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Cambodia's orphan dance shows: From cultural salvation to child exploitation?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2022
Abstract
In Cambodia, orphan dance shows were once popular as a way to preserve endangered art forms and to cultivate children's dignity and well-being. But they came to be seen as exploitative instead, and today are nearly nonexistent. This article examines the confluence of changes that caused this reversal of opinion. The reversal is due to both covert factors such as changes in constructions of childhood, and overt factors such as changes in audience composition. The rise and fall of Cambodian orphan dance shows took place largely within foreign communities, with little local input.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © The National University of Singapore, 2022
Footnotes
I would like to thank Maitrii Aung-Thwin and two anonymous reviewers for substantive comments and helpful suggestions on earlier versions of this article. Research for this article was supported by funding from the Centre for Khmer Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Oregon.
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