called it the only pin peat orchestra in California.[1][3] The ensemble then came to San Jose to rehearse and perform with the dancers. The work ended in Echoes of the Royal Court, a full theater production before 500 members of the South Bay community. It was the troupe's first production with live music by the Ho Chan Ensemble, and the San Jose Khmer community's first major production outside its yearly New Year celebration. Many older members of the audience had not heard live pin peat music since leaving Cambodia.[3]

An ACTA Living Cultures grant of $7,260 in 2013 paid for free weekly lessons in classical and folk dance for young people. That year the students performed at the community's New Year festival, learned the folk dance Fish Tales and kept working on the monkey dances.[4][1] In 2014 five high school seniors trained through those lessons produced Hidden Treasures, a capstone performance, with support from CARA's staff.[1] In 2016 the troupe staged The Judge Rabbit, based on a Cambodian folk tale, led by Savary Dean with the guest master artist Charya Burt.[1]

ACTA funded a new production in 2020 of the classic dance Sovan Macha. In the story, monkeys build a wall in Cambodia, mermaids tear it down, and the two sides become friends.[1] In 2021 the troupe performed at Mixed Melodies, an intercultural music event.[5] In 2022 planning began for a family Bay Area Cambodian Cultural Festival in early May 2023, organized with Cambodian communities across the Bay Area and the Central Valley. The program included the troupe and the Ho Chan Ensemble, Cambodian food and activities for the audience.[1]

A 2023 ACTA grant funded an evening Khmer New Year showcase in spring 2024, with yike musical theater, classical music by the Ho Chan Ensemble and dancers from Bay Area groups.[1] The troupe instructors Ryan Boun and Savary Dean performed Robam Chhouy Chhay at the 28th Annual Cambodian New Year program on March 23, 2024.[6] CARA was among the cultural shows at Cambodia Day in Union Square, San Francisco, on September 28, 2024.[7]

In 2024 and 2025 the troupe honored the artists targeted during the Khmer Rouge genocide. An SVCreates Arts Access grant paid for classes in Cambodian music and dance for the 2025 commemoration of 50 years since the fall of Phnom Penh, and students performed with surviving artists of the genocide.[8][2] The series of workshops, classes and performances was held at the Olinder Community Theater and at the School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.[2] On May 30, 2026, Ryan Boun of the troupe performed at the Asian Pacific Heritage Festival in San Francisco's Chinatown.[9]

Programs

CARA's main program is the Cambodian Cultural Dance Troupe of San Jose, a free school of Khmer classical and folk dance that has run for more than 30 years and serves the wider Bay Area.[1][5] Its students learn the monkey, ogre mask and umbrella dances among others, and they perform with live pin peat music.[1] The troupe has performed at Cambodian New Year in San Jose every year for 30 years.[5][10] ACTA calls it a "secondary place" where young Cambodian Americans connect with one another outside the family.[1]

CARA also supports the Cambodian Language School, arts and cultural festivals, and community celebrations.[1][11] Its Khmer language and dance classes are taught in English and Khmer at the Olinder Community Center, 848 East William Street, San Jose. Language classes meet from 10 a.m. to noon and dance classes from 1 to 4 p.m., and registration is required.[12] The center's theater is run by Chopsticks Alley Art.[2][12]

CARA has supported Cambodia Day and the creation of Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Week in San Jose.[13] Its work has been funded by ACTA Living Cultures grants from 2012 onward and by a 2024 SVCreates Arts Access grant.[1][8] In its filing for 2010, it reported $11,361 in contributions, all of its revenue that year.[14]

Community

Many of the earliest graduates of CARA's programs went on to college and raised families, and they now bring their own children to traditional dance.[2] Chheng Sim Bun, a Chinese Cambodian dancer, wrote in a program after performing: "All the hard work and pain is worth it in the end."[1]

Leadership

  • Dr. Kara Uy Has, president[13]
  • Savary Dean, artistic director of the Cambodian Cultural Dance Troupe. She studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Cambodia and had taught San Jose youth without pay for 25 years.[1][10]
  • Ryan Boun, lead teacher and the troupe's contact, a former apprentice of Charya Burt[15][1]
  • Charya Burt, long-time dance consultant and former artist in residence, who traveled to San Jose twice a month to teach[15][3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Cambodian American Resource Agency profile
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 San Jose Spotlight, Santa Clara County is steeped in rich, diverse cultures (June 4, 2025)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Of Monkeys and Mermaids (November 14, 2012)
  4. ↑ Alliance for California Traditional Arts, 2013 Living Cultures Grants Program grantees
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Cambodian Cultural Dance Troupe of San Jose profile
  6. ↑ 28th Annual Cambodian New Year program (March 23, 2024)
  7. ↑ Phnom Penh Post, Celebrating Cambodia Day (September 2024)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 SVCreates, Arts Access Grants
  9. ↑ Chinatown Volunteer Coalition, Asian Pacific Heritage Festival 2026
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 San Jose State University, Community resources: entertainment and art
  11. ↑ San Jose City College Library, LEAP Collection guide
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chopsticks Alley Art, Classes
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Evergreen Valley College, Dr. Kara Uy Has
  14. ↑ ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Cambodian American Resource Agency
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Charya Burt Cambodian Dance, Community Engagement

Sources

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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:15.